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Book Review: Paradox Bound by Peter Clines

Paradox Bound by Peter Clines
Crown, 2017
ISBN-13: 978-0553418330
Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook, MP3 CD.

Time travel. Horror. Thriller. Utter weirdness. Peter Clines has it all covered in Paradox Bound. Those who have read The Fold, Cline’s science fiction/horror hit from last year, will be familiar with Cline’s way of introducing grand ideas, wild twists, and memorable characters. Those new to this writer, expect the kitchen sink. His prose is both lean and rich as he tells the story of a young boy who meets a beautiful oddball woman driving a 1920 Model A Ford, searching for the “real” American Dream. This novel could have been a cheesy mess in lesser hands, but Clines weaves genres together tightly, into a frighteningly enjoyable, breathless ride.

Eli Teague meets Harry(Harriet) not once, but twice, in the strange town of Sanders, Maine, where time seems to stand still, and every day is the “good old days” . She rolls up in her Model A with some baddies on her tail. Eli jumps in to try to help but somehow winds up tied to her and making a mess for her to clean up. The faceless men, creatures or humans without faces, are tracking all of the “searchers,” for the physical American Dream(if the readers can suspend disbelief for this, the book will fly by, with plenty of grins and white knuckles), seeking to kill all in their way. These characters are reminiscent of the Gentlemen from the “Hush” episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (without the floating part). Harry takes Eli on a cross country trek that also skips through time, for as long as America has been in existence. Think The DaVinci Code on crack, watching National Treasure, edited by horror writers. To say more would give away the many twists and turns of this fun romp. Give Clines a try– he is one of the more exciting writers to pop up in recent memory.

Reviewed by David Simms

Posted on April 25, 2018 by , Reply

Book Review: The Wild Inside by Jamey Bradbury

The Wild Inside by Jamey Bradbury

William Morrow, 2018

ISBN-13: 978-0062741998

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook, audio CD

 

Mother’s rules: never lose sight of the house; never come in with dirty hands, and most importantly, never, ever, make a person bleed.

The Wild Inside is a different kind of thriller. It’s been compared to a mix of Stephen King and the Bronte sisters, but that’s an unfair deal. What Bradbury has done is something unique, and should stand apart from those names. It truly is a wild novel both in narrative and story, something that adventurous readers should devour this spring and summer, despite the arctic bite that infects every chapter. It should also resonate strongly with the YA crowd and would do well to infiltrate that market, too.

Tracey Petrikoff is an unusual young woman. Kicked out of school for fighting, she harbors a darkness that usually can be contained. She seeks to please her parents and loves her little brother, even if things get a little crazy. When her mother passes away, Tracy is forced to grow up and help her father, an Iditarod musher who has been suspended. She also races, and aches to make the profession her life, although her behavior steps in and keeps her sidelined.

She is forced to focus on her hunting and trapping, skills she excels at, as she has a natural sense of what the prey feels and thinks. She keeps her mother’s warnings at the front of her mind, yet impulsiveness often rears its ugly head. When a stranger crosses her path in the wild, her knife flashes and blood spills. Her father saves his life, unaware that it could be his daughter who nearly killed the man. After a discovery nearby threatens to change her life, Tracey finds her world slowly unraveling. Then a boy steps out of the same woods to rent a room on their property: a character who holds more secrets than she.

What sets The Wild Inside apart from other contemporary YA fare is Bradbury’s narrative style. First person narrative is common, but while it’s not always well done, here the author excels. Bradbury’s style is both razor sharp and claustrophobic, resulting in a tense, but welcoming read. Dialogue tags are thrown to the side, often clashing with internal thoughts, forcing the reader to discern which is which: a heady, often trippy, experience that may put off casual readers, but for the dedicated, will bring rewards. Tracey is one of the more memorable characters in recent YA literature due to her moral makeup and her struggles both within herself and with the outside world.

Recommended for the thriller lover who craves something different, much different and can handle a different kind of narrative.

Contains: gore, violence, murder, descriptions of child abuse, LGBTQ+ themes

Reviewed by Dave Simms

 

 

 

Posted on April 19, 2018 by , Reply

Book Review: Freaky Franky by William Blackwell

Freaky Franky by William Blackwell

Telemachus Press, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-945330-94-0

Available: Paperback, eBook

 

Freaky Franky by is a gory, yet moralistic, tale about the increasingly popular, cult religion of Santa Muerte. Santa Muerte’s origins include elements of pre-Columbian  gods, European symbols of death and plague, and Catholicism.  It is said to have tens of millions of devotees in Latin America, especially Mexico and the American Southwest, among the disadvantaged, poor and downtrodden.  In Mexico, Santa Muerte is said to be popular among members of rival drug cartels.  The Roman Catholic Church and several Protestant denominations condemn its practice.

 

The Lady’s symbol is a female skeleton dressed in a robe, which usually carries a globe and scythe.  Devotees light candles and give offerings of tobacco smoke, alcohol, money and food.  The Lady grants wishes for love, wealth, health and protection.  However, she also grants wishes for vengeance and power over others.

 

Freaky Franky begins with seemingly unrelated horrific murders in Mexico and Prince Edward Island (PEI).  Equally gory murders and a violent sexual assault follow in the Dominican Republic.  Soon it is clear that the common thread is that worshipers of Santa Muerte are to blame.  In particular, Franklin, an expat who fled from a tragic childhood in Prince Edward Island, is responsible for much of the mayhem in a Dominican resort town.

 

However, in this story the Lady grants wholesome wishes as well.  A Mexican doctor in PEI uses Santa Muerte to cure Franklin’s nephew.  Anita, Franklin’s estranged sister, travels to the Dominican Republic to reconnect with him.  She prays to the Lady to help a young vacationing couple and turn Franklin away from doing evil.  Devotees can use Santa Muerte for good or for evil.  However, the novel makes it clear that those who use it for evil will be severely punished in their mortal life and in their afterlife.  Franklin struggles between these choices.  Can he be saved?

 

The plot is initially confusing until the common thread of Santa Muerte becomes clear after the first few chapters.  Thereafter, it moves along well.  The characters are mostly one-dimensional.  However, Franklin and Helen, Anita’s bullied friend, are interesting when they waver between using the Lady for evil and good.

 

Contains: graphic sex, sexual assault, violence and gore.

 

Reviewed by Robert D. Yee

Posted on April 18, 2018 by , Reply
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