Apocrypha Sequence: Inferno (2011)

Sex :
Violence :
Author Shane Jiraiya Cummings
Publisher Smashwords Edition
Length 24 pages
Genre Daikaiju
Blurb None Listed
Country

Review

"Have you ever heard the legend of the Kraken?" - Dana

Cummings presents three longer works in Apocrypha Sequence: Inferno as he toils through the rich fields of Daikaiju. Each story in the collection focuses on giant monster attacks, or the aftermath of giant monster attacks, and surprisingly for modern horror each story finishes with a glimmer of hope. Previously we have seen just how good Cummings is at flash and short fiction, Inferno allows us an opportunity to assess the Author via the longer novella form.

With Beneath Southern Waters Cummings tackles the legendary kraken and envisages the creature as being a cross between a giant squid and a sort of crustacean. Which of course allows for both sea and land based attacks. Our fisherman's basket attacks the small West Australian coastal town of Esperance, was there a reason? - leaving it to the military, Journalist Bill Markham, and whale expert Dana, to devise a solution in the face of an apparently unbeatable foe.

Besides being a cracking, see what I did there, read Cummings has a number of things happening in Beneath Southern Waters that had me nodding my head in approval. Like Dan O'Bannon's script for Alien (1979) he focuses on the male lead character, everything is from Bill Markham's perspective, but when the going gets tough Dana comes up with a solution that proves to be a harbinger for something else. Nice twist in the tale that leaves the Reader wondering just what else might be out there. Beneath Southern Waters is quintessential Daikaiju with a giant monster destroying a coastal town, and with the Scientist coming up with a solution just when things look really dire. Yes you can draw parallels between the story and all those 1950s Big Bug movies out of North America. Cummings hints at reasons for the kraken's appearance without getting too bogged down in detail, though global warming has replaced nuclear accidents as the root cause for anxiety in the modern world. Perhaps the only weakness with the story is Bill Markham's motivation re his brother's death that never really goes anywhere. Minor point we're all here for the honking great monsters Bro!

Central, no pun intended, to the collection is Shane Jiraiya Cummings' sensationally good novella Phoenix and the Darkness of Wolves that mixes in fantasy and horror elements in a fire blasted Australian post apocalyptic world. Strangely we already reviewed the novella as a separate release but I simply cannot find where the hell the review went to! Central character Damon has been following a Phoenix, which is either a fire elemental or Damon's spirit depending on viewpoint, across Australia in the hopes of freeing his family from their half lives as Wolves who can only appear at dusk. Well okay that's not the best plot description but lets not give away too many points here. Simply put shadow wolves who want to devour Damon were once his family, they can be returned to life if Damon catches up with the Phoenix. That sound better or even more confusing?

Okay so the Daikaiju element comes into focus on a sort of sidebar here. Parts of Europe and Asian have been decimated by giant beasts who then turn their attention to the land Down Under. A Druid circle enacts blood magic to call on a fire elemental to destroy the giant peril only to find that the elemental is a lot worse than the odd Godzilla demolishing Sydney. Besides the Druids being a blood thirsty lot, they sacrifice their own family and friends to the magic, there's a faint hint that Damon's interruption of the ceremony may have lead to the utter destroy and chaos that resulted from the elemental getting out of control. Once again Shane Jiraiya Cummings' throws a tale onto the table that is open to interpretation and offers a lot more than simply the story construct. If I had to draw a parallel here it would be surprisingly to Cormac McCarthy's The Road. There's the same feeling of quiet determination and hope in an otherwise hopeless situation. Though Cummings doesn't include cannibals unfortunately.

The final tale in the collection is the short story Colossus of Roads, yes that's another pun for those interested. I'm not entirely sure if we are meant to take this story as being sometime post Phoenix and the Darkness of Wolves or as operating in an entirely different universe. Grab a copy of Inferno, read the stories, and then write in and give me your opinion. And that's about as close to a homework assignment as you'll get around these parts.

After a period of fire has destroyed civilisation a society controlled by the “Artisans” has risen in what was formerly Adelaide. The Artisans are viewed as pure evil and barbaric, enslaving people and torturing those who oppose them. Chief weapon for the Artisans is what is termed “golems”, sort of large animal constructs. Opposing the Artisans is a City founded by technicians who have wonderfully constructed a large war robot out of Mitsubishi parts that protects the City from Artisan incursion. The Colossus, as the City robot is called, needs a barrel of petrol to crank up to attack speed. Since petrol is a scarce commodity the bark is worse than the bite, except the Artisans don't know that.

Shane Jiraiya Cummings drives to the heart of the Daikaiju sub-genre, and presents a new spin on the venerable tale of Giant Monster attacks. As ever the stories are crisp, easy to read, and masterful in getting across the actual plot. Inferno confirms what we already knew about the Apocrypha Sequence, it's seriously good stuff and is proving to be a sensational series of collections. I can't recommend this collection enough, if you enjoy good literature, regardless of genre, then you should be reading Inferno.

Apocrypha Sequence: Inferno is available from smashwords for a low $1.99, which represents excellent value for money. Or you could try about any online e-publication retailer for various formats. Guess I don't need to add that you should pick up the entire Sequence at the same time and get your Shane Jiraiya Cummings on!

ScaryMinds Rates this read as ...

  The collection is way better than this review!