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“Shadow Puppets: Scarecrows of Minnow Ranch”
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“The Scarecrows were coming.”
After their estranged mother’s passing, Dawn and her sister Daisy inherit her ranch. It was a place they hadn’t been since they were young, and before their parents’ divorce… before their mother went stark raving mad, according to their dad. Dawn arrives first, and she falls for the rural charm of the farm. She fantasizes about what it would be like to settle down and find a man with whom she may enjoy the small-town life. Little does she know about the evil that is stalking her from the cornfields. When Daisy shows up, all hell breaks loose as she discovers how family ties hold the secret to unravelling the horrific ancestral curse of their inheritance.
After their estranged mother’s passing, Dawn and her sister Daisy inherit her ranch. It was a place they hadn’t been since they were young, and before their parents’ divorce… before their mother went stark raving mad, according to their dad. Dawn arrives first, and she falls for the rural charm of the farm. She fantasizes about what it would be like to settle down and find a man with whom she may enjoy the small-town life. Little does she know about the evil that is stalking her from the cornfields. When Daisy shows up, all hell breaks loose as she discovers how family ties hold the secret to unravelling the horrific ancestral curse of their inheritance.
Readability
The pacing in “Shadow Puppets: Scarecrows of Minnow Ranch” is pretty intense. The story opens like any classic slasher would, with a seemingly irrelevant character used to hook the reader by introducing elements of the story which become important later on, including an encounter with the “monster(s)”. Carver Pike proves that he knows how to structure a story. This novella is narrated from the third person perspective while utilizing two separate storylines to keep the action progressing towards a final crescendo, which blends all the pornographic content and horrific imagery into a one shocking conclusion.
Creativity
There isn’t a whole hell of a lot to assess in terms of creativity until the very end, because the majority of this novella seems to have been just an excuse to ejaculate smut all over the pages. This isn’t to say that the graphic descriptions depicted within the scenes won’t stick with the reader for a while after the fact. However, throughout the story I kept trying to figure out if there was some deeper meaning to the scarecrows. Were they haunted scarecrows? Were they zombie scarecrows? Were they horny demon-possessed scarecrows? I don’t know scarecrows, but what I do know, is that those scarecrows didn’t fuck around, but at the same time, that’s precisely what they did. So maybe they were mixed emotion scarecrows? Eternally, internally conflicted scarecrows perhaps...
I read the novella’s title: “Shadow Puppets”, I combined that with what it is that scarecrows symbolize (something meant to keep black birds, which represent death/famine, at bay), and they “come to life” as sex crazed homicidal maniacs who terrorize the main characters (whom reflect upon their past trauma and ruminate about their future). To me it seemed like a recipe for some kind of perverted dish cooked up in a fever dream featuring Freud and Jung. Then again, “Shadow Puppets: Scarecrows of Minnow Ranch” is probably nothing more than a backwoods slasher set in the nineties, with plenty of tits… and ass, getting corn holed by ominous figures centered around a whole barn full of deplorable family secrets mixed with just a dash of mid-life crisis. The story’s ending answered all these questions, and went beyond my expectations (not that they were very high at that point), but I wasn’t too far off in my speculations about all the above.
I would like to mention that Pike frequently utilized onomatopoeia in this novella. I thought it was effective during the scene where Dawn was alone during her first night at the ranch, and there was a mysterious “KNOCK… KNOCK… KNOCK KNOCK” at the door. The sound effects didn’t end there however, because there was a “CRACK… CRACK… CRACK…” mentioned whenever a scarecrow’s rickety limbs jerked as it moved. There was a slapping “FAP… FAP… FAP…” that was never mentioned anywhere in the story but probably should have been just to remain consistent with this middle grade technique of stimulating the reader’s sense of hearing. If it was up to me, I would have said toss chapter five at least one proper “FAP… FAP… FAPPING…” and then be done with the whole bloody mess of verbalizing your SFX!
Delivery
For the most part the story starts out like your typical tale of horror, as far as slashers go. I think Pike did a good job at introducing Dawn’s character, and making her big city attitude believable within the context of the story’s rural setting. When I was first reading through the story it was difficult to understand why certain things started happening out of nowhere and seemed to snowball so quickly. A lot of the dialog was like reading a porno script, but it never struck me as out of place within the story (however jarring it may have seemed in the moment). I just didn’t understand how the promiscuity tied in with the elements of horror that were taking place. I knew there was a connection, but I think the plot could have offered a little more clarity between the scarecrows and the jewelry before it punched the gas pedal to the metal.
