Customer Reviews

Fungus of the Heart

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Fungus of the Heart is a collection of stories by Bram Stoker Award nominee, Jeremy C. Shipp. The tales take place in worlds similar to our own, but offer a twisted reflection of the reality we live in.

Undead ambassadors lurk just outside the suburbs. A powerful protector will kill anyone he has to kill to see his lost love, or will he? A ghost works as a human whisperer. An anthropomorphic walrus and a dead bear mend the hearts of the world one poacher at a time.

Each of the thirteen tales is unified by the theme of heart.

Fire, water, wind, and earth are thankfully absent.

Maybe the author had a definite meaning for these stories. Maybe he didn't. It doesn't matter.

This is the world of Bizarro fiction.

When reading this book, you will see what you want to see: yourself, your neighbor, your dog. Reading the same story twice will produce two distinct experiences and emotions. No one will have the exact same journey as anyone else.

If fiction that follows the conventions of "normal" stories is the only thing you want to read, then stay away from this book. If you read it, you will be confused, challenged, and possibly even entertained.

The author has a website with a link to several of his short stories free online. Go there. Test the waters. If you don't run away screaming or stamp away in disgust, then you probably want to read more. Fungus of the Heart is a great place to start.

Ideals are ever-changing, often unattainable, pipe-dreams. Love does not always conquer all. Fulfilling the role of "knight-in-shining-armor," protecting everyone and everything he loves, is not always possible for the innocent and idealistic young man. Some failure awakens him from the sweet dream and a type of erosion of the spirit begins to take hold. As one matures, a fungus of sorts takes root in the depths of one's heart. This insidious growth gradually spreads, forcing one to alter the ideals formed during the innocence of youth. Jeremy C. Shipp's Fungus of the Heart, through its thirteen provocative tales, shows us the author's own growth as a writer. The more light-hearted tales in his Sheep & Wolves collection, and even in his novels Vacation and the Bram Stoker Award nominated Cursed, have given way to more troubling and complicated stories, challenging the reader to ponder this Fungus of the Heart.

The book opens with a story called "The Sun Never Rises in the Big City," a Blade Runner-esque story of class stratification and quite possibly a forbidden boundary-crossing love. The main character, Frank, is a human private eye, who "owns" a "rag" who goes by the name of Adelaide. She seems to distract him from both his wife and his job until she's killed while accompanying him on a stake-out. It's a solid story with a noir feel that leaves the reader to fill in the blanks regarding who these "rags," and some Nymph creatures, really are, and what their place in society may be. The story conveys a message of love and life being both precious and expendable.

Another theme that threads through the book is one of vulnerability and one's ability or inability to change a life situation. "Just Another Vampire Story" deals with a woman's novel method of escaping a ruined marriage after learning of her spouse's infidelity. While she is able to act and bring change to her life, we find "The Boy in the Cabinet" a bit less able to change his own living conditions until forced by the man who would ruin his best friend.

Fungus of the Heart is full of stories of failed chivalry, shifting self-awareness, and the search for inner truth (even if that truth is not what we want to know). Jeremy C. Shipp, as always, does a beautiful job spinning these subtle yarns into stories of gold.

Thanks, Jeremy, for another great read.

Jeremy C. Shipp's new collection of bizarro short stories Fungus of the Heart contains elements of horror, crime noir, and quite often dark fantasy. Mr. Shipp has a very distinguishable style even amongst the growing number of authors writing bizarro fiction. He manages to be descriptive and concise at the same time all while spinning quick moving and engrossing stories. Fungus of the Heart is not near as dark or horror heavy as Shipp's previous collection, Sheep and Wolves, relying more on emotional wallop than out and out scares. The thirteen fantastic stories in Fungus of the Heart all share the common theme of relationships. Shipp takes looks at desire and love in always entertaining and unique ways. Each story is unusual and each packs a different feel but the collection as a whole has a personal feel that pulls you in even deeper.

The stories are as follows.

`The Sun Never Rises in the Big City' opens the collection with a pulpy noir story complete with a hard edged detective. The main character is working on the death of a `rag' and the story gets weird as it twists towards a crescendo.

