This chapter isn’t terribly exciting. I mean, it’s still entertaining to read because it touches on a lot of small tidbits, but nothing hugely important happens. With that being said, I think that’s part of what makes it nice since it is a little bit of a step back and a breath after so many chapters of introducing one thing after the next. And the tidbits are fun too. Snuff’s analysis of the Great Detective is a really interesting and alien perspective on a very familiar character and Larry’s conversation with Jack all but confirms what he is, if you haven’t picked it up already. And his comments on the Count are a fun little note since the two archetypes are so commonly paired in Gothic Horror. Speaking of, while the Count is perhaps the least subtle of the references in the book (and I don’t mean that in a bad way — it’s hard to keep such an iconic character subtle) Graymalk’s investigation confirms it with nice sideways references like the coffin and lack of a mirror.
I think what interests me the most about this chapter is the comment on the Things in the Mirror. In a book filled with references, they might be one of the few that I just outright don’t get. Put less succinctly, it’s obvious that the Things are all just some kind of arbitrary otherworldly monster, likely with a vague eldritch bent given the story. What they actually are doesn’t matter. But here, Snuff mentions very specifically that Jack found the Things in the Mirror in a village in India deserted because of plague. And that specific comment piques my interest. It makes me feel like I should be able to pick up some kind of reference there. Like that maybe there is some sort of plague demon in Hindu mythology that I just don’t know. Or maybe a Lovecraft or tangential story that features something about India. I just don’t know and the fact that I don’t makes me think there must be. It gnaws at me.
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