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Book Review: Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell by Paul Kane

Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell by Paul Kane

Rebellion/Solaris, 2016

ISBN: 9781781084557

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

 

Sherlock Holmes and Cenobites sound like a combination that would be truly awful together, but I have to say, Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell blew my assumptions out of the water. With an introduction by Barbie Wilde, I was put at ease.

The book opens with a man solving the Lament Configuration. That man is Sherlock Holmes.

It’s 1895. Moriarty is declared dead, and Holmes miraculously survives the tumble off the cliff in his final adventure. Holmes and Watson are engaged by Laurence and Juliet Cotton, newlyweds with a strained relationship, to investigate the disappearance of Laurence’s brother, Francis. Their investigation leads them to look into a series of unusual missing persons’ cases, in which the missing parties vanish in impossible ways. One man disappears from a locked room, the only traces left behind being the faint scent of vanilla.

This is just the beginning of an investigation that will draw the pair into contact with an organization whispered about and known only as ‘The Order of the Gash.’ Clues lead the sleuth and the doctor to an underground club that services the most depraved of the upper crust of society, a sinister asylum in France, and the underworld of London. They encounter shady operators, meet old acquaintances in the strangest of circumstances, enter a world of depravity and pain, and make dangerous associates—the Cenobites, from hell.

Kane, previously editor of the tribute anthology Hellbound Hearts, clearly has a familiarity with and love of the Hellraiser universe. In this book, in addition to new Cenobites, Kane includes storylines and characters from Barker’s novella The Hellbound Heart, as well as the Hellraiser films.  I was pleasantly surprised to also find an authentic Holmes feel and pacing that shows a familiarity with the characters and style of Holmes’ stories. Kane was able to keep with the atmosphere and period sensibilities of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s style while still creating the feel of Clive Barker’s world of Cenobites–  and he makes it work. Recommended. Reader’s advisory note: Fans of both Sherlock Holmes and Hellraiser should enjoy this. Other horror/Holmes crossover titles include Sherlock Holmes: The London Terrors and others by William Meikle, and Gaslight Arcanum, edited by Kim Newman and Kevin Cockle.

Contains: mentions of body horror, allusions to sexual activity and gore

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker


Posted on August 31, 2016 by , Reply

Book Review: Dead Souls by J. Lincoln Fenn

Dead Souls by J. Lincoln Fenn

Gallery Books, 2016

ISBN-13: 978-1501110931

Available: Pre-order, paperback and Kindle edition

 

Fiona Quinn is having a bad day. She’s soaking wet, freezing cold, barefoot, locked out of her apartment without her wallet, and she just saw her boyfriend, Justin, take off in a taxi with another woman. It’s hard to believe that anyone would give her a drink, but her background in marketing makes her very convincing, and she’s busy downing mojitos when a man walks up to her, offers to buy her a sandwich and a drink, and asks her what it would take to convince her to sell her soul. Being an atheist, she says she’d trade it for the power of invisibility… but apparently lack of belief doesn’t invalidate the deal, and suddenly she owes the Devil, now called Scratch, a favor of his choosing– one that’s likely to be horrifying, graphic, and newsworthy.

As a damned soul, Fiona can identify others, and she meets Alejandro, who traded his soul to become a famous photographer. He  introduces her to a support group for those who have traded their souls and are now waiting for their favor to be called in, and lends her a book compiled over time by other damned souls seeking a way out.  Having traded her soul for invisibility so she can spy on her boyfriend, she then learns that, rather than cheating, he actually was planning to propose before he developed pancreatic cancer, and is leaving his estate to her. Feeling guilty, and wanting to restore him to health, she tries to figure out a way to change her deal with the devil to save Justin. Alejandro warns her that the devil is always a few steps ahead of what any of his dead souls may be planning, but Fiona is sure she can successfully double deal with the devil, escape her fate, and change Justin’s.