The simple title of The Haunted House betrays the complexity of the actual story about a ghost that helps the living deal with traumatic events. Ash is a ghost that possesses the body of his `clients' and on this particular case everyone involved grows in unexpected ways.

Fungus of the Heart is the story of a man struggling to gain the power to free his kidnapped love from the mysterious `fortress'. Our hero is a Sentential (body guard) for Protectors (or powerful beings that watch over and keep villages safe). The catch, in order to gain the power he needs he must eat the heart mushroom of a number of noble Protectors.

The Boy in the Cabinet has only a paper cup and Death Cat for friends but he still has a twisted journey of self discovery waiting for him.

One of my personal favorites, Just Another Vampire Story, is anything but common blood sucker lore rehashed and covered with glitter. The story grabs a hold of your heart right away and drags you to a distant cave inhabited by vampires every bit as unique as you would expect from Jeremy C. Shipp. Strong horror with a heart.

Ticketyboo is a place Jeff and Jill go to recover from the trauma caused by a mysterious accident with their parents. This story is a dark genre blurring visit to a surreal world of healing.

The Escapist is the dark fantasy tale of a gnome who escapes from the enemy goblins' Farm and befriends a gnome general who will stop at nothing to destroy the goblins.

Ula Morales is the story of an antlered daughter of a magic tree who lives in a surreal forest.

Spider House is a quick weird story that deals with war and the trauma it predicates.

Monkey Boy and The Monsters is the fun story of Monkey Boy the monster slayer and it follows him as he battles his foul enemies and learns about family life.

Kevin Donihe, Agape Walrus is the wacky story of an all loving walrus that lives with a zombie polar bear in the hills of east Tennessee. Classic bizarro.

In Kingdom Come a man searches for his missing boy in a world that is haunting, dark, and futuristic.

How to Make A Clown closes this great bizarro collection with the story of a man with a clown in his attic.

I enjoyed some stories more than others but I'm a gore loving horror hound that doesn't always go for the emotional rollercoaster that a collection like Fungus of the Heart offers. Though not as terrifying as I typically prefer, Mr. Shipp has put together a highly accessible work of bizarro that could gain him fans from all corners of the reading world. I enjoyed this collection and will seek out more of Shipp's work. His ability to go from whimsical to heart wrenching in only a few short words makes him a talent to watch in my eyes.

In this latest short story collection Jeremy Shipp explores what happens to relationships when the rules of society go out the window. In his surreal worlds, he explores the heartbreak, desire, fear, and loss that go into these relationships. Full of quirkiness, horror, humor and the just plain weird, Shipp fans should be pleased with FUNGUS OF THE HEART.

My favorite story of the collection Fungus of the Heart is an almost medieval yet otherworldly tale about Nightingale, a Sentinel seeking the power he needs to save his love Cailin who was captured and is being held in the Fortress. Nightingale will stop at nothing to save her, even if it means turning into a monster to do so. Another favorite of mine is Ticketyboo about a brother and sister who must live with a guardian until they can learn to deal with the death of their parents. Monkey Boy and the Monsters is a funny story about Monkey Boy who is hired by various people to fight the monsters of society with his companion Soapy, literally a bar of soap.

Other great stories include The haunted House about Ash, a spiritual being who helps his clients remember and deal with traumatic events in their lives; Boy in the Cabinet who is afraid to leave the cabinet he lives in because he is afraid of change; Just Another Vampire Story about a man who cheats on his girlfriend and the aftermath of his actions; and The Escapist which tells of a war between Gnomes and Goblins and the lengths one individual is willing to go to finally end it.

All of the stories in FUNGUS OF THE HEART are fantastic reads. Some are sweet, others are tragic but all will leave you quite satisfied in the end.

FUNGUS OF THE HEART is an intriguing collection of stories. It's hard to classify the collection with one category. It has elements of fantasy, the bizarre, horror, crime, and drama. Some of the stories reminded me of fairy tales. There is a wide array of characters throughout: zombie bears, gnomes, clowns, boys in boxes, vampires, and ghosts, to name a few. It's clear that some of the stories speak to current issues, such as the "moral machine" that exists.