Chapter five introduces a character named Anders, who I learned was a farmhand for Dawn’s mom. I could only speculate that the man was either around Dawn’s age when he worked for her mom, or perhaps Dawn had a soft spot for sugar daddies. After his character introduction, the chapter quickly busts into full on porno, as the handyman wastes no time going straight to work on Dawn’s sugar walls. I never thought it was possible for text to create a feeling of blue balls, but the chapter ends without a money shot. I mean, this is a horror story after all, so I guess I don’t know why I was expecting a happy ending (and so soon) so to speak. I was only a third of the way through the story at this point, and this scene was just a meat ‘n greet. I suppose something had to be left on the plate for a first date. Needless to say that's how quickly the story picks up the pace.
Daisy’s storyline takes over where Dawn’s leaves off (a cliffhanger), and serves to start piecing together all the puzzling events that transpired throughout the first half of the story. I thought the way Pike transitioned from one sister’s storyline to the other was a good example of how structure can make a story more compelling. For as absurd as the story was at times, it was never exhausting to read, because it always felt as though it was leading towards something (even if I wasn’t sure what that “something” was).
Sure enough, in the final chapter, we get an intimate moment between Daisy and one of the primary scarecrow entities (trapped in the barn), where some well-deserved (but overdue) exposition reveals the meaning behind all the perverted chaos that transpires throughout the novella. It’s certainly a short story style reveal at the end (which I didn't think was bad), but since “Shadow Puppets” is a novella, I think there could have been more events during the plot that hinted towards what the big reveal was going to be, because it certainly came out of left cornfield for me. Not going to lie though, I thought the backstory put an interesting spin on things and really helped to stick that landing at the end.
The pacing in “Shadow Puppets: Scarecrows of Minnow Ranch” is pretty intense. The story opens like any classic slasher would, with a seemingly irrelevant character used to hook the reader by introducing elements of the story which become important later on, including an encounter with the “monster(s)”. Carver Pike proves that he knows how to structure a story. This novella is narrated from the third person perspective while utilizing two separate storylines to keep the action progressing towards a final crescendo, which blends all the pornographic content and horrific imagery into a one shocking conclusion.
Creativity
There isn’t a whole hell of a lot to assess in terms of creativity until the very end, because the majority of this novella seems to have been just an excuse to ejaculate smut all over the pages. This isn’t to say that the graphic descriptions depicted within the scenes won’t stick with the reader for a while after the fact. However, throughout the story I kept trying to figure out if there was some deeper meaning to the scarecrows. Were they haunted scarecrows? Were they zombie scarecrows? Were they horny demon-possessed scarecrows? I don’t know scarecrows, but what I do know, is that those scarecrows didn’t fuck around, but at the same time, that’s precisely what they did. So maybe they were mixed emotion scarecrows? Eternally, internally conflicted scarecrows perhaps...
I read the novella’s title: “Shadow Puppets”, I combined that with what it is that scarecrows symbolize (something meant to keep black birds, which represent death/famine, at bay), and they “come to life” as sex crazed homicidal maniacs who terrorize the main characters (whom reflect upon their past trauma and ruminate about their future). To me it seemed like a recipe for some kind of perverted dish cooked up in a fever dream featuring Freud and Jung. Then again, “Shadow Puppets: Scarecrows of Minnow Ranch” is probably nothing more than a backwoods slasher set in the nineties, with plenty of tits… and ass, getting corn holed by ominous figures centered around a whole barn full of deplorable family secrets mixed with just a dash of mid-life crisis. The story’s ending answered all these questions, and went beyond my expectations (not that they were very high at that point), but I wasn’t too far off in my speculations about all the above.
I would like to mention that Pike frequently utilized onomatopoeia in this novella. I thought it was effective during the scene where Dawn was alone during her first night at the ranch, and there was a mysterious “KNOCK… KNOCK… KNOCK KNOCK” at the door. The sound effects didn’t end there however, because there was a “CRACK… CRACK… CRACK…” mentioned whenever a scarecrow’s rickety limbs jerked as it moved. There was a slapping “FAP… FAP… FAP…” that was never mentioned anywhere in the story but probably should have been just to remain consistent with this middle grade technique of stimulating the reader’s sense of hearing. If it was up to me, I would have said toss chapter five at least one proper “FAP… FAP… FAPPING…” and then be done with the whole bloody mess of verbalizing your SFX!
