Douglas Candano’s collection of eight stories are all set in one universe that feels so much like ours, but defy Newtonian physics in its population that includes amalgamations of aswang and the Chinese jiangshi, as well as museums that house experiences rather than relics, and historical events with a few monsters thrown in the mix.

From Dreaming Valhalla (which tells of the rise and fall of a successful night club that mysteriously burns down) to Where Old Whores Go To Die (written in the form of a grant application on how to properly dispose of our sad victims of society’s injustice, with Holocaust overtones), this reader’s head is filled with pictures I wish I could forget.

A Reply to a Query is possibly the most frightful of all the tales, cleverly disguised in the form of a field report by a researcher recounting how a young lass elopes and returns two weeks later as an old crone, carrying what seems to be “a rotting, organic yo-yo,” but it turns out to be a much more chilling memento of her brush with the supernatural.

If the author’s intention was to horrify readers with the brutally detached manner with which he describes exploited women’s bodies, the harvesting of body parts or the abuse of children, then he certainly succeeded. Candano’s male protagonists describe women in such a detached manner befitting corporate-speak. And this adds to the mounting horror, as there seems to be very little sympathy from the writer in his tales of woe about the victims of so much torture and abuse.

Candano also often summarizes and tells the audience what’s happening, instead of describing scenes as they unfold. Compelling storylines aside, the execution could be improved upon.

It is Candano’s plots that kept this reader turning page after page, that desire to know what comes next a fire that can’t be quenched, despite any misgivings about the writing style. However, at the end of the book, I found myself bothered and perplexed, as the mental images have seared themselves on my brain with no surcease nor comfort offered by the writer.

These fictional horror stories disturb, not only for their subject matter, but because they have the feel of nonfiction. Candano’s world feels all too real, its darkness and evils only highlighted by its supernatural and fantasy elements. All is black, and all is blight. Visit his world at your peril.

[The writer received an ARC of Infinite Lives, Infinite Deaths. It is readily available for P762.00 from Fully Booked .]

ABOUT THE REVIEWER:

Gabi Francisco is a classically trained soprano who now performs in the English / Music / Drama classroom. On weekends she soaks in as much art and literature as she can, so she can pass her love for the arts on to her students. She passionately believes in the transformative role of arts education in nation-building. (IG: teacher.gabi.reads )