Black Static

In 2008 author Paul Kane reinvented the story of Little Red Riding Hood with his novella "Red". Seven years later he returned to the themes and characters with Blood Red, released as a signed limited edition hardcover by Short, Scary Tales Publications, with cover art by Dave McKean and an introduction by Alison Littlewood.

The 2015 release opens with the original novella "Red". In a prologue the shape shifting monster devours a woman in the toilets of an Italian restaurant. Afterwards he picks up the scent of Rachael, an aspiring actress earning a crust as a care worker, deciding that she will make a delicious morsel, and that they have met before in a previous life. Rachael is visiting Tilly, one of her clients on a rundown estate, only the wolf has taken Tilly's place. "Blood Red" opens with Hunter slaying a werewolf, and then we segue to Rachael, who is feeling very confused, haunted by strange dreams and visions. Matters are further complicated by the intrusion of her interfering mother Kathleen. Cue copious amounts of bloodletting and a final showdown with Kane firing on all cylinders. Closing out the book are various extras, including Tim Lebbon's original introduction to "Red", extracts from a film script and a comic book adaptation, drawings of various characters, all of which add interest and value to the publication.

This is a lively read. I particularly liked the original novella, which was self-contained and an excellent adaptation of the source material, incorporating the Red Riding Hood story into the plot and with an intriguing variation on the werewolf theme, making the creature more properly a shapeshifter. And plenty of balls to the wall action sequences. "Blood Red" however appears to belong to the more is more school of thought, with lashings of gore and changing the scenario to give us teams of monster hunters and a backdrop with mythic archetypes. To my mind it was a reach too far and in a way undermined the initial story, with the ending torn up and reinvented in a way that allowed the writer to pull practically any story twist out of his sleeve. In film franchise terms, it felt as if, having achieved success with a small budget thriller, the director and his team then got to go to town with a ludicrous sum of money to spend, and so did less in terms of plot tautness. But while I felt the underlying concept was stretched too far, I enjoyed the story for the action scenes, where again Kane excels. In both sections the supporting cast were well drawn, and I liked a lot of the minor characters. Hunter however seemed too cliched, with his label name and instant attraction to Rachael. And while she worked well for all that the plot required of her, I didn't find Rachael especially interesting; we're told she's an aspiring actress, but little use is made of that, so one wonders why Kane bothered to pin down her occupation. A minor quibble. At the end there are the expected horror grace notes to suggest that the story isn't really over yet and call into question some of what occurred before.

Overall Blood Red was a fun book and held my attention, but at the same time it all felt just slightly dissatisfying, the sequel falling short of expectations raised by the original.