Much like the devil, J. Lincoln Fenn managed to keep a few steps ahead of me all through the book, with a twisty plot that somehow managed to tie together the beginning of the story with the end in a manner that is both ironic and truly gruesome. The favors Scratch calls in are turned against Fiona and her fellow dead souls, as he forces them to use the gift they bargained for in warped, grotesque, and graphically portrayed ways, both against humanity in general and each other.  Social media, photography, and marketing strategies all take prominent roles in the way the story plays out: Alejandro uses his images to capture souls, and Fiona uses her marketing talents to manipulate others, using her marketing trinity of novelty, misery, and desire.

Fenn’s writing is a trap: it starts out slowly, and the first quarter of the book creates unease, but there is no indication of the stomach-churning events to come. While I don’t think Fenn is aiming to be extreme, this is not a book for the squeamish. Some of the favors called in create images and visceral reactions that I won’t be able to let go of easily. Dead Souls is a well-crafted tale that, in addition to provoking unforgettable reactions in the reader, also provides food for thought, and it will disturb your thoughts next time you turn on the news. I won’t be surprised if it makes the shortlist for the Stoker this year. Highly recommended for public library collections. Reader’s advisory note: try recommending Dead Souls to readers who enjoyed Fenn’s debut novel, Poe, or Lauren Beukes’ Broken Monsters.

 

Contains: Graphic violence and gore, suicide, implied cannibalism, suicide, torture, mutilation, and descriptions and imagery depicting mass killings.

Posted on August 29, 2016 by , Reply

Book Review: The Hatching by Ezekiel Boone

 The Hatching by Ezekiel Boone

ISBN: 9781501125041

Available: Kindle ebook, print

Release date: July 2016

 

Spiders. Man-eating spiders. Highly cooperative man-eating spiders. I’m relatively certain that I twitched my way through this book.

The Hatching begins in the jungles of Peru, with a guide leading  Minnesota businessman Henderson and three women on a path, when their seemingly quiet walk through the jungle is disturbed by a man screaming and making his way toward them. Their way is further blocked by what appears to be black liquid. The black substance washes over the poor man, sending the group running through the jungle.

The story then focuses on FBI Agent Rich in Minneapolis, who is investigating a fatal plane crash. He makes a gruesome discovery after a large spider crawls out of the face of one of the unfortunate passengers, who turns out to be Henderson. We learn that other countries are facing a similar problem, but no one is communicating, and things continue to unravel around the world.

In Washington, D.C., Professor Melanie Guyer receives a mysterious package from a dig site in Nazca, Peru. Inside is an ancient egg sac that contains a never-before-discovered spider that breeds at an alarming rate and has a taste for flesh.  The rest is the stuff of nightmares.

What unfolds are stories of different people all over the world trying to make sense of everything. The lives of the characters touch each other briefly or are more intimately entwined. The chapters jump from one location to another, but the way the story is told, it makes sense for them to do so. It actually adds to the confusion the characters feel, and also provides the reader at times with what is going on in multiple regions.

There are a few characters I really enjoyed. United States President Stephanie Pilgrim is a no-nonsense, strong, female character. She’s able to make quick decisions, but knows when she need to consult outside resources before making decisions like grounding worldwide travel. The survivalists of Desperation, California, including husband and wife Gordo and Amy and their friends, Shotgun and Fred (the town’s only gay survivalist couple), are an enjoyable crew.  Their characters are well-developed, and I enjoyed the dynamics and friendship between them.

I found the pacing to be a bit slow going at the beginning , but once the story picks up, it keeps a fast pace. It is also a frightening book. The way Boone describes the movement of the groups of spiders and how they act in a confined space within Dr. Guyer’s laboratory is disturbing. I read it in a relatively short time. I can’t tell if that was pure enjoyment or if I just wanted to see what happened with the spiders…ugh. This is a very good read. Fair warning, though: if you don’t like spiders, it would probably be best for you to stay away from this one. Recommended.

Note: The Hatching ends on a cliffhanger. Based on the author’s Goodreads page, he’s working on the next one, Skitter. Recommended.

Contains: a lot of spiders, some gore

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker


Posted on July 20, 2016 by , Reply
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