Review: Some fears are universal
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 29, 2013
I think that great fiction is about people and a writer that is very good with characters is one that I want to read.  Just my humble opinion."Emergence," first and foremost is about a man and his grandson.  It is about growing old, losing the other half of yourself and being left alone to spend those remaining days and hours suddenly alone.  It is about connecting to the people we care about, in this case, a grandchild.  You will see yourself in these characters.  They are real.And it is about fear.  Fear of the larger ramifications of the little ways in which we are slipping, mentally and physically, and approaching our own frailty.  It is about fear for our loved ones.Emergence is a literary novella.  Don't look for a madman to chase down any of the characters here.  We are not sure if the demons from without are real or merely reflections of demons from within.  Are we witnessing an encroachment from a hostile dimension or are we seeing the fragmentation and disintegration of a character's control on reality.  Either way, there is threat and menace and chilling imagery and an overall sense of dread.What I am sure of is that this is good dark fiction and if you like the stories of those whose horror is more personal and literary going all the way back to Henry James, then you will appreciate this very fine novella.Once again, kudos to Darkfuse for consistently publishing novellas of such high quality.