Customer Reviews

Old Flames

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Old Flames contains two novellas, the title piece, and a reprinting of Ketchum's harrowing "Right to Life." Both feature strong women in central roles, but that's where the similarities end, as each piece veers off in its own unique direction.

Ketchum's heroines are a study in contrasts. Both are tough, and not to be trifled with, but each expresses that toughness in radically different ways. Dora, the focus of the novella "Old Flames," is by the far the most fearsome of the two, a veritable force of nature, a woman you don't want as an enemy--Dora knows what she wants and does whatever she needs to do to get it. Although her aggressive nature has served her well over the years, it leads her astray in "Old Flames," as she discovers that what she desperately wants is to hook up with a former lover. There's only one problem--he's happily married. Deciding that her goal is worth any cost, Dora embarks on a dark path, one which leads to deception and murder.

Sara, the protagonist of the grueling second piece, displays a quieter strength, brought out by the trauma of being kidnapped as she is about to visit an abortion clinic. Imprisoned and subjected to physical and mental abuse, she endures, holding on by the slightest of threads as her captors seek to break her will, and, ultimately, take her baby for their own. Although she finds herself in an intolerable, oppressive environment, she never loses her dignity, and never gives up on herself. She marshals her anger and strength, waiting for one decisive, explosive moment to seek her freedom, surprising readers only a little more than she surprises herself.

In both novellas, Ketchum continues his tradition of focusing on people's reactions to extreme situations, and of building to violent crescendos. In "Old Flames," Dora initiates the action, and mesmerized readers can only watch as she and the supporting cast struggle to deal with the fallout. "Right to Life" provides a compelling, character study of a woman in jeopardy, leaving readers to ponder how they would cope in a similar situation. The first a tragedy, the second more uplifting, each novella provides ample evidence of precisely why Ketchum's work is so highly prized by his peers and fans.

Many horror novels have their own bits of oddness, but Jack Ketchum's Old Flames has an oddity that is pretty rare. Although it is seeming a book featuring the story Old Flames with a "bonus novella" called Right to Life, it is actually the latter story that is the longer of the two. It's almost like eating a dinner in which the dessert is more important than the entrée. I suppose there's a good reason - probably because Old Flames is a new story and Right to Life is a reprint - but it still is a little strange. Weirdness of structure aside, however, this is still a good book.

Both stories are tales of non-supernatural horror. Old Flames is the story of Dora, a fortyish woman who's love life is going nowhere, leading her to track down her high school lover and meet up with him in a "chance" encounter. He's now happily married, but Dora's a woman who never backs down from a challenge, even if she needs to do criminal acts to achieve her goals.

Right to Life focuses on a different woman, Sara, who finds herself accidentally pregnant with her married lover's child. She opts for an abortion but is kidnapped outside the clinic by a sadistic couple who will subject her to increasing cruel physical and psychological torture. Their ultimate objective, however, is to take her child.

It is a wise choice on Ketchum's part not to make either of these stories truly novel length. Old Flames is an intense read, but there's not enough plot or character for a long book. Right to Life is even more intense - it is akin to that new horror film category known as torture-porn - which makes for compelling reading but also makes the reader want the experience to end. I haven't read much Ketchum beyond this book, but if this is representative of his work, he is a pretty good horror writer who knows how to mix suspense and terror very well.

In reviewing this book let me tell you first of all that it is actually two novellas, I did not know that when I acquired it so I was a bit shocked when the first one ended and half the book was still left. The book is well written, as are all of Ketchum's novels, however I didn't feel that this was one of his better novels. It will always be hard to top "The Girl Next Door" but I felt myself very distanced from this book.

The first and title story is "Old Flames" where Dora who has been through a number of abusive relationships, seeks out an ex-boyfriend from high school. Unfortunately he is happily married with children... but Dora can't let that stand in her way. I had a difficult time with this story, not because it wasn't believable, but mainly because it was told from Dora's point of view and she was such a toon that as a reader I couldn't connect with her.

The second novella is "Right To Life" about a woman on the way to an abortion clinic who is kidnapped by people who want the baby... and more. The main character in this is Sara, a strong 40-something who is pregnant by her lover (of course he is married.) The people who kidnap her are complete toons... unfortunately this is not new... it is basically a rehash of "Girl Next Door" with a pregnant woman substituted in for the little girl.

After now having read several of Ketchum's novels it has dawned on me that he seems to think that adultery is a regular occurrence (almost as common as breathing), and should be punished and by terrible means, generally torture and/or the death of your family and loved ones. As I said before, this is VERY well written, the problem is that if you have read most of his other works, this doesn't feel at all new. And the angle that it is written from is a hard one to really dig your mind into. If you have read everything else he's written the feel free to get your Ketchum Buzz on, but just remember it's not one of his best.

