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RATING: |
Date of Release: February 2003 |
Publisher: Gauntlet |
Review Source: |
One problem...
His then-publisher didn't think it was such a hot idea, and Matheson dropped the novel after writing the first quarter. But now, after all these years, we get a chance to read what could have turned in to the Matheson masterpiece.
In COME FYGURES COME SHADOWES we meet Claire Nielsen, a bright young girl who is being forced by her mother (a medium) to practice the black arts for the customers who arrive every night. No matter how hard she tries not to, Claire is forced to give in to The Fear and let it control her in violent (and sometimes sexual) ways. Her father, Bjorn, has left the family (mainly due to the mother and his own drinking problem) and Claire receives no support from her gothic sister, Vera, or her loving young brother, Ranald, who is too scared to act himself. Claire's internal fight is just as harrowing as those she has with her mother, and it's only a matter of time before her mother (and the spirit world) break her will completely.
But does she have the strength to step back from the edge? Can she fight her family and the spirit world at the same time?
In the end, of course, we really don't know. Matheson's Afterword only fleetingly summarises the rest of the novel and doesn't give the reader the full view of what might have been. We're left hanging, much like Claire. Which is a shame, as this short taste of COME FYGURES COME SHADOWES proves that this could have been an amazing, if lengthy, novel.
This novella is an interesting insight into the early career of the master.
It's just a shame we're left with so many questions unanswered.
