The Chrysalis is a recent book from Cemetery Dance Publications. I preordered it, because my tastes are in close league with the editors there. I was unaware that The Chrysalis was a mass market edition, or I might have taken that route.
I had no idea who Brendan Deneen is, and now I know he has been involved in movie and TV production. He has also written extensively in the worlds of comics and media tie-ins.
First off, I liked the novel, even if it isn't particularly original. The plot deals with a Millennial couple who purchase an old house. The husband makes a bizarre discovery in the cluttered basement and becomes obsessed. A weird chrysalis of some kind of hidden behind a hulking old refrigerator. Contact with it gives him hallucinations, but also provides him with strange gifts. He becomes addicted to the chrysalis, and it begins to destroy the young couple's life.
This has been done numerous times before. There's King's Christine. Frank Henenlotter's hysterical film, Brain Damage. It goes back at least as far as Tolkien and his stories of powerful rings.
I'm generally not much on metaphor and subtext, but for me this story deals with a pair of young people trying to make it in the tough adult world. They deal with temptations and threat of addiction and overpowering influences left over from the previous generation. They try to maintain their sanity while grappling with responsibilities. And learn, as so many have, that success and financial security often come with a soul-killing price.
The blurbsters are out in full force once again with The Chrysalis. I can't quite join in the hosannas. This is a very good book, but I didn't think it was a great one. There are strengths here, certainly. Strong characters, and vivid descriptions of their struggles.
I suppose I was hoping for a little bit more from the story. The whole thing feels routine, like trod-over ground.
All things said, The Chrysalis is a pretty good read from an author who was new to me. In this day and age that is something in itself.
Written by Mark Sieber
I had no idea who Brendan Deneen is, and now I know he has been involved in movie and TV production. He has also written extensively in the worlds of comics and media tie-ins.
First off, I liked the novel, even if it isn't particularly original. The plot deals with a Millennial couple who purchase an old house. The husband makes a bizarre discovery in the cluttered basement and becomes obsessed. A weird chrysalis of some kind of hidden behind a hulking old refrigerator. Contact with it gives him hallucinations, but also provides him with strange gifts. He becomes addicted to the chrysalis, and it begins to destroy the young couple's life.
This has been done numerous times before. There's King's Christine. Frank Henenlotter's hysterical film, Brain Damage. It goes back at least as far as Tolkien and his stories of powerful rings.
I'm generally not much on metaphor and subtext, but for me this story deals with a pair of young people trying to make it in the tough adult world. They deal with temptations and threat of addiction and overpowering influences left over from the previous generation. They try to maintain their sanity while grappling with responsibilities. And learn, as so many have, that success and financial security often come with a soul-killing price.
The blurbsters are out in full force once again with The Chrysalis. I can't quite join in the hosannas. This is a very good book, but I didn't think it was a great one. There are strengths here, certainly. Strong characters, and vivid descriptions of their struggles.
I suppose I was hoping for a little bit more from the story. The whole thing feels routine, like trod-over ground.
All things said, The Chrysalis is a pretty good read from an author who was new to me. In this day and age that is something in itself.
Written by Mark Sieber
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