Written by John Langan
The Fisherman is a sweeping cosmic horror Epic that is bathed in Lovecraftian essence and features an unusual nested story structure. John Langan has created two side-by-side, or perhaps more precisely one story inside of the other, and both are of equal volume and thematic weight. The foundational tale is a modern one, as it follows two men who have both been beset by tragedy. The other is a story that is told to these men while going on a fishing expedition, which warns them of the unnatural history and the dark secrets of their desired fishing spot. That “ghost story” is at least half of the novel, and it is told in full, before returning to the original plot.
Abe and Ben are two widowed colleagues who have found solace together in fishing the wilds of upstate New York, near Woodstock. Abe has had decades to recover from his loss, but the much younger Ben was abruptly and recently robbed of his family in a tragic accident that he has not come to terms with, but the fishing helps.
The two of them are exploring an area known as Dutchman’s Creek, the place of strange stories, and unnerving rumors. But the fishing is reportedly promising, so they take the chance to find what is out there. On their way to the creek, they stop in a cafe, where one of the locals tells them of the legend of Der Fisher (The Fisherman), an apocalyptic character who in the 19th Century brought doom upon the community around Dutchman’s Creek, a village created for the construction of a dam that will provide a reservoir of needed water for New York. The unwitting workers will be slammed with a curse of unfathomable power.
The curse is introduced when the recently dead woman rises as a waterlogged ghoul while mysterious goings-on in the isolated manse at the edge of town portend truly awful things. It tells the tale of the heroic efforts of Rainer, a German immigrant professor turned mason, who leads the locals to dispel the evil brought to their village. Portals to a watery hellscape await the investigators, in a Victorian gas-lit exploration that anyone familiar with a Call of Cthulhu would feel perfectly at home.
The story comes round-about back to Abe and Dan, as they find the unsettling tale colorful but are in the end undeterred in their desire to go fish this area. What seems to be a foolhardy decision is girded by some deep-seated urges. The third act nicely weaves together both the modern and the antiquated stories together in a sad and disturbing climax.
Both of these tales are expertly crafted, with style and setting oozing with dread and dark wonder. Langan has a lyrical style that can shift from the more staccato beats of the modern portion and the elegant and sweeping Victorian verse. He avoids being bogged down in language dynamics like Lovecraft, but thematically this is 100% Lovecraftian. Grief. Madness. Deep wells of ancient evil. It’s all there.
What is less successful is that you have to suspend your disbelief, when Howard, the narrator of the history of Dutchman’s Creek, goes on for what in audiobook form is at least six hours of storytelling. You don’t go sit down for coffee and listen to somebody flawlessly recount lore for several hours, uninterrupted, recalling the thoughts of all the villagers as if experienced first hand.
The use of a narrator was not particularly believable here, and you just have to roll with it. There were times when I was thinking… are Abe and Dan going to be important? The answer is that eventually, yes, they are still the central figures of the story, but the tale of Dutchman’s Creek and the Fisherman are essential to what will come. Also, for somebody who is spinning the story, Howard has no other role. The short-order cook just happens to know the story. The whole story. The readers need to know. And, of course, Abe and Dan need to know the backstory but the narration is one gigantic and necessary exposition dump.
If you are a fan of horror as prose, and marathon campfire stories, this is highly recommended. Full admission: This was an audiobook listen for me, and Danny Campbell’s raspy voice was perfect for this production. He sounded like a man who has seen a thing or two, a voice of salty wisdom.
The Fisherman won the 2016 Bram Stoker Award, the greatest award in horror fiction. It is without a doubt, a landmark horror novel. Cosmic horror can often be a struggle to get through, conceptually, but this novel has a poetic flow to it. Langan manages to consistently and repeatedly hit the thematic nails on the head, in a compelling manner that draws you in. You do have to hang with it. When the second act (The full Dutchman’s Creek Story) is unrolled, it will be a long story, but absolutely worth it.
It is available through Amazon and Powell’s.
ISBN13 9781939905215
Published by Word Horde