Weird, feverish, and often nearly inscrutable. This novella is helped by its short length. The author takes big, delirious swings that sustain intrigue in this form would demand more clarity and/or payoff in a longer work.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Though there are instances where the novel delighted me with insightful philosophy, incisive images, and evocative prose, I am not enamored by it holistically. I could feel it sliding off from my attention span too frequently for my comfort and ended up eventually shortchanging me for all the efforts that I invested in it.

If you love a twisting turning stream of consciousness monologue, this is novella is for you.This book is a fever dream, with barely a thread to hold onto to keep you from being untethered and sucked into a black hole of your own. Weird lit is my jam. But even I felt completely unmoored in this plot.

Jeff Vandermeer and China Mieville are two of my favorite authors and even I struggled to follow this narrative. That will either sell you on this completely, or steer you in another direction. I will let you decide if you haven’t found lit weird enough yet that this could be the hallucinatory story you were looking for today.

If you've never read Cisco before, well, this is definitely NOT the book to start with: "Black Brane" employs standard fictional techniques to provide an atypical, wildly inconsistent, multiply non-linear, reading experience, blending body horror, hard science fiction, and occult mystery in ways noone has even imagined before! The writing technique is (for lack of a better word) 'blurry': scenes fall on top of each other, flashbacks become flashforwards without warning, the pacing occasionally cancels itself out, stuttering through weird deformations of philosophy and physics jargon - and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

The plot (to the extent that there's such a thing as a plot in a book that feels like falling into a black hole) revolves around a man who once worked for an institute studying holes, whose director (a homeless woman who won the lottery, studied physics and philosophy and then revealed she has a talking pencil-shaped hole in her brain) has devoted herself to uncovering the mystery of holes by studyong Levinas's "Escape" and eschewing easy summaries of her investigative devices.

Told in first-person, the man narrates his story while suffering from foot pains throughout, pains often exploding onto the page and messing up his narrative. There's no point summarizing further the book, since once the cast is introduced (his colleagues in the institute) the plot thickens, to the point that every little detail starts giving the impression of conveying some great significance, though never actually going where the indications provided might lead you to expect.

"Black Brane" (brane being the word for black holes in string theory) demands investment and terrific reading energy, offering the promise of a unique reading experience reminiscent of Deleuze, Joyce, Barker, and Ligotti. It's a cathedral made of shells you have to climb over without bloodying yourself. If you feel what I'm saying, I recommend giving yourself to the book wholeheartedly!

Black Brane is a wild ride of science, weirdness, and horror, interwoven in a cleverly written story that requires readers to think abstractly. This follows our main character ‘Gross’ who suffered a terrible accident and now lies in crippling pain. We learn through a variety of dream sequences and flashbacks, exactly what happened at the TISH institute, and to the study of Black Branes.

This is a very abstract novel that tells the story, mainly, through flashbacks and dream sequences to eventually understand the true extent of what is happening to Gross. Although this was clever in theory, in actuality I found it very confusing. There were no chapter titles, or clear transitions between some scenes. At one point it seemed like two scenes were blended into each other.

I believe the nonlinear format is a signature of this author. It was a unique experience that made me feel as lost as the main character when he was in a half dreaming state.
While this book was not for me, I can certainly see that it will appeal to some that enjoy weird fiction, literary fiction, science, and horror.

This book was cleverly written to be nonlinear and abstract, telling the story of black brane studies and experimentation. It deals with themes of loss, trauma, unreliable memories, and many more. Overall I have given this a 2.5 star rating,
Thank you to Netgalley and CLASH Books for the Advanced Reader’s Copy (ARC) of this book. All opinions are my own.

I’m sincerely sorry, but this novel was completely lost on me. A string of run on sentences of scientific jargon mostly, the plot lost somewhere in there. The beginning in particular read very strangely and felt very strange but not in a good way.

I don’t know what the hell I just read, but god damn did I have a good time doing it. It takes a deft hand to write weird, borderline hallucinatory science fiction in a way that still satisfies, and that’s exactly what Cisco has done here. I was simultaneously hanging onto and questioning every word. A lean, evocative, and thought provoking book.

Black Brane by Michael Cisco: A Weird Fiction Masterpiece


Michael Cisco's "Black Brane" is a mesmerizing, unsettling novel that delves into the darkest recesses of human consciousness, blurring the lines between reality and madness. This surreal, unsettling tale will captivate fans of weird fiction, horror, and literary experimentation.

Plot:

In a world where reality is fragmented and porous, a mysterious entity known as the Black Brane infiltrates the minds of individuals, manipulating their perceptions and memories. As the narrative unfolds, Cisco masterfully weaves together multiple storylines, exploring themes of identity, trauma, and the instability of reality.

Writing Style:

Cisco's prose is characterized by:

1. Unsettling, dreamlike imagery
2. Fragmented, non-linear narrative structure
3. Philosophical and psychological introspection
4. Blending of horror, sci-fi, and fantasy elements

Quote:
"As I walked, the city unfolded like a corpse bloating in the sun, its skin splitting open to reveal a lattice of alleys, each one a fibrous tendon connecting the knotted muscles of buildings, and the streets were veins, pulsing with a faint, greasy light that seemed to seep from the very pores of the walls."


