Gateways to Abomination is the first collection of Matthew Bartlett's that I've read, and these tales mesmerized me from beginning to end. With the bulk of the stories thematically tied together — and interwoven with ongoing broadcasts from the truly weird radio station, WXXT (which I will now claim as my favorite radio station of all time) — the narrative felt simultaneously all over the map and ultimately coherent. Bartlett's prose is not just lyrical; it is elegant, painting vivid, frequently grotesque portraits and scenes more unsettling than in any weird tales I've read in a long time. With the author's masterful storytelling and its pervasive atmosphere of soul-deep dread, Gateways to Abomination is a work to which I can enthusiastically apply the term "shuddersome" as a superlative.
I listened to the audiobook of Gateways, read by Jon Padgett, directly upon completing the entire audio series of F. Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack novels, most of which were read by Christopher Price. I had become so accustomed to Price's narration that Padgett's wholly different style and tone struck me as a bit jarring. It didn't take long, though, before I became wholly immersed in the tales and actually loving Padgett's more frenetic and emotive narration.
Gateways was originally released in 2014, and since then, Bartlett has produced an extensive body of work. I will look forward to delving more deeply into his unsettling world and — hopefully — listening to many more cryptic broadcasts from WXXT.
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