After reading Ketchum's gross fest masterpiece "Off Season" and its sequel "Offspring" I was always under the impression that his works were all about psychical terror, tearing out limbs and such, but this novel surprised me, it gave me a glimpse of his writer's mind and the way he toys with stories and ideas. I am not saying that icky things aren't happening here, they are but along a different story line, this time the evil people are seemingly average folks and not cannibals who live in caves...unfortunately death sucks no matter how pretty or polite the killer is.

The book is composed of two novellas. First is about Dora, a woman who never found happiness with men ( mostly on her own accord) and they way she choose a better way to quench her thirst for closure and the other about Sara, who gets kidnapped on her way to the abortion clinic. Both are pretty short but there is some meat in each one, my favorite was the second even though it was more ruthless and insane, the first is more like a nightly news story gone psycho but the second one gave me chills. I enjoyed them both but usually I prefer longer novels and I think both would benefit from some stretching. I never felt that Dora was as crazy as the words made her, it seemed like I was supposed to be scared of her because I was told to, not because she was indeed insane. Sara on the other had more of my sympathy; I just wish the ending was longer, the buildup was so good that I wished for more. Her capturers were indeed two loons who were in a huge need of a gluteus maximus kicking and Ketchum did a good job of making me furious at them.

Overall this was a fun and super fast read. I think its interesting how he made Dora the menace and Sara the tortured one, two sides of a female that join in one novel, kinda neat.

- Kasia S.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Ketchum has some of the best and most readable prose that has ever been produced from the Horror genre.

This paperback edition of OLD FLAMES comes with the additional RIGHT TO LIFE, which has been printed elsewhere, but was new to me. So on with the show:

OLD FLAMES is a take on the fatal attraction story, and much like Ketchum's other works, we are dealing with someone who is clearly on the slippery slope to insanity when we first meet them. She is likeable, and we can relate to her current situation. When she decides to pursue her old high school sweetheart, I think anyone who's been burned by love can feel for her attempt to return to the safety of one of her relationships that actually made sense. She refuses to be a victim (shown again in an altercation she gets into at a bar, where she puts her money where her mouth is to a potential assaulter).

Of course where the more mentally unbalanced elements come in is her ferocious drive to see to it that her goal of winning back her ex is accomplished. Fans of Ketchum's extreme horror may be disappointed, but this is still a story that takes a familiar idea and pushes it just a tad over the line of most writers. Not that far by Ketchum standards, but still more than most.

The brisk pace and short length of the story are really in the end the setbacks. At it's length, there is no deep metaphor or theme deconstructed here; merely a straight forward thriller. Something that would make a good episode of an anthology show, but not enough meat for a film. No one can accuse Ketchum of wasting words or dragging his story on, but on the other hand I'd really like Ketchum to build up a rich, complex story that had something larger to say on the human condition. Still, a better than average stalker tale.

RIGHT TO LIFE, as others have said, is on a more familiar theme for Ketchum of torture, humiliation and human confinement. Readers of THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, or several of his shorts that appeared in PEACEABLE KINGDOM will find a story that compliments his other explorations of this particular nasty subject, but on it's own is not something that will go down in history as the end all.

That isn't to say some of the more horrific imagry and descriptions won't stay with you for a bit on a purely visceral level. Once again Ketchum is in his 'one giant leap over the line' element of extreme depravity, and several passages will make you stop and think 'good lord, Ketchum has thought this out pretty well. You sick boy!'. There is something darker to be shown about the heart of man in this story as well. Where a lesser writer would just create a nasty plot to be filled with deranged people doing deranged things, Ketchum has once again struck deeper bedrock in the nature and mental motives of those who are out to fundamentally control others and do what they would like with them. Not merely for the sake of physical pleasure and sadism, but to see another human being mentally broken and completely subjugated.

I found this aspect to be more unsettling than the individual acts of horror themselves, because there are people you walk by every day on the street who have this kind of mentality, and for whatever reason have not yet acted on their impulses and nihilistic life philosphy. Although what was laid out was wrapped up with satisfaction, we really aren't dealing with that complex of a story aside from some briefly touched on elements of the dark side of humanity.

I have no regrets reading this 2 story set. Nothing felt flawed, simply not enough felt built up signifigantly either.

I was quite excited to learn that Leisure was publishing a new novel by Ketchum. It felt like ages since we'd read something new from him. But I have to admit that it was quite disappointing to see that the novel itself, Old Flames, was barely 125 pages long. The rest of the length is given to the 'bonus novella' Right to Life, one of Ketchum's best.

Old Flames is one of Ketchum lesser's effort. I would actually only give it two stars. It is too brief, and none of it really feels fleshed out. When Dora is dumped by her boyfriend, she decides that she needs to find her high school love and rekindle things with him. Although he is now married with children, nothing will stop Dora from getting what she wants. Sounds simple? It is. Sounds too simple? It is. The story is uneven and never really fleshes anything out. Many scenes feel like they were placed there only to add a few more words to a short story. There are scenes that are totally unecessary (as when Dora takes a side trip and meets a man. The point where Dora flips and becomes a jealous murderess is never obvious to the reader. Most of her decisions seem to be unaccounted for and too out of the blue.

