Horror novelist's frightening language

One of my favorite reads on the Internet is Ansible, David Langford's monthly science fiction and fantasy newsletter, which can be read over the Web or in e-mail.

A regular feature of the newsletter is Thog's Masterclass, a collection of mangled metaphors, hilarious subject-verb disagreements, and other crimes against English. This month lists five from Kunma, a new horror novel by David Sussman:

  • Striking Simile Dept.: "... the abbot watched dazedly as they rushed like lemurs towards destruction."
  • Literality Dept.: "Dr. Runnicels, Immaculate's chief of staff, literally dripped Southern courtesy."
  • Theology Dept.: "Catholics as a rule avoid divorce -- unless one of them dies."
  • Eyeballs in the Sky Dept.: "Anita's brown, penetrating eyes never left David's face, except to pour cups of tea."
  • Aerostatics Dept.: "The vultures, aware of this supernatural transformation, halted in their flight."

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