Literary Horror discussion

This is the thread for Some of Your Blood by Theodore Sturgeon.

I'm a fan of his science fiction but I haven't read this novel. I'm looking forward to it.

1. Some of Your Blood is a short horror novel in epistolary form. Because it is a short novel, I will probably not abandon it, like I did the previous group read. I might just go back to boycotting big novels, and read short story collections or short novels.

2. The epistolary form seems to work well for horror fiction, doesn't it? Other examples would be Dracula and some short stories by Reggie Oliver.

3. The novel takes place in the middle of an unnamed war, I sense WWII. Wikipedia says that Ted Sturgeon "...worked in several construction and infrastructure jobs (driving a bulldozer in Puerto Rico, operating a gas station and truck lubrication center, work at a drydock) for the US Army in the early war years..."

4. The novel focuses on George Smith, an American soldier, transferred to the military psychiatric clinic, where he sees a psychiatrist named Philip Outerbridge. Smith was brought to the clinic due to a confrontation with a superior officer. Smith was labeled psychotic and told to recount his story in the third person.

I started this book this morning while lying abed and found I couldn't put it down. Didn't get out of bed until noon!

I'm about 3/4 through now and cannot recommend this highly enough to people in the group who have not read it. It's exceptionally well-written, using both epistolary and biographical formats, and referencing the leading psychological theories of the day. Sturgeon's ability to move between the seemingly artless and the highly sophisticated is remarkable, and the way he subtly signals to the reader that there is a lot more going on here than any of his characters yet know or are willing to share is very well done.

I expect I'll finish this tonight and I'm rather sad at that prospect because this such a good book that I'd like to stay caught up in it a while longer.

Yeah... I recall reading this a few years ago and was pretty blown away. Sturgeon makes heavy use of the 'purposefully' unreliable narrator... regularly leaving you with the impression that you are being led down the rabbit hole. Despite knowing this... I still found the story to be quite compelling. I would echo Marie Therese sentiments here....

5. I'm reading the section of the book about George's life. Some space is devoted to hunting. George lives with his mother and father. The father is abusive to George's mother. Sometimes the father gets suspended from work and gets drunk. George's mother dies. George engages in theft, usually food. He got caught and is sentenced not to prison but something like reform school for two years. It turns out to have better living conditions than at home. He also goes to school and learns useful things. Then while in reform school he is informed that his father died. When his two years is completed he is still an adolescent and decides to stay--its not a bad place and he feels he has no where to go. His aunt (his mother's sister) arrives at the reform place and offers to take George in, which he accepts.

I'm trying not to peek at plot summaries so far. Will jump in once my copy arrives (sigh).

I first read Sturgeon's work when I was in junior high. And it was exclusively his science fiction, which I enjoyed. But this book was a revelation to me. Sturgeon manages to write a vampire novel while jettisoning all the hackneyed vampire tropes. I found it both plausible and horrifying. We all know that Bela Lugosi's vampire was a dark fairytale figure. But George or "Bela" could actually be your next door neighbor.

Bill wrote: "I'm trying not to peek at plot summaries so far. Will jump in once my copy arrives (sigh)."

I finished this last week but have held off saying anything much until others have time to catch up.

I'll be curious to see what you make of this, Bill. I think some parts will hit your sweet spot but I'm not so sure about others. I really enjoyed the book overall but found some of the final letter exchanges a bit too arch (although nowhere near the god-awfulness of all the trying too hard "witty" banter in Woolrich's Night Has a Thousand Eyes). George's own account is strangely beautiful and moving which makes it all the more unsettling.

Terence wrote: "I first read Sturgeon's work when I was in junior high. And it was exclusively his science fiction, which I enjoyed. But this book was a revelation to me. Sturgeon manages to write a vampire novel while jettisoning all the hackneyed vampire tropes."

Yes, this goes on my short list of great vampire reimaginings, right up there with The Vampire Tapestry.

I found this book difficult to obtain in physical form from either the library or bookshops, so I have gotten an audible copy and should start it in a couple of days.

