Book Review: In The Garden of Rusting Gods: A Collection by Patrick Freivald

In The Garden of Rusting Gods: A Collection by Patrick Freivald

Paperback, 217 pages

Published September 2019 by Barking Deer Press

It is hard for me sometimes to write at length about short story collections. Plotting and structure are so much of what interests me in storytelling. In a collection like this one, it is much more about the atmosphere and tone, not to say plot and structure don't matter in short stories because they do. Just style and tone are so much more important in short fiction.

Freivald was a writer that I noticed just because he had an intense personality online, and a few people I respect swore by his work. That was all I really knew. I understood he had a science background, which I thought was cool, so I debated on starting with a novel or collection and came down to the idea of reading a collection. I do think that is a better way to get a feel for a writer as a whole.

There is a grim invention that dances just below the surface of all these stories. Some writers start with characters, some ideas. Freivald is a talented writer with only this collection to judge from his style feels idea based, that they are constructed neatly around a germ of a concept. Freivald is an idea machine and one story after another has intriguing elements that do one of my favorite things in horror fiction - cringe.

The opening title story provides a high concept setting that very subtly created a world that reminded me of a cyberpunk anime combo kinda thing. In a short number of pages, we are given some great world-building that never settles for info-dumps. Through-out the book but especially in this opening story the reader is trusted to use their own minds. Over-writing is a crutch many writers raised on Stephen King rely on, not Patrick Freivald. I suspect many reviews of this book will point-out that this opening story could hold the weight of an entire novel and that is very, very true.

I love when collections show writers using different muscles and voices. in the second half the book had a few shorter more experimental pieces including one of my favorites "Trigger Warning." I loved it when Freivald used the noir style in the offbeat and darkly funny piece "The Extermination Business." Other stand-outs included the disturbing Twelve Kilos and the bizarro sci-fi story Foam Ride.

The best thing I can say about this book is it sold me on Patrick Freivald and has pretty much locked in at some point I will read his novels. The only negative for me was the cover sorta didn't work for me but that doesn't really matter. Each story came with a header illustration, so overall it is a neatly put together book and the editing is top-notch for a small press. Mostly horror with neat twists on old favorites like zombies and werewolves but enough Science Fiction ideas to bring a fresh feeling to the whole package. Thumbs up.