Delivery
For the most part the story starts out like your typical tale of horror, as far as slashers go. I think Pike did a good job at introducing Dawn’s character, and making her big city attitude believable within the context of the story’s rural setting. When I was first reading through the story it was difficult to understand why certain things started happening out of nowhere and seemed to snowball so quickly. A lot of the dialog was like reading a porno script, but it never struck me as out of place within the story (however jarring it may have seemed in the moment). I just didn’t understand how the promiscuity tied in with the elements of horror that were taking place. I knew there was a connection, but I think the plot could have offered a little more clarity between the scarecrows and the jewelry before it punched the gas pedal to the metal.
Chapter five introduces a character named Anders, who I learned was a farmhand for Dawn’s mom. I could only speculate that the man was either around Dawn’s age when he worked for her mom, or perhaps Dawn had a soft spot for sugar daddies. After his character introduction, the chapter quickly busts into full on porno, as the handyman wastes no time going straight to work on Dawn’s sugar walls. I never thought it was possible for text to create a feeling of blue balls, but the chapter ends without a money shot. I mean, this is a horror story after all, so I guess I don’t know why I was expecting a happy ending (and so soon) so to speak. I was only a third of the way through the story at this point, and this scene was just a meat ‘n greet. I suppose something had to be left on the plate for a first date. Needless to say that's how quickly the story picks up the pace.
Daisy’s storyline takes over where Dawn’s leaves off (a cliffhanger), and serves to start piecing together all the puzzling events that transpired throughout the first half of the story. I thought the way Pike transitioned from one sister’s storyline to the other was a good example of how structure can make a story more compelling. For as absurd as the story was at times, it was never exhausting to read, because it always felt as though it was leading towards something (even if I wasn’t sure what that “something” was).
Sure enough, in the final chapter, we get an intimate moment between Daisy and one of the primary scarecrow entities (trapped in the barn), where some well-deserved (but overdue) exposition reveals the meaning behind all the perverted chaos that transpires throughout the novella. It’s certainly a short story style reveal at the end (which I didn't think was bad), but since “Shadow Puppets” is a novella, I think there could have been more events during the plot that hinted towards what the big reveal was going to be, because it certainly came out of left cornfield for me. Not going to lie though, I thought the backstory put an interesting spin on things and really helped to stick that landing at the end.
#LFLR Indie Rating: 4.5/10
At first I was locked, cocked, and ready to unload on how I thought this story was nothing but total schlock, but then I gave it some time to marinate. I thought about how the story makes use of quasi voodoo relics to justify the awkward scenes of sex, and how the scarecrows were the result of a wicked hex. Then there was that final shock at the end, and that’s when I came… to the conclusion that this story isn’t bad. It ain’t good, but beyond all the gratuitous and downright comical eroticism, “Shadow Puppets: Scarecrows of Minnow Ranch” is certainly more than just okay as far as horror goes.
Interestingly enough there’s mention of the phrase “Diablo Snuff” in this novella, which is actually the title of a splatterpunk horror series by Carver Pike. I wonder if the ending of “Shadow Puppets” ties into that series somehow. The “Diablo Snuff” series contains five distinct entries (including Carver Pike's most recent release, “The Maddening”), but if I’m not mistaken, I believe those stories serve as the centerpiece within Carver’s horrific metaverse.
At first I was locked, cocked, and ready to unload on how I thought this story was nothing but total schlock, but then I gave it some time to marinate. I thought about how the story makes use of quasi voodoo relics to justify the awkward scenes of sex, and how the scarecrows were the result of a wicked hex. Then there was that final shock at the end, and that’s when I came… to the conclusion that this story isn’t bad. It ain’t good, but beyond all the gratuitous and downright comical eroticism, “Shadow Puppets: Scarecrows of Minnow Ranch” is certainly more than just okay as far as horror goes.
Interestingly enough there’s mention of the phrase “Diablo Snuff” in this novella, which is actually the title of a splatterpunk horror series by Carver Pike. I wonder if the ending of “Shadow Puppets” ties into that series somehow. The “Diablo Snuff” series contains five distinct entries (including Carver Pike's most recent release, “The Maddening”), but if I’m not mistaken, I believe those stories serve as the centerpiece within Carver’s horrific metaverse.
THIS BREAKDOWN IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE #LFLR NETWORK.