This passage showcases Cisco's mastery of weird fiction, demonstrating his ability to:

1. Craft unsettling, surreal imagery
2. Blur the lines between reality and madness
3. Explore the fragility of human perception

Themes:

1. The instability of reality and identity
2. Trauma, memory, and the power of the human psyche
3. The blurring of boundaries between horror, sci-fi, and fantasy
4. The search for meaning in a chaotic, fragmented world

Character Development:

1. The protagonist: A fractured, shifting identity, navigating the labyrinthine narrative.
2. The Black Brane: An enigmatic, malevolent entity, manipulating perceptions and memories.
3. Supporting characters: Fragmented, surreal, and often unsettling.


Recommendation:
"Black Brane" is perfect for fans of:

- Weird fiction (e.g., Thomas Ligotti, Jeff VanderMeer)
- Horror and sci-fi hybrids (e.g., H.P. Lovecraft, China Miéville)
- Literary experimentation and avant-garde fiction (e.g., James Joyce, William S. Burroughs)
Of the above Jeff VanderMeer and China Miéville read as peers.


Overall, "Black Brane" is a masterpiece of weird fiction, pushing the boundaries of language, narrative, and human understanding. Cisco's writing style, characterized by unsettling imagery and philosophical introspection, will captivate readers and challenge their perceptions of reality.

I really enjoyed the horror element to this book, it had that overall story that wanted. Michael Cisco has a strong writing style and was engaged with the overall element in this story. I was hooked form the first page and was glad I got to read this. The characters worked in the setting and was glad I got to go on this journey with the characters. I'm excited to read more from Michael Cisco, as this was really well done.

*Black Brane* by Michael Cisco is a haunting journey through horror, metaphysics, and the fabric of reality itself. Known for his richly complex and often unsettling writing, Cisco pushes the boundaries of genre in this novel, blending psychological horror with cosmic themes to create a chilling and surreal experience.

The narrative follows a protagonist caught in a world where reality is slipping, unraveling into realms unknown and unspeakable. As they confront these strange dimensions, filled with disturbing entities and philosophical puzzles, they must grapple with not only survival but the shifting nature of existence itself. Cisco’s prose is darkly poetic, full of vivid, almost otherworldly imagery that places readers right into the eerie, suffocating atmosphere he creates. Every word feels deliberate, contributing to an immersive experience that blurs the line between reality and nightmare.

Cisco’s approach to character development is unique—while his protagonist feels relatable, they’re also veiled in a certain enigma, which heightens the story’s themes of identity dissolution and cosmic insignificance. In *Black Brane*, Cisco explores psychological horror in a way that transcends typical genre conventions, weaving in existential dread that challenges readers’ perceptions of consciousness and the universe. His writing style, sometimes described as dense and cerebral, will appeal to readers who enjoy intellectual horror that demands active engagement with the text.

The pacing is both intense and measured, as Cisco builds tension with carefully layered mysteries and philosophical explorations that culminate in moments of profound horror. Cisco doesn’t just tell a story; he crafts an experience that is felt on a visceral and mental level, leaving readers haunted by the implications of his world long after they’ve finished the book.

In conclusion, *Black Brane* by Michael Cisco is a masterpiece of cosmic horror that engages the mind as much as it does the emotions. It’s a must-read for those who appreciate horror that challenges the boundaries of reality, with layers of meaning and atmosphere that reveal themselves through careful reading. Dark, intelligent, and relentlessly eerie, *Black Brane* is a true exploration of the unknown that will captivate fans of weird fiction and cosmic horror.

Reminiscent of VanderMeer’s Authority/Acceptance, Black Brane delves into a dimly outlined world of science. I don’t know that I found it hugely rewarding of a read.

Thank you NetGalley and CLASH books for providing this eARC of Black Brane in exchange for this honest review!

3.5 Stars rounded up to 4

I've been in a couple book clubs in my time and they all run into the same problem for me. The kind of books that a large group of people want to read in a shortish amount of time are usually not the kinds of books that warrant the group discussion that book clubs can be great for. Not to say that I haven't read great books in book clubs, just saying that those books were usually crowd pleasers that say all they want to say within the text itself.

All of this to say that I wish I was in a book club that read books like Black Brane. This book is weird both in subtle and overt ways. I'll be honest my reading experience for this book was probably 3 stars there are parts that really hooked me and there are parts that I had to pull myself through which nearly killed the book for me. But the book made me think and I was always on the edge of knowing sort of what was happening in any given scene, and really struggling to see what was happening in the broader plot movements of the book as well as never really being sure what the book was doing thematically. Not to say I wasn't fully unaware on either front, but being in a group discussion setting could really boost this book for me.

The characters are all at a bare minimum passable, with some of the being pretty good notably for me Gross, Renbrui, and Daladara. Gross' PoV really made this book with him being just as confused as the reader sometimes, and Renbrui and Dandara provided for some of the best scenes in the book.

If you are looking for something weird and have a group to read this with or like questions I would recommend Black Brane. I plan on reading more Cisco after this promising outing.