Horror has never been a genre I have read a lot. For one, I don’t understand the desire to be scared. I’m sure a lot of that has to do with childhood little-t trauma about getting lost in a Halloween haunted house. For another, I can have an overactive imagination; I couldn’t finish the first season of The Walking Dead because the zombies were too realistic. (Though I never had that issue with reading the comics.)
Cosmic horror, as a genre, even less so. I’ve read a few Lovecraft stories here and there, but not enough that I would willingly read more, and I’ve avoided movies of the same, like Event Horizon. It’s just not my thing. Usually.
I made an exception with Yuval Kordov’s excellent The Shadow Over Psyche Station, and I’m so glad I did.
This is mostly because Yuval is one heck of a writer; his prose is so dense and deep, and it’s just a joy to read. There aren’t a lot of authors out there these days writing the way Yuval does; he hearkens back to science fiction and horror of decades past. Another reason is that I’ve become infatuated with the new-ish genre of incensepunk. While not Catholic or Orthodox, I did grow up in south Louisiana, where most of my friends were Catholic (or Catholic-adjacent). Thus, I know enough about Catholicism to get by, and nothing in this genre is a big surprise in terms of the denominational trappings.
Yuval is heavily involved with Incensepunk Magazine, and is a kindred spirit in that he, like me, is neither Catholic or Orthodox; though you wouldn’t know it to read his works, most of which fit in to incensepunk. We both have an outsider’s perspective we’re bringing to our enjoyment of the genre, and that mutual enjoyment is one reason why when he offered me the chance to read an advance copy of his next novella, I jumped right on it.
The Shadow Over Psyche Station is cosmic horror with incensepunk tones, a science-fiction tribute to Lovecraft’s The Shadow Over Inssmouth. It follows the trip of Imperial Assessor Marcus O. as he investigates the various orbital stations around the solar system that provide the numerous minerals and other necessities required to keep the Martian Empire going, now that Earth isn’t much help. The last station on his list is the one farthest out, and the one that hasn’t been in contact with the others for some time, Psyche Station. The station is woefully behind on its ore shipments back to the other stations as well as the Red Planet, and Marcus’ superiors want answers as to why.
As for Marcus himself, despite his occupation and the setting, he is a very relatable character. An everyman who, while wanting to be devout to God and the Empire, is also a just trying to do a good job and secure that next promotion, preferably one that doesn’t require any more excursions in to the void of space. Who among us hasn’t wanted to impress the boss enough to get a cushier gig?
The void itself is a bit of a character, but we’ll come back to that in a moment.
If the discomfort Yuval paints in the initial going about the cramped conditions of the shuttle rides between the stations isn’t enough for Marcus, what he finds on Psyche Station once he arrives only heightens how uncomfortable and out of his element he feels. He has contact with….no one. No one human, at least. The Psyche Station shuttle pilot is non-communicative, no one is there to greet him upon arrival, and the only “person” who appears to speak to him is a hologram AI. An AI which shouldn’t exist within the station. The tension only ratchets from there, as Marcus navigates to his assigned quarters and begins discovering more than he, or his superiors, bargained for.
I don’t want to give away too much of the plot from here, other than to say the psychological intensity is constantly ratcheted up. With every discovery, with every encounter, Marcus realizes how far gone he, and the Station, are. Especially when he feels pulled, nay, called, in to the Void. Down to 16 Psyche itself, to where the Station’s inhabitants have also been called.
But in a place where the void of space stands in not only for itself, but the void of Good itself, there are lights in the darkness. Father James is one of those. At one point Marcus seeks out the chapel, to go to Mass, and Father James reluctantly lets him in. He has already seen the things Marcus is only beginning to suspect. And the priest’s reappearance later in the story is a moment of incensepunk glory.
Yuval’s writing is once again on prime display in this story. His pacing is tight, his descriptive language masterful, his ability to pull the reader in and make you feel what Marcus is going through impeccable. Touches such as how the reader learns the name of the sinisterly inhuman AI is an utterly masterful reveal by Kordov.
Needless to say, I was blown away by The Shadow Over Psyche Station, finishing it in less than 36 hours. (Hey, I had to sleep and work some where in there.) If cosmic horror and incensepunk are in your wheelhouse, you should definitely pick this one up. If those genres are not your bag, give it a chance anyway. Like me, you may find yourself appreciating it for the incredible prose it contains.
5/5 phins
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