It’s a rare thing, a book that sticks with you. That makes you think days after you’ve turned the last page, that takes you down a path to somewhere dark and dangerous and mysterious and amazing all at once. The Fisherman by John Langan is such a book.
The synopsis:
In upstate New York, in the woods around Woodstock, Dutchman’s Creek flows out of the Ashokan Reservoir. Steep-banked, fast-moving, it offers the promise of fine fishing, and of something more, a possibility too fantastic to be true. When Abe and Dan, two widowers who have found solace in each other’s company and a shared passion for fishing, hear rumors of the Creek, and what might be found there, the remedy to both their losses, they dismiss it as just another fish story. Soon, though, the men find themselves drawn into a tale as deep and old as the Reservoir. It’s a tale of dark pacts, of long-buried secrets, and of a mysterious figure known as Der Fisher: the Fisherman. It will bring Abe and Dan face to face with all that they have lost, and with the price they must pay to regain it.
The Fisherman is a story within a story within a story. Don’t think of an onion so much as House of Leaves, a book whose impact on me seems only to increase with distance. It’s a bad pun, but The Fisherman reels you in, and once you are hooked, you won’t be able to put it down. I know I’m not giving you much to go on here. In fact, you could say I’m being intentionally vague. It’s not as if there are spoilers that will ruin the book for you, but I went into it with no real knowledge of what I was getting, and I don’t want to ruin that for you.
In short, The Fisherman is the best modern Lovecraftian book I’ve read, but it is also completely accessible to people who’ve never heard of Lovecraft. Langan is a masterful writer, and I can’t wait to experience more of his magic.
5 Stars
I hate three star reviews, the critic’s version of a “meh.” When you pour your heart and soul into writing a book, you hope to inspire something. Preferably joy, horror, love, etc., depending on the genre. If not that, loathing works. A one star review means someone was passionate about your book. I’m as likely to buy a novel on the basis of a well-written one star review as I am a similarly passionate five star review. But three stars? Meh.
Although some in the horror community struggle to admit it, Lovecraft, for all his brilliance, was also a racist. I’ve written about it 
Horror is having its [latest] moment, and the availability of mediums like Amazon and Netflix mean that horror movies which might have disappeared into straight-to-video oblivion ten years ago have a chance to shine today. But The Ritual is a coup for Netflix. This is a movie good enough to go to theaters, and it is can’t miss for anyone with a Netflix account.
the adaptations of his novellas/short stories have been remarkably successful. Stand by Me, Shawshank, Children of the Corn, 1408, just to name a few. So I went into 1922 with a lot of optimism, particularly given that it is a Netflix special. Was I disappointed?
The Temple treads well-worn territory. Three young Americans head off to mysterious foreign lands (in this case, Japan) and are soon messing with things they don’t understand. After numerous warnings to leave well enough alone, they strike off to visit the forbidden temple where a bunch of people have died. When things get wonky, they end up spending the night. Bad idea. You know where this is going, and there isn’t going to be a twist.
Sometimes I feel like Lovecraft’s stories take place on a perpetual late fall day, leaves falling from the trees, the grass dead and dying, a chill in the air. So it’s surprising that no one came up with an idea like 
Officer Loren is working the final shift at a police station that is being closed. The official story is that there’s a new and better station down the street. But hey, when is the official story ever the real one, right? Turns out something crazy went down at that station. And wouldn’t you know it? it was one year ago, to the night. Now she’s got to make it through to the end of her shift. Or the end of the world, whichever comes first.
Beware The Shadows 