The Caskey’s unremitting wealth despite many family members being either too disinterested or simply incapable of contributing to the business was, at times, hard to believe. The way in which certain actions and attitudes were explained also left me wide eyed. However, the sheer scale of the story was impressive and the characters finely drawn. So, on the surface this is just a great big sprawling Southern family drama. Stretching from Elinor's first appearance, in 1919, to her death in 1970, the Caskey Family Saga would be entertaining and immersive for its characters and family drama alone. There are many, many characters who come and go over the course of this intergenerational saga, as the original characters have children who grow up and have children of their own, all of whom are dragged into decades-long family squabbles and secrets, take on the psychological characteristics and burdens of their parents, while developing new ambitions and traits of their own, and making this a rich, deeply Southern soap opera full of powerful, domineering women and the men who more or less play supporting roles in their struggles. A similarly disturbing tension between dull reality and the supernatural is produced in The Elementals, wherein a host of visitors come to stay at a secluded house occupied by embodiments of elemental forces.

This was an absolutely fantastic experience, the sort of long book that introduces a large cast of characters over time so you're able to remember (almost) all of them and their stories, and become interested in their lives, their children, their fortunes, and their deaths. And every once in a while there's a scene of gruesome supernatural horror to remind you that this ain't Faulkner or Flannery O'Connor. Blood Rubies (1982), reissued in 2017 by Valancourt Books. Separated as newborns by the fiery death of their mother, twins Katherine and Andrea each possess one of a pair of heirloom ruby earrings. Though unaware of each other's existence, a string of gruesome tragedies conspires to reunite the sisters. McDowell collaborated with his close friend Dennis Schuetz in writing four mysteries starring Daniel Valentine and Clarisse Lovelace: Vermillion (1980), Cobalt (1982), Slate (1984), and Canary (1986). The four novels were published under the pseudonym Nathan Aldyne. Bray, said Elinor Dammert, I have just two little bags and I put ’em right beside the window on the floor. All you have to do is reach in. Drown in the Osceola, said Sister defensively. She was sitting on the end of the bench, and the three women stood ranged before her. She said she wasn’t scared, not a bit—that she wasn’t gone drown ever in her life.It wasn’t a reflection, said Oscar Caskey. You do like I tell you, and you paddle up to that corner window. The branch down behind the church, said Caroline DeBordenave, as if Miss Elinor had asked What branch?—as she ought to have. You cain’t see it ’less you know where to look. When the waters of the rivers began to rise, Annie Bell Driver threw open the doors of the Zion Grace Church to house any who might be driven from their homes. As it happened, the first to be driven from their homes on that side of town were the three richest families of Perdido—the Caskeys, the Turks, and the DeBordenaves. These three families owned the three sawmills and lumberyards in town, and lumber comprised the whole of Perdido’s industry. The cast is richly developed and I unexpectedly started caring a little too much for this rich Southern family and their lumber business. The twists kept me thinking about the book when I wasn't reading it. The deaths were pretty sad, even Mary-Love's, even though she'd had it coming for a couple decades at that point. McDowell was a collector of death memorabilia, which might account for some of the disturbing descriptions that he uses in his writing. He was born in Alabama and died in Massachusetts, unfortunately, at the tender age of 49. Yet another creative person lost to the AIDS epidemic. He knew the South intimately. I could tell by the descriptions of these colorful characters that he created them in similar fashion to how Frankenstein assembled his monster, with pieces and parts of numerous people.

McDowell writes in a third-person omniscient that allows us to understand all of the many major characters, while keeping us at a bit of a remove; we don’t really identify with any one person in particular. You will probably find your sympathies jumping around. If you’ve dealt with an impossible mother-in-law, you might side with Elinor over Mary-Love — but then, river monster. You might cheer when rapists get their brutal comeuppance in the murky water, but be appalled when the same thing happens to innocents.

This first book is the series is fantastic, but it doesn't hold up to the next three books. This series just keeps getting better and better, and some members of this family are so complex and well written it really baffles me. I believe this book is now my favorite book. Originally written as a series, I read the edition with all the smaller books combined into one. I'd heard it was magnificent and didn't want to have to be continuously buying each new one. Michael McDowell created an epic story of multiple generations in a small Alabama town. There is an element of underlying creatures that bump in the night but it is so small that it really just blends in to the beautiful whole. This is the only book I've read by McDowell and I plan to read the rest of what he has left for us. McDowell wrote the screenplays for Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas if that gives you any idea of his brilliance. I can't really put into words what is so amazing about this book but it was fabulous enough that I had to take extended breaks away from it because I was so distressed to see it end and to lose these characters. Such a sadness to know that McDowell (lost to AIDS-related illness in 1999) is not around writing any longer. You won't regret reading this book.

Cold Moon Over Babylon (1980), reissued in 2015 by Valancourt Books, with a new introduction by Douglas E. Winter. A young girl's mysterious disappearance in quiet Babylon, Florida, awakens a horror in the Styx River that draws the Larkin, Redfield and Hale families into a supernatural web of murder and madness.Halley's Passing" in The Year's Best Science Fiction: Fifth Annual Collection (May 1998, St. Martin's Press) He wrote two novels as Axel Young, four novels as Nathan Aldyne, three novels as Preston Macadam, and one more under the name of Mike McCray as well as seventeen books under his own name. In the forward of the first volume in this book Poppy Z. Bright states there is still one more pseudo name that has not been revealed as of yet, and also states that Mcdowell wrote over 40 books. Hendrix, Grady (August 1, 2014). "Summer of Sleaze: Michael McDowell's The Amulet". Tor.com . Retrieved August 28, 2018.