My copy finally arrived yesterday. Sorry about jumping in so late!

The framing chapter is a bit dated, but works. At first I wasn't sure about the peculiar decision to have the narrator speak in the 3rd person, but I think it works very well. You kind of need the distance in the hunting sequence, ha.

I'm enjoying this so far. I wish I knew less about the book; I'd like the first few chapters even more, if "vampire", "blood" etc haven't been bandied about so freely in the descriptions. (But I suppose the publishers felt that '60s sci-fi fans don't deal with obscurity so well.) Sturgeon stays clear of the dreaded V-word so far, which I totally appreciate.

It's been decades since I read Sturgeon's classics (More than Human, Dreaming Jewels, etc). I don't remember specifics, but mostly recall a calmness and empathy in his writing, and how crucial details slipped in in subtle and surprising ways. Happy to note all this in Some of Your Blood.

I read Some of Your Blood back in October when I saw it on the list here and loved it. The heart of this is George's story and the writing in that section is haunting and poetic. I'd like to think that the rather cloying correspondence between the personnel "helping" George is intentionally meant to contrast with his narrative. Either way, I'm impressed by how Sturgeon manages to jump between these distinct voices. This is one of the best psychological mysteries I've read and one that doesn't overstay it's welcome. The story ultimately projects a humanist worldview, and after rereadin I think ending is too optimistic. I hope the final line suggests that despite all of the professional patting on the back at the end, George still remains a mystery.

I enjoyed this, especially the skillfully rendered voices (quite a range!), and Sturgeon's compassion for his characters. I actually enjoyed the banter in the correspondence (didn't think it was "cloying"). Could have done without the framing sections, and some of the period touches. But overall this holds up nicely.

(I would have trimmed George's autobiography, but the rambling was consistent with the psychiatrist's instructions.)

Off topic, but if you're done with Some of Your Blood and looking to move on, Marie-Therese and I will begin our February buddy read of Brian Evenson's Last Days. Please join us:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

5. George Smith gets a girlfriend, they have a secret location where they meet, I think its a cave, they have sex. One day George enters a farm and his aunt's husband, whom George calls uncle, is angry about a skunk. George gets hit by the uncle; George takes it, doesn't fight back, then runs away. This reminded me of the scene in Ted Sturgeon's great science fiction novel More Than Human where one of the adolescent mutants, named Lone, got physically abused by his father.

6. George finds out that his girlfriend is staying at home, because she is pregnant. George doesn't visit her nor sends a letter to her because he doesn't want anyone to find out about their relationship.

7. George joins the Army. Things are going fine so far. It is like his time in boarding school. George has a strong build so no one starts anything trouble with him. After some time stationed in the US, he gets sent abroad. Some have referred to a 'police action' so its probably the Korean War, not WWII like I surmised earlier. George sees soldiers brought back on stretchers. George sends a letter to his girlfriend.

8. The following part of the novel is comprised of letters, telegrams, etc between the psychiatrist assigned to George and another military figure. Two points about this:

1. I found this part hilarious.
2. It is interesting to see the bunk that passed for psychology decades ago, such as Freudianism and the Rorschach test. Upon reflection, I think that Ted Sturgeon was lampooning that stuff.

9. I'm 85 percent done with the book. George has sessions with the psychiatrist. George has been keeping something secret about himself, for example, he did not mention it in his autobiography: George sometimes has a desire to drink blood.

10. I looked online for vampirism in a psychological sense. I came across Renfield's Syndrome, which appears not yet included in the DSM.

Actually I'm impressed that Ted Sturgeon anticipated a development in clinical psychology.

Here is something about Renfield's Syndrome I came across:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/bl...

12. The last 15 percent of the book was a fast read. It mainly comprised of correspondence from a nurse/caseworker who did background investigation on the patient, such as interviewing his aunt, etc. The nurse/caseworker writes with literary flair. It attests to Ted Sturgeon's writing skill that this character's 'voice' is different from the other characters in the novel. The nurse/ caseworker claims that the patient was behind some murders.

4 stars from me.