Guest Review: Shagduk

Elrond Hubbard talks Supernatural Horror

Aristos Note: I hope everyone enjoys this guest review by my friend, Elrond Hubbard. He is an author in our circle who can be found on Twitter at @@ElronHubb who has been writing a horror serial on his Substack, called “Sheepskin”. I recommend you guys check him out and give it a read, over at johnparce.substack.com. I’ve been meaning to read Shagduk, a lot of my friends who have read it have said it’s excellent, it’s a story published by our good friends over at Pilum Press, who out of all the indie publishers in our side of things seem to really have their stuff together and are good people. Check out their site with Shagduk and other offerings here or at @pilumpress on Twitter.

I came across this book the same way I discover most of my reading list these days: on Twitter. I was particularly intrigued after reading a thread by Alexander Palacio (@conan_esq). Once I saw that this book was a supernatural mystery set in 1970s Texas, I knew I’d be picking this one up soon.

The book takes place in 1977 in Fort Worth. My parents graduated from high school that year just a few hours away. When I became a teenager, my father went out of his way to share his interests with me, most of which were developed in the late 70s and early 80s—mainly classic rock music and books he read at the time such as Lord of the Rings. Because of this, I felt a connection with the setting of this book before reading a word of it.

Once I did open it up, I couldn’t get it out of my head until I finished. I read it all over a weekend.

Shagduk, also known as De Re Dordica: Book One, opens with librarian Steven Miller’s first journal entry on New Year’s Day, 1977. Steven is given this journal by Professor Sherwood, a brilliant but eccentric instructor at Porteous, the university where Steven works. In this first entry, we meet Randy the Bastard, Steven’s friend and coworker. They share an interest in Dordic, a mystical dead language introduced to them by Professor Sherwood. Steven and Randy fall into the role of amateur investigators when Sherwood is discovered to be missing.

The search for Sherwood leads to his home, where some of his effects are found alongside a mysterious book written in Dordic—a codex. Steven, of course, immediately flips it open and reads a summoning incantation aloud. Who wouldn’t?

When the professor is not found at home, Steven resumes his normal life. Aside from work at the library, the part of his life we get the most information about is his side job in a gig band. He reads, he drinks, he accumulates crap for his apartment, he doggedly follows a few romantic leads. But an unwelcome intruder, an imp he nicknames “Harvey,” starts to show up and bring trouble. Only seen in brief glimpses, Harvey spies on Steven, steals his things, and generally interferes in his life and the lives of those around him.

Thankfully, Steven has Randy to discuss this with. As the two of them delve into the codex and other ancient tomes, discovering spells and cryptic runes and the history of an arcane civilization, they are drawn further and further towards something ancient and terrible. What did Sherwood find that made him disappear?

The Style:

The entire book is presented in a journal format, with Steven making daily entries that span several months. This is a fantastic way to sprinkle the burgeoning supernatural events throughout Steven’s normal routine. Not that the fantastical elements are the only interesting part—Steven’s life has a charm of its own and you find yourself wishing the evil spirits would just let him get on with it.

Although I encountered this book marketed as a supernatural mystery, I found it more of a comedy with weird fiction elements. The book is incredibly faithful to the real-life time and place in which it is set.

Little bits of verisimilitude here and there deepen the setting. In the January 9th journal entry, for example, Randy makes Steven put the investigation on hold while they watch the Super Bowl. The Raiders and the Vikings are mentioned, which were the teams that actually played that year. It’s a completely obvious detail, but not every author puts in even that little bit of effort. I didn’t look up every 1977 reference, but all the ones I did look up happened exactly as depicted here.

The author, J.B. Jackson, gave an interview on YouTube with Zerosum716 in May of 2022, a month before the book came out. He named The Diary of a Nobody as one of his major literary references, in which the hapless protagonist is subjected to social blunders and ridicule. I haven’t read this or any of the other influences Jackson named. I found the tone to be like the best of Stephen King’s work, in the sense that much time is spent on the POV character’s inner thoughts and daily life. Unlike King, though, Jackson’s protagonist is not dysfunctional and is a refreshingly normal human being. This feels like a real journal.

The Themes:

A big part of Shagduk is the daily life of the narrator. The author has stated—and I agree—that this “preamble” of normalcy is needed in order for the supernatural elements to have an impact. The publisher, Pilum Press, has a video posted on their website where Paul Rhoads, a friend of the book’s editor, provides a thoughtful review of Shagduk. Mr. Rhoads talks about another book as a contrasting example of bad fiction. That book opens up throwing fantastical names and places at the reader before jumping right into a visit from the supernatural. Shagduk avoids this by spending time getting us invested in Steven’s life before complicating it.

In the interview with Zerosum716, Jackson had this to say:

“Some of us think, ‘What would happen if I went back in time, or if I went to the land of the dinosaurs, or if I took a spaceship to a strange planet or something?’ You know, you indulge in these fantasies. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I think, ‘How would I brush my teeth if I went to the land of the dinosaurs? What would I use for toilet paper?’ These are real problems and we can all identify with that. When you read other people’s novels or watch a movie or television series, they don’t address these things […] I give a little more time to daily life because it interests me.”

An interesting development arises that threatens to disrupt the mundane life so valued by Steven and the author. As Steven becomes more comfortable with the incantations and starts to experiment with magic to achieve his goals, he is faced with some very dark temptations. I reached out to the author to inquire about this thematic aspect and received this response:

“That's definitely something that's addressed in Book Two. As [Steven] gets a taste of power, he becomes aware of that changing him.”

I can’t wait.

