June | 2020 | Guy Portman's Blog

6 Dark Fiction Reading Recommendations

Jun 26 2020

There is nothing to report this week, so it is back to my bread and butter – reading recommendations. Here are six dark fiction books worth reading, if you haven’t done so already. Click on the links to read my reviews:

Novel with Cocaine

Novel with Cocaine is a nihilistic account of adolescence and addiction.

My Review: Set in the years immediately before and after the Russian Revolution, Novel with Cocaine follows the life of Vadim, a Moscow adolescent and …(more)

Rashōmon and Seventeen Other Stories

A sense of doom and despair permeates this somewhat disparate assemblage.

My Review: The book, which is divided into four parts, begins with the sinister tale Rashōmon. Set during the Heian era, it sees a confrontation between …(more)

In Wolves’ Clothing

This first-person transgressive work features a member of an anti-child trafficking organisation.

My Review: Zero Slade is a member of an anti-child sex trafficking organisation. The role entails infiltrating the industry by masquerading as
high-rolling sex …(more)

Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness is a multi-layered story about what can occur when man exists outside of civilisation’s constraints.

My Review: Heart of Darkness is a novella about a steamship sailing up a river through the jungles of The Congo, in search of Mr Kurtz, a mysterious ivory trader, who has reportedly …(more)

In Cold Blood

Capote’s seminal work is a reconstruction of the real life murders of a family.

My Review: The story reconstructs the real life murders of a Kansas farmer, his wife and teenaged children. The Clutters, as they are referred to in the book, are a popular …(more)

Less Than Zero

Less Than Zero is about a privileged and disturbed group of L.A. youngsters.

My Review: Set in nineteen-eighties Los Angeles, the story follows eighteen-year-old Clay, returned home for Christmas from college in New Hampshire. Clay immediately …(more)

Gardening, Beer, Reading & Lockdown Easing.

Jun 19 2020

Lockdown restrictions are beginning to ease and it seems things are returning to normal. This was made clear to me when I went to the supermarket this week and came across these Kleenex Originals. They are the first I’d seen in months. Was beginning to think Kleenex Originals had gone the same way as the dodo and woolly mammoth.

And that wasn’t the end of the supermarket’s pleasant surprises. This box of twenty-four Moretti was a mere twenty-three quid. What a deal.

I decided to make a daytrip of it, and also went to the gardening tool shop in addition to the supermarket. The protective shield bit had broken off on my brush cutter, and the lid for the scart socket keeps coming off, which has resulted in me getting sporadic electric shocks. A potentially catastrophic combination.

It transpires that it needs a new blade too. This is why cutting the garden has turned into a fulltime occupation. I had put it down to inefficiency on my part.

As for reading, I have just started a new book. This fiction writer needs a non fiction fix once in a while. It is proving to be interesting , but long.

Green tea and a Twix are an agreeable combination.

So is standard tea and a chocolate éclair.

Right, time to get going. My dog is waiting for his walk.

I’ve left Trigga out in the garden to scare off the pigeons. They keep eating my grass seed. Have a good weekend.

A Gazebo, A Reading Recommendation, and Lockdown Haircuts.

Jun 12 2020

I finally had enough of waiting for hairdressers to reopen and shaved my head. You’ll have to take my word for it; it looks bad.

Of late, it has been unusually dry in the South of England. The heavens have just opened however. My new, threadbare lawn could certainly do with some water.

Having a dog is useful, in that he/she can help out when one has too much food in stock. There was no way I was going to be able to eat a whole melon on my own.

Here is my dog Trigga taking his siesta.

I imagine some of you are getting quite a bit of reading done during Lockdown. My current read is:

I am very impressed with this female character driven novel, and I look forward to reviewing it in the review section of my blog in due course.

As mentioned previously, I have been getting a lot of writing done during Lockdown.

My seventh book is currently with beta readers. The Gazebo is a tautly written, darkly humorous quick read, consisting of two stories.

Story One: British middle-aged lust threatens to go horribly wrong in a tale featuring an unusual fetish and a gazebo.

Story Two: When a wealthy English entrepreneur falls for a Transylvanian temptress, his life rapidly spirals out of control.

I look forward to revealing more soon. Have a good weekend.

Click here to view My Goodreads Author Page.

5 Dark Humour Books You Might Like

Jun 05 2020

Without further ado, here they are. Click on the links to read my reviews.

Choke by Chuck Palahniuk

Choke is in essence a social commentary about our innate craving for attention and the fundamental nature of addiction.

My Review: The protagonist, Victor Mancini, is a sex addict employed at an eighteenth-century historical re-enactment park. Victor attends various sexual addiction support groups, where he …(more)

Skagboys by Irvine Welsh

Skagboys is a work of Transgressive Fiction whose main focus is many of its characters increasing obsession with heroin.

My Review: Skagboys is the prequel to Trainspotting. Its colourful, mostly young characters hail from the Edinburgh port suburb of Leith. There is the bookish, unambitious …(more)

Spencer’s Risk by Andy Greenhalgh

Spencer’s Risk is a third person, thespian-themed work that offers an authentic insight into the mind of a compulsive gambler.

My Review: Spencer Leyton’s life is spiralling downhill. He has split from his wife, is virtually estranged from his kids, his career is in tatters, and he has a serious …(more)

Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut

Mother Night is a concise, ambiguous morality tale brimming with satirical observations and darkly humorous details.

My Review: During WWII, Howard W. Campbell was a prominent Nazi propagandist. Now he is languishing in an Israeli prison awaiting trial for war crimes …(more)

Women by Charles Bukowski

The concise, visceral story follows the exploits of ageing lowlife and Bukowski alter ego, Henry Chinaski.

My Review: Fat, ugly fifty-something Henry Chinaski is a degenerate drinker, gambler and womaniser residing in downtrodden East Hollywood.
After a lifetime spent toiling in …(more)