Crypt of the Moon Spider does more in its first page than some books do in their entire first acts. Nathan Ballingrud is an author with many admirers for many reasons; whether you love his work already or are just hearing of him, his newest novella (the first in a planned trilogy) will draw you in like a helpless fly on a silk strand all the same. In a single page, you learn all you need to lose yourself to this haunted lunar tale. It is the early 20th century, Veronica has been experiencing several mental health maladies, and today is the day her husband takes her to the moon to be quote-unquote fixed. And she cannot rip her eyes from what she sees below, on a celestial body she has been in love with all her life.
A wide, dark-green forest of silence and shadows awaits on the pitted surface of the moon, where the institute of Dr. Cull lies in wait, a proclaimed genius who has created a home for the ill of mind to come and be healed. The forest used to hold a massive spider, whose webs stretched across the lunar canopy, but they’re no more; the last of them died a long time ago. Veronica is enchanted by the stories of this last spider, this wondrous place, and firmly believes that if she embraces this opportunity, Dr. Cull will remove the dark and sad thoughts from her and make her whole. Dr. Cull promises upon first meeting her that not only will he excise that darkness from her mind, he will replace it with something better: spider silk from that long-dead moon spider which, he promises, will fix everything. From these first few pages, the reader has been positioned as much as Veronica has; on the threshold of mystery, horror, and hope, Veronica and the reader both are taken somewhere stranger and more horrifying than anyone could have predicted.
Veronica is a compelling character and fits the role of gothic protagonist perfectly: enough trepidation to worry and be cautious, enough hope to continue to persist, each step forward faltering, but complete, and enough curiosity to peer into shadows for far longer than warned. Her presence on the moon in the care of Dr. Cull and his right-hand man, a massive, quiet, and violent man she names Grub, is both lonely and frightening. The addition of Dr. Cull’s medical assistant doesn’t help either, being a secretive and silent member of the Alabaster Scholars, a cult dedicated to the dead spider and obsessed with understanding the mysteries of their webs. As Veronica undergoes her treatment, Ballingrud twists the surgical knife against the page, until he has not so much let the light in, as he has bid the darkness to leak out. As we come to learn the secret behind Dr. Cull’s treatments, the brutal history inside Grub, and the violent pressure building in the heart of the moon, Ballingrud conducts his orchestra of terror with absolute confidence and aplomb. I say it often of Ballingrud’s work, but my God, it’s a gift to watch a master at work, and this story is made of such graceful horror.
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Crypt of the Moon Spider
There is some bricklaying, as Ballingrud is very clear about this being the first in a planned trilogy. As we rocket toward the end, you might wonder at this character or that fade-to-black. You may even have a curiosity about a sudden departure in narrative as we spend time in the mind of Grub for a while before learning the ultimate fate of Veronica. But fear not; there is reason in the shift, and a quick preview of the next installment, Cathedral of the Drowned (isn’t this guy great at titles!) quickly illustrates just what kind of story Ballingrud is building here.
But fear not, friends, for every mystery Ballingrud leaves dangling before readers like muscle fibers loosened from a severed arm, he never loses sight of Veronica’s journey, which ultimately brings her into the bowels of the moon itself. Ballingrud has such a grip on the emotional pulses of his world and characters, and yet his touch is light; quietly and subtly is how he best weaves his web, as strands of sorrow, loneliness, loss, and transformation touch Veronica and begin to hold her fast. Like any of those who find themselves in the middle of a tale of horror, she realizes too late at her fate.
However, this is Nathan Ballingrud. Endings are not always endings pure, but rather a glimpse into some strange and beautiful new beginning. Veronica is one of many in this institute who has come seeking help, a return to who she was; she may find, as we see in Ballingrud’s expert hands, there is no going back. If there is to be life, if there is to be freedom, it must be found in embracing change. What kind of change, you will have to read to find out. It only makes me more eager to see him pick up these story strands once more and keep weaving.
If you’re not reading the work of Nathan Ballingrud, Crypt of the Moon Spider is a perfect place to begin. Effortlessly pirouetting through and across genres, gathering pulp and gothic and horror and science fiction, and yes, even some noir, this first novella of a planned trilogy only makes me hungry for whatever comes next. Again, Ballingrud has outdone himself in the crafting of horror and humanity, the emotions resonating between people and monsters, and the struggle to resist the alien until we see it for the mirror it can be. I’ll do my best to be patient for this next installment; should I need inspiration, I will look at any web nearby, and ponder those beautiful forests on a moon only a story away.
Crypt of the Moon Spider is published by Nightfire.
