There Goes Pretty is the latest novella from Dark Minds Press, the eighth in the series. It’s penned by C. C. Adams, an author whose work I’ve enjoyed in the past (and who featured a favourite monster of mine in his earlier novella But Worse Will Come).
It tells the story
of the relationship between Denny and Olivia and opens with their wedding at
Shakespeare’s Globe in London. As the couple begin their new life together, so
the cracks begin to show – more than the to-be-expected frictions of living
together though, there is an external agent interfering with their plans.
A feature of all Of
C. C.’s writing has been the excellent characterisation he produces and There
Goes Pretty is no exception to this. All the characters within are well
formed with traits and habits which ring true. The relationships between those
characters is another strength of his writing and this is definitely to the fore
here. The interplay between Denny and Olivia and the mistakes they make (with
the associated over-thinking) will be familiar to anyone in a relationship.
With the
groundwork done establishing the characters and their relationship (and with only
a little foreshadowing), the supernatural elements of the story are introduced
about a third of the way into the novella. I have to say that the two main scenes
in which this happens are extremely effective, generating a real sense of
terror and panic.
They’re effective
too in the way they fit into the narrative, happening when the couple are apart,
casting an air of ambiguity over them and leading to a situation where trust
becomes a major issue for the newly-weds.
As the relationship
deteriorates, so the rationale for the strange events is revealed. Whilst I was
cool with the reveal I did feel that it could have been done in a more dramatic
way than it is here, there’s no real “wow” factor to the revelation.
The book rallies
for a strong, and clever, finish though – one that nicely plays with the themes
of friendship, loyalty, trust and love which have run through the book.
I liked There Goes
Pretty very much; it’s further evidence of an author on the brink of big
things and a fine addition to a fine range of novellas. Once again the stunning
artwork featuring the characteristic red/black colour scheme is provided by 77Studios.
You can buy There
Goes Pretty here.
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