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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

Book Review: My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

Quirk Books, May 2016

ISBN: 9781594748622

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition

 

My Best Friend’s Exorcism is set in the 80s, a time of big hair, awesome music, and the Satanic Panic. Abby Rivers and Gretchen Lang have been best friends since they were thrown together at Abby’s tenth birthday party. Now in high school, they are experiencing the awkwardness and discomfort of growing into teenagers, and their friendship is changing.

After a night of dropping acid with a few other friends goes bad, Gretchen goes missing for the entire night. When she reappears the next day, acting strangely, Abby seems to be the only one to notice.  As bizarre things start to happen to people, Abby, making her observations in the context of the 1980s fears of demonic possession that could happen to anyone, comes to the conclusion that her best friend must be demonically possessed; that something happened in the woods the night they took LSD. What other option could there be for Gretchen turning on her best friend? Unsurprisingly, no one believes her, except a bodybuilding evangelist who turns out to be fighting his own demons.

The story is narrated by Abby in first person, so we only see her point of view. As a teenager dealing with significant life events, changing hormones, emotional, physical, and psychological challenges, and a brain potentially altered by her experience with LSD, she is not necessarily a reliable narrator. In fact, several adults accuse Abby of being a bad influence on Gretchen, whose behavior changed after the girls’ shared drug experience. Abby’s own behavior is erratic, as well: she plans and executes a midnight break-in at Gretchen’s house.  While My Best Friend’s Exorcism could be read as a straightforward tale of demonic possession, it also can be read as an examination of a psychological breakdown. Hendrix has a talent for description: the description of Gretchen’s kitchen during Abby’s break-in as smelling of mold and old food, with temperature so cold she can see her breath, is so specific that it is easy to believe that Abby is giving us an accurate picture of events.

Overall, I think My Best Friend’s Exorcism is a great read. For anyone who grew up in the 80s, especially around the time of the infamous Satanic Panic, this book will bring back memories. One of the best things about this book is the chapter titles: if you guessed that they are titles of popular 80s songs, you would be correct. Admittedly, some of this may go over the heads of younger readers if they aren’t familiar with 80s culture, but for those of us who grew up in that time period, you will love it. Recommended.

Contains: drug use, blood

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker


Posted on July 19, 2016 by , Reply
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