Paula Guran Reviews Momma Durtt by Michael Shea
Momma Durtt, Michael Shea (Hippocampus Press 978-1-61498-417-7, 310pp. $20.00, tp) July 2024. Cover by Tom Brown.
Michael Shea (1946 – 2014) is usually noted for his World Fantasy Award-winning fantasy novel Nifft the Lean, but he is almost as well-known among horror lovers for his Lovecraftian fiction. Among a multitude of short work in this latter category is a 2012 novelette: ‘‘Momma Durtt’’. It is a good allegorical story, but somewhat lacking in depth. The novelette was a much-reduced version of a never-published novel of the same name. The novel, started in 1988 and completed a few years later as his thesis for a master’s degree, has now been published. Its themes of eco-horror (a term I don’t think existed in 1988), corruption, and greed are even more appropriate today. With a bevy of colorful characters (including various vehicles), a more muted Lovecraftian connection, and much more room for Shea’s vibrant writing, Momma Durtt becomes far more entertaining and relevant. An illegal toxic dump site in Northern California lies at the core of the plot. At the bidding of mobster Sol Lazarian, a ‘‘reeking black pus of chlorinated and fluorinated hydrocarbons’’ is pumped by the ton directly into a mile-deep shaft. As noxious as this is, it is the sacrificial dumping of human bodies that maximally feeds the entity Lazarian serves. Soon, nothing can contain her. The novel tears along like a house afire, intensely consuming, and ultimately explosive.
Paula Guran has edited more than 40 science fiction, fantasy, and horror anthologies and more than 50 novels and collections featuring the same. She’s reviewed and written articles for dozens of publications. She lives in Akron OH, near enough to her grandchildren to frequently be indulgent.
This review and more like it in the July 2024 issue of Locus.
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