Subcutanean - Wyrms.de

Paperback, 232 pages

Published Jan. 6, 2020 by Self Published.

(2 reviews)

Insecure college senior Orion loves music, books, and his best friend Niko. When the two of them find a secret basement in their rambling old off-campus house, at first Orion’s thrilled. It’s another secret to share, another adventure to maybe, at last, bring them closer together.

But something's wrong: the basement doesn't end. Blandly decorated halls stretch on for miles past peeling wallpaper, empty bedrooms, and countless stairwells always leading down. Soon they realize Downstairs is a snarled tangle of possibilities, more and more opening up the deeper they go. Something down there multiplies everything: architecture, emotions, even people.

Together they must navigate an increasingly dangerous labyrinth that peels back their friendship to raw and angry roots, filled with two-faced doppelgängers, treacherous architecture, and long-buried secrets. Most dangerous of all is Orion's consuming obsession: somewhere down there, is there a Niko who loves him back?

Subcutanean is a unique novel …

Insecure college senior Orion loves music, books, and his best friend Niko. When the two of them find a secret basement in their rambling old off-campus house, at first Orion’s thrilled. It’s another secret to share, another adventure to maybe, at last, bring them closer together.

But something's wrong: the basement doesn't end. Blandly decorated halls stretch on for miles past peeling wallpaper, empty bedrooms, and countless stairwells always leading down. Soon they realize Downstairs is a snarled tangle of possibilities, more and more opening up the deeper they go. Something down there multiplies everything: architecture, emotions, even people.

Together they must navigate an increasingly dangerous labyrinth that peels back their friendship to raw and angry roots, filled with two-faced doppelgängers, treacherous architecture, and long-buried secrets. Most dangerous of all is Orion's consuming obsession: somewhere down there, is there a Niko who loves him back?

Subcutanean is a unique novel that changes with every printing. Each copy contains a unique telling of the story: no two are ever quite the same.

1 edition

Goblin reviewed Subcutanean by Aaron A. Reed

no two copies are the same

4 stars

I was intrigued to hear of this novel where every printed copy is a unique variation. Would the flow of the novel suffer? Would the seams show? Would it feel contrived? Is it just gimmick?

I'm happy to report that the experiment turned out very well, at least in my copy generated from seed #44346. If I had read the novel with no context I wouldn't have guessed it was assembled from text variations.

It's a horror novel, creepy not gory. Well maybe some variations get gory, I don't know. (hmm, this is hard to review)

It's also gay coming of age story. The narrator is a gay college student in the 1990s, with an unrequited crush on his best friend. He eventually works through that... after a series of horrifying events. I think it's likely that element exists in all versions of the book.

And the uniqueness of …

I was intrigued to hear of this novel where every printed copy is a unique variation. Would the flow of the novel suffer? Would the seams show? Would it feel contrived? Is it just gimmick?

I'm happy to report that the experiment turned out very well, at least in my copy generated from seed #44346. If I had read the novel with no context I wouldn't have guessed it was assembled from text variations.

It's a horror novel, creepy not gory. Well maybe some variations get gory, I don't know. (hmm, this is hard to review)

It's also gay coming of age story. The narrator is a gay college student in the 1990s, with an unrequited crush on his best friend. He eventually works through that... after a series of horrifying events. I think it's likely that element exists in all versions of the book.

And the uniqueness of every book copy? Not a gimmick. It ties into the story the author wanted to tell. Aaron Reed did a magnificent job. I'll probably read another version of the book some day.

aparrish@bookwyrm.social reviewed Subcutanean by Aaron A. Reed

Review of 'Subcutanean' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I contributed to the IndieGogo but didn't actually read my copy (#10969) until just now, and I feel so foolish for letting it sit so long in my to-read pile. The story Reed wanted to tell requires that the book's shape and distribution take the form that they do (i.e., every copy is unique and must be custom-ordered); beyond that, the richness of the prose feels even richer by virtue of the fact that any sentence you read must be read against the affordances of the system that produced it. I have adored Reed's writing since Blue Lacuna, but he really has outdone himself here. It's so rare to read a book that is this heartfelt and so true to its conceit, but that still pulls you forward through it with such momentum. It's also rare as a horror novel—it is spooky (sometimes terrifying) without gore or intense violence; and …

I contributed to the IndieGogo but didn't actually read my copy (#10969) until just now, and I feel so foolish for letting it sit so long in my to-read pile. The story Reed wanted to tell requires that the book's shape and distribution take the form that they do (i.e., every copy is unique and must be custom-ordered); beyond that, the richness of the prose feels even richer by virtue of the fact that any sentence you read must be read against the affordances of the system that produced it. I have adored Reed's writing since Blue Lacuna, but he really has outdone himself here. It's so rare to read a book that is this heartfelt and so true to its conceit, but that still pulls you forward through it with such momentum. It's also rare as a horror novel—it is spooky (sometimes terrifying) without gore or intense violence; and Reed refuses to resolve or reify the supernatural ambiguity at the story's core. I'm honestly overwhelmed by how much I loved this book and I just ordered another copy so I can read it again!