The second element that shines here is the writing itself. Sure, there are odd characters and bizarre passages, but the sense of creepy strangeness is more of an atmospheric thing than something pushed to center stage by an alien world.
The first is that, while most writers of weird literature rely on a surreal/alien/weird world to make their strangeness work, Carson does this very well while having his narrative anchored in a normal world. There are three elements of Starr Creek that merit special attention.
That the author cranks up the weirdness (there are aliens in the mix, along with drugs, flashbacks, violence, underground adventures, high speed chases, and friendship) while managing to bring everything together in a fun, cohesive way is a testament to his storytelling skills, which are even more impressive when you consider that this novella is Carson’s debut. I suspected those narrative lines would converge at some point, but wasn’t sure if everything I was reading was necessary. Carson gives readers a bunch of characters and situations that seem far from each other. It took me a few chapters to really get into the rhythm of Star Creek. Before these narratives collides, the novella deals with strange happenings, a dog food eating contest, and the kind of smart, unique weirdness that readers of Lazy Fascist Press books have learned to expect from the books they release. Meanwhile, a strange man named Puppy (his real name, not a nickname) has some plans of his own: getting revenge against a biker. It was a different time then, but getting high was as popular as ever, and the novella follows a group of friends who are planning to head out in a little excursion into the woods so they can take acid, explore, and enjoy their trip. Starr Creek takes place in Oregon in 1986.
Try this on for size: Starr Creek is like a gonzo version of Stranger Things directed by David Lynch on crank after he went to a biker bar and spent three hours getting high with a redneck who claimed to have been abducted by aliens. However, given the richness and depth of the novel, it requires a few expansions, clarifications, and addendums. In the case of Nathan Carson’s Starr Creek, the friends running around the woods and facing something bizarre and dangerous make the aforementioned comparison inevitable. You know what? I’m fine with that as long as the comparison makes it clear that whatever is being discussed is its own animal. There’s a new thing going around: comparing books and movies to Stranger Things.
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