ReviewStack: McAllister's Mates Twenty Two
Hi all
I feel I have neglected McAllister’s Mates, due to work commitments and a book I was scrambling to complete work on. Now to get things back on track - I really do enjoy these reviews as much as my own work. Two of my best friends on Substack - I jokingly referred to them both as my Substack Mummy and Daddy - I wasn’t entirely joking.. (I’ll leave the question of who Mum is hanging..). Science Fiction Visionary Derek James Kritzberg and the deeply sensitive metaphysical poet C J O'Hare
These reviews are part of Reviewstack run by the great writer and pillar of the Substack Community : Thaddeus Thomas
An ongoing series of reviews of some of the wonderful articles, poems, and stories I’ve discovered on Substack (and other places) and more importantly the beautiful souls behind the works.
This poem perfectly captures the mood of late October. Autumn is fading, the harvest is gone, the beautiful leaves have mulched down to the black soil. “The hollow face of haunting October” - indeed.
The poem perfectly captures the tension and dread of the forthcoming winter. Perhaps in some ways a more lonely time than the long cold of the season itself. When the season hits, we are forced to draw in, to gather round the fire together. Such times create festivity through the necessity of shared longing (obviously Christmas and the winter solstice).
The fears that we do not speak aloud as autumn’s golds and scarlets abandon us, those we face alone. This section of the poem drives home that dread and loneliness powerfully:
“nothing of the house martins; nothing
of the muffled bleats—it’s dawn
and the sun is drawn and
the sudden condensation
of silence is proof that dew
can fall in the Autumn too—
even the dogs refuse to bark”
The words convey CJ’s signature style - detailed depictions of everyday natural scenes, woven together into a mystical omen. The hushed syllables lend the scene an air of reverence and awe, maybe even trepidation. We often think of Autumn as a wistful season with beautiful colours and ripe fruits and vegetables, cheerfully plump. Here CJ reframes that wistful peace as a brooding silence edged with threat.
He extends this metaphor very cleverly in the image of a wheat field being stirred by the wind, and creating a hypnotic rhythm. Where a lesser writer might turn this into a new age scene of a superficial peace, all yoga mats and platitudes. C J, instead imagines a doorway or maybe even yawning chasm leading to the lair of a judgemental maybe even mocking beast. “Too much damn introspection”. Another trope of meditation and hypnosis circles is reaching out to the quote ‘higher self’. For me this poem points to a deeper self - not the paragon of enlightenment and reason so often discussed, but a wilder, more powerful aspect of personality. Waiting to chill our preconceptions and wipe away our convenient delusions in an icy blizzard. But if we can get through our internal autumns and face that waiting dark and cold, what spring awaits us on the other side?
Do we take the challenge of the poem’s final lines and face “the missing cacophony” or remain nomads chasing ever greener pastures and more distractions? Layered, melodic, and haunting- C J’s work goes from strength to strength.
The Bellageist series has truly cemented its place with this story. It has created a universe much like Tolkien’s middle-earth, the Star Trek series, the world of Warhammer 40K or even Alexandre Dumas’ court of the Musketeers. I believe that many of the great novelists (whether through intention or intuition) reach a point where their individual works have come together to create a temple, maybe even an antenna. Many writers speak of a process of channelling and taming a flood of information rather than carefully constructing plots, a more wild and possibly even dangerous prospect to be sure. Perhaps I’m being a bit presumptuous in my imaginings of Derek’s creative process, but the Bellageist universe has certainly bolted from the stables!
The story opens on a patriotic pageant rousing the downtrodden working classes with displays of light and colour. A current and timeless theme but definitely presented in a fresh and vibrant manner. The prose combines the terrifying, sweeping grandeur of Orwell’s Oceania government complexes with the sheer visceral desperation of Dickens’ Victorian alleyways. The writing is minute and evocative, the environment mapped out in terrifying detail. Dirty streets and ragged clothing form a juxtaposition with neon strip lights and pristine medical equipment of the government agents. The environment is not just described though, it is felt by the protagonist. Every sight and sound is grounded in deep anxieties and dark memories, the writing creates a live, anxious and very oppressive world. As a regular reader of Bellageist, the story takes on an extra dimension - I’ve seen the silver spires of the ascended from the other side. Perhaps the watching populace would be even more terrified if they knew how like us these strange cybernetic beings are. Petty, vengeful, and very unpredictable.
Without spoiling too much of the plot, this is a first person journey through the streets of a conquered planet in the Bellageist universe during the “Emancipation Day” celebrations. While I have talked at length about the scale of the writing and the quality of the world building, this is a tight, intimate and claustrophobic story. Everything is grounded in the personal. Fear, empathy, and regret are constant companions through both a physical science-fiction nightmare and an internal psychological trial. This is a fantastic journey in and of itself, but I might suggest reading one or two of Derek’s other pieces first to get the most out of it - By Angels Born serves as an exhilarating introduction to Bellageist and of course the epic - Chains Of A Demi-God an incredible novel length saga - I can’t over emphasise how thought-provoking and perception challenging this work is.
I’m very excited to see where Bellageist goes next - the possibilities are truly endless.
Please take a few moments to read the works of these authors, artists, and creators and if you find their work as life-affirming and life changing as I do, then please let them know. We need to support and cherish these voices.
You can meet some of my other friends in the previous instalments: 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
If you want to keep me in caffeine (and keep the ghostly voices whispering for the poetry side of things) - consider clicking below. For any who do so, you have my deepest gratitude.
I hope you enjoy these beautiful works as much as I enjoyed seeing them and writing about them.
You can meet some of my other friends in the previous instalments: 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Substack has proven to be a treasure trove and I already have a few more gifted writers lined up for my next review newsletter.
Subscribe to Claim your FREE book of Poetry and art Hypnos Hermes - an epic poem presented as a medieval manuscript. A fantastical story written in verse enriched by many colourful and vibrant artworks.
If you want to keep me in caffeine (and keep the ghostly voices whispering for the poetry side of things) - consider clicking below. For any who do so, you have my deepest gratitude.
These are tremendously thoughtful and insightful reviews Graeme.