The Good Stuff:

The different elements of this story mesh together unexpectedly well. I spent most of this book in dread, but I was laughing at the same time. Jackson has a talent for pivoting from horror to comedy on a dime without whiplashing you out of immersion. This can only work so well because we spend time with Steven and Randy learning who they are in their daily lives. And they retain their personalities even when they encounter something unbelievable and terrible. Randy the Bastard, in particular, never misses an opportunity to rib Steven, especially when the stakes are high.

Pulled bread bags over my shoes to keep them dry. Hurriedly crossed the lumpy asphalt street and approached Sherwood’s front porch. A black-figured krater filled with frost-bitten cacti confirmed I was at the correct house. Have given Sherwood rides home but he never invites me in. Slipped on some ice and broke the tip off a Japanese stone lantern. Sorry, old man! Knocked until my knuckles hurt, then jiggled the doorknob. Looked through all the windows but most of them had drapes. I noted several newspapers in the yard.

Circling to the back, I snooped around a dilapidated garage, then peered down a dark well. Found the tornado shelter unlocked, so I hoisted open one of the bowed, termite-ridden doors and gazed down into the gloom. Save for a few cobwebs, the room appeared to be empty. Did not want a spider dropping down the back of my neck, so I turned to leave. As I did so, however, something caught my eye. At the bottom of the steps lay what appeared to be Sherwood’s cane. It had been broken into several pieces. By now I was freezing my ass off, so I gathered the fragments and returned to the Rambler.

After a pit stop at Roy Pope for hot dogs, buns, a carton of Kents, and a couple of cat toys, I headed over to the Bastard’s. When I arrived he was making homemade paper like any normal person. While he washed up, I told him about going over to Sherwood’s. I showed him what I had discovered.

“This is his cane, all right,” he said. “Or just the tsue. But where’s the blade? And why do you have Wonder bread bags over your shoes? Those go over your socks, dipshit.”

The following entry is my favorite example of how apprehension and jocular humor are never far apart. On the one hand, once Harvey is summoned, no aspect of Steven’s life is safe from the imp’s intrusive, violating presence—not his home, his work, his music gigs, or his bumbling interactions with women. On the other hand, none of that can stop Steven from being a male in his early twenties with the accompanying sense of humor:

Woke up to no smokes. Got dressed and walked down to the Texaco for a pack. Upon my return, I encountered Vee.

“Dollface!” she said, cheerfully. “You’re wearing shorts!”

“Going to be warm later.”

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Vee wrung her hands and looked worried. “Something scary happened to me last night. Don’t know what to make of it.” I went up.

“Scary? What happened?”

“You’re going to think I’m ridiculous,” she said sheepishly.

“Of course I won’t. Tell me.”

“It was about two-thirty, I guess. Had gotten up to pee, and was sitting on the toilet in the dark when Figgy came in and tried to climb into my panties. Why do cats do that? Thought nothing of it, until I reached down to pet him. Only it wasn’t Figgy.”

“Who was it?”

“Didn’t know what I was touching at first. Still don’t. Guess I was half asleep. You expect soft fur. This was like a plucked chicken. And it kind of stank! I slapped it, which was like slapping raw meat. It made an awful growling sound and disappeared.”

“Just vanished?”

“Sort of. It’s like it just wasn’t there anymore. Turned the bathroom light on, but didn’t see anything. I searched the whole house. All the windows were closed. But the pocket doors were open. Figgy knows how to open those, so I thought nothing of it. Except they had definitely been closed when I went to bed and Figgy was inside. But I couldn’t find him! This morning, I opened the front door and saw him across the street. He was staring at the house like a sad puss. Had to go and carry him back. He was looking around like he was kind of spooked.”

Tried to imagine what a normal response would be. Was going to suggest it was a raccoon or a possum, but those are not hairless. And there is no way an armadillo could have gotten in here. “There must be a simple explanation,” I said.

“And what’s that?”

“Don’t know, Vee.” Which was not a lie.

Rehearsal in the evening, followed by a lively debate over the set list. All of Tim’s songs made the cut, including “Tim’s Bolero.” Bonnie wanted “All Tomorrow’s Parties” but I held the line against covers. Dave II had us all in stitches over his Frank Zappa impressions, though they went over my head. Frank Zappa is like coffee or smoking a pipe. How do you acquire taste? Should give him another chance. Dave II says he approves of Time Frame, and what Dave II says, goes!

Fred wanted a ride home. On the way, we spoke of Christa Helm’s murder. “By the way,” I said. “I have your bread for The Hobbit.” I dug into my mansack and pulled out Slaughterhouse 5. “Or, I can trade you this. It’s signed. Met Vonnegut when he was at Porteous a couple of years ago. He drew a big asterisk under his name. He then tapped the asterisk twice and asked, ‘Do you know what that is? That’s my asshole.’ This copy has been tainted for me ever since.”

“Deal.” Fred took the Vonnegut and got out of the Rambler. Not sure who got the better deal. At least I got Vonnegut’s asshole out of my house. Feel like I got out from under a curse.

In Summary:

Just buy this book. You won’t regret it. Just don’t expect all the answers by the end. Jackson has said that this 90,000-word book was originally submitted as a nearly 200,000-word manuscript before he and the publisher found a suitable point to chop it in half. That means the sequel is on its way in 2023, and Jackson has hinted that the series may end up as a trilogy or even longer. I will be picking up a copy of the next one for sure, and you will too after you’ve gotten a taste of Shagduk.

Buy Shagduk on Amazon here

Buy Shagduk and check out other titles by Pilum Press here