Book review: Adam Godfrey's Narcissus

Much of Adam Godfrey's Narcissus, a forthcoming novella from Shortwave Publishing, will be familiar.

A reflection, shall we say, on the stories we already know.

The young people, on vacation, taking risks they might otherwise skip because – whether or not they understand the motivations – they feel unwatched.

The murderous spirit they invoke because – whether or not they understand the mythology – to disappear from the world is to invite death.

The corpses, each body falling in proportion to its failings.

This is the horror story – but the true horror comes at the end, when the survivors decide, incorrectly, that amor te ipsum is best translated as be narcissistic.

This isn't true.

It is, in fact, the final reversal.

To love one's self and to be a narcissist stand opposite one another. The eyes meet. The secure self turns away, prepared to interact with an imperfect world. The insecure self stays, staring and reacting to the imperfect mirror.