What's New, Scooby Cthulhu? - Meddling Kids Review
What's
New, Scooby Cthulhu?
Meddling Kids
Written by Edgar Cantero
Published by Doubleday Books
Have you
ever stopped to think what life would be like for Scooby Doo and the
gang once they grew up and entered the real world? Neither had I,
until I read Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero. This novel is Cantero's
spin on mystery series like The Hardy Boys and Scooby Doo. It is also
a worthy tribute to H.P. Lovecraft and the eldritch horror genre.
Cantero is a Spanish novelist and newspaper cartoonist. Meddling Kids
is his second novel written in English. Although it is the only one
of his works I've read, I get the sense from reading the synopsis of
his other books, that he enjoys combining genres to create a blended
horror story. This is certainly true for Meddling Kids.
The story
in this novel is much more than a group of kids getting chased by a
guy in a monster mask. As children Peter, Nate, Andy, Kerri and her
dog Dave, spent their summers together in the Oregon town of Blyton
Hills. They were all part of a detective club that solved local
mysteries. The book opens on them as adults, each still traumatized
by the strange events that occurred during their final case. Seeking
to find peace, they return to Blyton Hills for the first time in
decades and literally confront the horrors from their past.
I really
enjoyed the modern twist on the Mysteries, Inc. team. With the
exception of a dog being a member of the team, the main characters
are not just carbon copies of the Scooby gang. Yes, one of them is a
jock and one of the women is book smart, but all of them have a lot
more depth then the cartoon characters from whom Cantero drew
inspiration. The reader really comes to know the characters for who
they've become as adults. Cantero gives us glimpses into their
childhood friendship and sprinkles hints as to what transpired during
their final case. These hints keep the reader guessing as to what is
real and what was imagined by the minds of frightened children. The
hints also help build up the elements of eldritch horror throughout
the first half of the story by keeping the existence of the threat
the characters face veiled in shadow and doubt.
Despite
being inspired by childhood favorite characters, this novel was a
challenging read. Cantero is constantly mixing narrative styles and
literary devices, sometimes within the same paragraph. There is a mix
of prose, narration, and liberal yet unorganized use of both third
person limited and third person omniscient perspectives. Some
dialogue is even formatted like a movie script. Cantero also overuses
personification. Everything from the local cafe to the gang's car
gives its opinion on the characters. I think Cantero's intention was
to provide atmosphere and levity to the story, but it tended to take
my focus away from the actual storyline instead. Most grievously,
Cantero rarely uses personification or third person limited on the
dog. Even given the inspiration behind the novel, I didn't expect the
dog to talk. Yet with the liberal use of personification, in a story
inspired by Scooby Doo, you'd think Cantero would use this literary
technique on the dog more often. In additon, there were a few times
during intense scenes where I wished Cantero would spend a little
less time creating atmosphere and more time detailing the setting in
which these scenes were occurring. It's hard to imagine a fight scene
in your head when you don't know how the area the characters are
fighting in is set up...yet you know the wallpaper's opinion of the
ongoing battle.
Even with
the random, unpredictable literary styles, Cantero delivers some
solid storytelling. There is a subtle love story that I found very
compelling. Cantero avoids making the budding romance between two of
the characters a subplot, instead weaving it into the overall
narrative. The romantic element becomes another layer of character
development and not just a plot point. There is also an unexpected
amount of action sequences. These scenes are very exciting and help
differentiate Meddling Kids from most other similar mystery novels.
By putting
together concepts from Scooby Doo and Lovecraft, Cantero creates a
fun and diverse mystery in Meddling Kids. There is a great
juxtaposition between the element of the unknown common to
Lovecraft's stories, the unreliability of a child's memories of a
traumatic experience, and the inherent skepticism of 'real monster'
vs. 'man in a mask' theme of most episodes of Scooby Doo. These
elements all come together to form a compelling mystery with elements
of action and romance. Cantero's writing style makes for a
challenging read, but those who make it to the end of the novel will
close the book feeling a sense of satisfaction.
Writing Score: 2 / 5
Genre Score: 4 / 5
OVERALL SCORE: 3 / 5
