Cursed by Jeremy C. Shipp

Cursed
by Jeremy C. Shipp
Raw Dog Screaming Press
Release Date: Nov 01, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-933293-86-8
ISBN: 978-1-933293-87-5
Trade Hardcover/Trade Paperback
216 pages
Horror

Cicely and Nicholas have discovered they are cursed. Cicely must forever hold on to a tennis ball, which mysteriously appeared in her hand one night, or the world will end. Nicholas’s curse is seemingly more benign but actually has the power to estrange every person in his life: someone is fated to slap him in the face before the stroke of midnight each day.

When the two compare notes, they begin to suspect their invisible tormentor is someone they both know. As the behaviourally challenged couple embark on a hunt for the monster, we are continually stunned by the strangeness of their lives but are also drawn in by their valiant efforts to embrace life. Cicely lives in an ever changing, self-made fairy tale, while Nicholas struggles to rise above his less than admirable past.

Written in minimalist fashion and relying heavily on dialogue, Jeremy C. Shipp’s new novel will both terrify and inspire.

I love Shipp’s writing. I’ve done so since the moment I read his short story, Dog (http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/dog/). His imagination is bizarre, upsetting, often humorous and always brilliant. This strange and often hard to understand style of writing is what I expected from Cursed. Instead, I experienced a more balanced and quite understandable story. Perhaps it was the constant lists created by his protagonist; maybe it was the continuous dialogue between characters; it could even have been the structure imposed by the clear plot line of the novel. Whatever the reasons, Cursed manages to stay true to Shipp’s Bizarro roots while also demonstrating a more even-handed or, dare I say, mature approach.

If you want to experience a different kind of horror fiction, something fresh and interesting, this excellent novel would be a fine choice. I highly recommend it.

Copyright © Clayton Clifford Bye 2009