(Eldritch Horror) Delilah makes some money modeling, and Crispin offers twice what anyone else does. He never lets her look at the works in progress, though. He has his reasons. (7,929 words; Time: 26m)
Rating: ★★★★☆ Impressive, Entertaining, Thoughtful
"Crispin's Model," by Max Gladstone [bio] (edited by Marco Palmieri), published on October 4, 2017 by Tor.com.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: Amusingly, the actual plot here is that Delilah wants to earn enough money to focus on her writing. By the time everything sorts out, she’s accomplished that goal. Beyond that, she wants to figure out what Crispin is up to, and when called to do so, she saves the world.
The story develops Delilah’s character very well, but it also develops Crispin’s. She’s suffered from underprivilege, he’s suffered from overprivilege, and yet he’s the one who wants to end the world and she’s the one who wants to save it.
He manages to make her suffer for his art, so it’s gratifying that she’s rewarded at the end, and that even Crispin seems to be becoming more human.
The observation that the monsters are never very far away because they're inside of all of us is a particularly creepy message, and a very satisfying way to wrap the story up.
Con: There's not actually much suspense here, nor is it particularly scary.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 10/04/17)
Max Gladstone Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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The story develops Delilah’s character very well, but it also develops Crispin’s. She’s suffered from underprivilege, he’s suffered from overprivilege, and yet he’s the one who wants to end the world and she’s the one who wants to save it.
He manages to make her suffer for his art, so it’s gratifying that she’s rewarded at the end, and that even Crispin seems to be becoming more human.
The observation that the monsters are never very far away because they're inside of all of us is a particularly creepy message, and a very satisfying way to wrap the story up.
Con: There's not actually much suspense here, nor is it particularly scary.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 10/04/17)
Max Gladstone Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
Loved the descriptions of the art. It really made you feel what it might have been like to view them.
ReplyDeleteI assume from the title it's inspired by Lovecraft's "Pickman's Model" -- haven't read that though.
I'm gradually working my way through the complete works of Lovecraft, but I'm only at 10% so far.
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