Cosmic-chthonicon

Cosmic, chthonic, horrific, ouroboric, erotic….These are just a few of the adjectives I would select to describe Scott Nicolay’s debut collection, Ana Kai Tangata. For this is the tome of a powerhouse, of a writer who has read widely both in and out of his chosen field, culling language and modes of storytelling and molding them into smart and compelling narratives. Whether it be the pulpy noir madness of “Tuckahoe”; the poignant tale of cosmic horror, “The Bad Outer Space” (which is one of the finest examples of this class of fiction I have ever read); or the supreme Easter Island tale, “Ana Kai Tangata” (which brings to mind, and in fact rivals, Donald Wandrei’s classic The Web of Easter Island), the reader is served up some seriously intoxicating narrative cocktails. These eight tales read as though the author has experienced every last aspect of them and has only now been given a lighted sanctuary in which to share his dark marvels. This perhaps sounds cliched, but in this instance I encourage the potential reader to prove me wrong. Two authors who readily came to mind during my reading were Terry Lamsley and David J. Schow. Readers familiar with either of these scriveners know how powerful each can be in their own realm of storytelling. So, am I suggesting a cross between “strange story” and “splatterpunk”? Well, in a sense. Let’s just put it this way: Nicolay likes to have fun with his lengthy narratives, and he’s not afraid to tackle subject matter which others might shy away from (intense erotica, if you must know; indeed, the author even warns his own mother from proceeding any further than the acknowledgements page). There is a delectable mix of classicism and over-the-top pulp horror to be found in the pages Ana Kai Tangata, and I for one have been altered by the text. This is a tremendous and important debut, and one which firmly places Scott Nicolay into the upper echelon of writers currently operating in the field of weird fiction.

Ana Kai Tangata is available direct from the publisher, Fedogan & Bremer.