From a personal standpoint, I was disappointed with this collection. It didn't have much to do with Shipp's writing ability; it is clear that Shipp is a very talented writer and has a knack for using words sparingly to efficiently tell stories. I was disappointed more with the content. The biggest issue was I simply didn't care much for the types of stories in the collection. I'm not a huge fan of fantasy and fairy tales. And while I do enjoy some bizzaro writing, the bizarre in this collection is of a different breed than what I like. Also, at times when I was reading a story I would have a feeling of déjà vu, like I had already read it earlier in the collection. The only story that really stuck with me was the first one in the collection, "The Sun Never Rises in the Big City."

I'm having a hard time separating my personal preferences from the quality of the work itself with this one. Clearly, Shipp is a talented writer. And I'm pretty sure I'll read more of his work in the future. So if you're interested in the fantastic and strange, I would recommend you check this one out. If you're not, you may want to pass on it.

Ideals are ever-changing, often unattainable, pipe-dreams. Love does not always conquer all. Fulfilling the role of "knight-in-shining-armor," protecting everyone and everything he loves, is not always possible for the innocent and idealistic young man. Some failure awakens him from the sweet dream and a type of erosion of the spirit begins to take hold. As one matures, a fungus of sorts takes root in the depths of one's heart. This insidious growth gradually spreads, forcing one to alter the ideals formed during the innocence of youth. Jeremy C. Shipp's Fungus of the Heart, through its thirteen provocative tales, shows us the author's own growth as a writer. The more light-hearted tales in his Sheep & Wolves collection, and even in his novels Vacation and the Bram Stoker Award nominated Cursed, have given way to more troubling and complicated stories, challenging the reader to ponder this Fungus of the Heart.

The book opens with a story called "The Sun Never Rises in the Big City," a Blade Runner-esque story of class stratification and quite possibly a forbidden boundary-crossing love. The main character, Frank, is a human private eye, who "owns" a "rag" who goes by the name of Adelaide. She seems to distract him from both his wife and his job until she's killed while accompanying him on a stake-out. It's a solid story with a noir feel that leaves the reader to fill in the blanks regarding who these "rags," and some Nymph creatures, really are, and what their place in society may be. The story conveys a message of love and life being both precious and expendable.

Another theme that threads through the book is one of vulnerability and one's ability or inability to change a life situation. "Just Another Vampire Story" deals with a woman's novel method of escaping a ruined marriage after learning of her spouse's infidelity. While she is able to act and bring change to her life, we find "The Boy in the Cabinet" a bit less able to change his own living conditions until forced by the man who would ruin his best friend.

Fungus of the Heart is full of stories of failed chivalry, shifting self-awareness, and the search for inner truth (even if that truth is not what we want to know). Jeremy C. Shipp, as always, does a beautiful job spinning these subtle yarns into stories of gold.

Thanks, Jeremy, for another great read.

Another great collection of short stories by the author Jeremy Shipp. If you are a fan of the bizarro genre be sure to pick up this and all his other books.

I'd like to start by making it clear that my three star rating does not come from any lack of quality in the work. I do not believe there are inferior stories in this book. There were a couple that felt derivative of each other, but none that were outright bad. The three star rating is to me a way of placing this work in the Shipp canon. In spite of some excellent stories here, I feel Fungus of the Heart lacks the bite that I expect from Jeremy Shipp. It has the same bold flights of fancy that are found in Sheep and Wolves and plenty of good emotional content, but I feel too often ventures into a whimsical Gaimanish realm of Urban Fantasy that would be welcome in a few stories, but in an entire collection is hard to take. Fans of Shipp's other work might want to go elsewhere because Fungus of the Heart does not always feel like it is by the Jeremy Shipp you know and love. This is no value judgement, because god knows too many artists lose their talent by stagnating and not allowing themselves to become something else. Good stuff, but I can take or leave Urban Fantasy Shipp. I like Horror and Bizarro Shipp better.

