The Wide Carnivorous Sky And Other Monstrous Geographies

If you're a fan of speculative fiction and you haven't been living under the proverbial rock for the past twenty years or so, you've probably at least heard of John Langan, especially since his novel "The Fisherman" earned him a Bram Stoker Award back in 2017. Personally, he got onto my radar as a result of his shorter works, which have appeared in anthologies and magazines I've been somewhat familiar with over the years but to be honest, I couldn't have told you with certainty whether or not I'd read one of his stories prior to reading this collection because, while I'd recalled seeing his name go by over the years, I'd never made a firm connection between it and any particular tale. That sort of thing tends to happen when I consume a slew of anthologies or magazine issues featuring a lot of different authors in rapid succession, such that I develop a vague awareness of them that only comes into focus if I circle back and more thoroughly explore one and their bibliography at a later date.

This was the case for me with Langan, where I felt fairly confident that I'd read "something" by him at some point and been impressed enough for his name to stick but had yet to pursue the lead further. Fast-forward to 2023 when I briefly met him at StokerCon and thought, "He seems like a nice fellow. I should probably bump him up on the old TBR pile." So, after a bit of research, and the obligatory amount of time that often passes between the intent to read something manifesting and actually doing it, I settled on this anthology.

By the way, if you're finding this review too long and expansive, this may not be the right book for you. You see, I've decided to borrow a mechanism or two from Mr. Langan's bag of tricks to give you an inkling of what you're in for if you decide to experience "The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies" for yourself. Apologies to all concerned for any inadequacies in that attempt but in fairness, it must not have been completely ineffective because, well, you're still reading it.

In any case, I believe this book would be a great place to start for anyone interested in exploring Langan's works. It has a nice mix of short and long tales that often employ some genuinely novel and clever techniques, not only for the purpose of turning popular speculative-fiction tropes on their heads but for the sake of presenting narratives in unorthodox, charming, or thought-provoking ways one might hope to experience when signing up for a course in English literature. Moreover, the collection is book-ended by an excellent introduction, which perfectly sets the mood as well as reader expectations, and some thorough but not excessive author's notes that provide welcome and insightful context to the experience while winding things down.

I found all the included stories to be at the very least interesting and compelling, with several standouts such as "How the Day Runs Down," "Technicolor," and "The Wide, Carnivorous Sky," as well as "The Shallows," which it turns out was the story I'd read previously and enjoyed even more the second time.

Admittedly, I didn't completely love every word I read, and indeed found myself scratching my head a few times, not because I didn't "get it" but because certain elements didn't completely work for me for a variety of reasons. Still, those quibbles aside, my ultimate takeaway is that John Langan is indeed a hell of a storyteller, and one whose efforts would likely successfully resonate in the vast majority of cases with any lover of the written word, and speculative-horror fans in particular.