Then, there's Right To Life. This story is the perfect example of Ketchum's talent. No wonder Stephen King called Ketchum the scariest man in America! In this story (which is much more a novel than Old Flames is) a pregnant woman is abducted and tortured by a twisted, sadistic couple. It's never really clear why this couple abducts her, it's never really clear what they want out of her. This is what makes the story so terrifying. As they play with her mind and torture her, you never know where this story will take you. Yes it is revolting, yes it is shocking, but it's also a perfect character study that tries to explain the evils of this world.

So what do you do when a book collects two story, one that feels like an outline to a much better novel (or a story that would have been much better as a short story) and one story that is perfect and terrifying? Leisure should have advertised this novel as Right To Life, including a bonus new novella by the author instead of doing it the other way around. That way, maybe I wouldn't feel so cheated by the book itself. Either way, buy the book, skip the first story and read the second to meet the true talents of Jack Ketchum.

Jack Ketchum is the guy who always delivers real life horrors to his devoted readers and always manages to make the story and characters stick to your brain long after you're done reading it.

Old Flames is about a wild woman named Dora who is tired of her men dumping her and treating her with disrespect. She finds an agency that finds 'old flames' and decides to look up her old college boyfriend who is now happily married with two kids ... but not for long.

Some readers might say this is a fatal attraction story, but like I said, if you want real life horror, look no further; anyone who has had a possessive boyfriend or girlfriend will cringe at the possibilities this story throws into your mind.

The second half of this book contains the bonus novella, Right To Life. Leisure Books still continue to bring us some of the best horror authors in the biz.

5 Stars for Jack 'The Madman' Ketchum's Old Flames!

"Who's the scariest guy in America? Probably Jack Ketchum." - Stephen King

Stephen King is right. Jack Ketchum is probably the scariest guy in America. He's definitely one of my favourite writers and when Old Flames was released, I rushed out to get it. I was disappointed when I realized it wasn't a full-length novel, just a book comprised of two novellas. But, as usual, Ketchum delivers.

Both novellas feature strong female characters. One as an antagonist and one as a protagonist. Old Flames is about a recently dumped woman, Dora, who uses a service called Flame Finders to find her high school sweetheart. To her dismay, he is married and has children. But that won't stop Dora from staking her claim. It's Fatal Attraction for the 00's. With so many people now looking up old flames and friends via Facebook and MySpace readers can easily relate.

This novella moves quickly and had me frantically flipping the pages. I couldn't wait to see what crazy Dora would do next. The writing is superb, as it always is with Ketchum. I wish it was longer so the characters were more fleshed out. They're fleshed out enough for a 130 page novella, but I think it would've been interesting to have more back story on Dora, and why she is such a psycho. I also thought the ending was confusing. I had to re-read the last chapters a couple times until I understood what happened. But I still enjoyed it.

Old Flames is a pretty good novella, but I think it would have made an amazing novel.

The second novella, Right to Life, has previously been released on its own. I was more excited for this one than the title story because I had been wanting to read it for awhile. But people who have already read Right to Life may feel ripped off buying a book for a 130 page novella.

Right to Life is about a pregnant woman, Sara, who is kidnapped outside of an abortion clinic by a pro-life couple. The couple, who can't have children of their own, intend to keep Sara as their prisoner until the baby is born.

Ironically, this is the better novella of the two. Sara is a protagonist who I really cared about and the couple who kidnaps her are villains I loved to hate. The story moves quickly, I read it in one sitting. Unlike Old Flames, Right to Life is the perfect length. It is very intense and has some brutal violence, which would be too overwhelming for novel length. I found myself disgusted with some parts, but I think my strong reaction is just a testament to how amazing it is. Readers who don't feel that way toward stories with brutal violence, may want to steer clear of this novella. Ketchum is great at writing realistic horror novels involving situations that you can see happening in real life.

I realized I had already read it after I started reading it. I thought it was a new nonel by Jack Ketchum, but it was just a short story; however the book came fast and was in good shape. Thank you.

A victim of too many abusive relationships, antique dealer Dora Welles decides to seek out Jim, an old boyfriend from high school and she believes, her one true love. Never mind that Jim is happily married with two teenage children, living clear across the country on the West Coast. At the beginning of "Old Flames" Dora comes across as a sympathetic victim, but it is soon apparent she is anything but. A manipulative liar, Dora will do anything to pay back those she believes have wronged her or to have a relationship with her old sweetheart. "Old Flames" is riveting down to the last page.

What I found most intriguing about Dora is how eerily similar she is to Pamela Pierson, the antagonist in the novel, "Shades of Darkness, Shades of Grace". Both are master manipulators who are relentless in their pursuit of money or love. Each is a monster, hell bent on getting what she wants, regardless or who or what stands in her way. The only difference between the two women? In "Old Flames" Dora is fiction (thank god!) while "Shades of Darkness, Shades of Grace" is inspired by a true story. In both stories neither Dora nor Pamela is easily forgettable.