You and I, we exist in a somewhat different plane than the rest of them. We know this. It mostly goes unspoken because that's not why we're here (just to be different), no, we're dragged in by an assortment of things: a mind-expanding book, an amazing movie, an unforgeable conversation, a song that we feel was custom-tailored to fit our hearts. We get a taste and then we want more. And I wouldn't be mentioning it now, if I weren't in the process of making a point, because part of the task of maintaining a true citizenship is a quiet dignity (or perhaps a silent mystique).

This bizarre, ever-fluctuating terrain upon which we all roam (mostly in secrecy on account of the fear that people will wrongly judge our character) it's not a desolate one -- it has many inhabitant's, but few who keep the grounds. It's always an amazing moment for me when I come upon an artist and have the feeling that I've stumbled across the next wave of scene-skulptors, the newest in a batch of cartographers. That's part of the reason why I do this blog.

Having read Jeremy C. Shipp's collection of bizarro short fiction Fungus of the Heart (which touches upon themes of horror and scifi with elements of dark fantasy) , I can safely say that I've caught a glimpse of one of our newest terraformers.

Come on in, and I'll tell you more about it.

Before we go further I have to tell you, because I think this book is best taken straight with no spoiler dilution, I'm not going to give you several accounts of my favorite stories and why I liked them. I know that is customary for the reviews of short stories, but I have to draw the line here. We will touch upon the first story, slightly, and the rest is up to you.

If you want more details, there are other reviews you can go to and if you truly need that, I encourage you to stop reading now and seek one out. I'd hate to think I turned you away from what could possibly be my book of the year. Just know that I think you should experience it the way I did, with absolutely no predetermined opinions. Whether or not you actually do that is your choice.

I realize that means I'm asking you to blind-purchase a book with little to no information up front, other than the title, genre and a short description of the first story. I'm ok with that. I don't mind putting DWV's reputation on the line. That's how much faith I have in these stories. Plain and simple.

Fungus of the Heart is a great read. This man's tales are infectious. I actually had to stagger my own reading habits over the course of a week, even though I could have devoured the whole book in one sitting, just so I could allow for some time to absorb between each story. It wasn't a decision I came to until I'd finished the first story, The Sun Never Rises in the Big City, and I knew I'd need to reflect on it for a while.

The Sun Never Rises in the Big City starts off as an ambiguous (slightly askew) take on the classic detective noir (think Chinatown in a funhouse mirror). And that would have been enough for me. It obviously wasn't enough for Mr. Shipp, however - because he takes it further than that. He works it like a piece of carnival taffy. The story get's bigger. It begins to explore untouched territory. Who we are. The nature of our love relationships. The meaning of need and how we can weild the art of manipulation.

Part of the fun of reading this short story was those moments when the camera suddenly pulled back and I realized that the artist weaving the tale had something much bigger in mind than I thought he intended. That the noir setting, and sudden dip into sci-fi were just tools he used to draw me into a much deeper meditation on the stuff that makes us up when the chips are down.

At moments like those, which are quite common in all of the book's short stories, I'd be left staring back at the pages, mouth agape, just waiting for a cue. Then I'd chuckle because, yet again, he'd duped me and I'd spend the rest of the day thinking about the grounds we'd crossed. It was a quite a rewarding experience!

It's an experience I want all of you to have as well! I'm not going to waste much more of your time, because you need to head over to the Raw Dog Screaming Press page and pre-order your copy right now! You don't want to wait on this one. You need to secure yourself a slice of this pie while you're thinking about it.

I look forward to the discussions we can have after you've read the book. Jeremy C. Shipp's prose is handled with the kind of simple complexity that goes down easy and then begins to build itself into something more while it's in your stomach, digesting. It's a tricky feat to pull off, but he does it.

Each of the stories are so unique that you'd think he'd have trouble tying them all together, but it's his artistry and his view of societal norms and what happens to the relationships between people when they are stressed to the seams, that ties it all up in a tight package.

This book challenges the roles you and I play as humans and it is truly a memorable experience. Don't miss it!