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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

Book Review: The Fireman by Joe Hill

The Fireman by Joe Hill

William Morrow, 2016

ISBN-10: 0062200631; ISBN-13: 978-0062200631

Availability: Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle edition

 

Joe Hill may be Stephen King’s son, but he has staked out his own claim on horror fiction as quite the forbidding beast. His published work, such as his story in 20th Century Ghosts (William Morrow, 2008), the retro-feel Heart Shaped Box (2009) the quirky Horns (2011), and masterful N0S4A2 (2013), has become more and more outstanding. His newest, The Fireman, has been touted as Hill’s masterpiece, and I agree.

 

The plot of The Fireman begins when a new, incurable, virus called Dragonscale breaks out. Dragonscale is beautiful in its black and gold-speckled bruised hues, and the effects of the disease are instantaneous for many victims; once infected, people catch fire. Some suffer just a little puff of smoke on the arms, legs, or chest; others combust and light up like napalm.

 

When nurse Grayson Harper sees a man catch fire outside her school, she decides to volunteer at the local hospital to help victims of Dragonscale. One day, a strange man in fire gear demands help for a child in his arms. This is the titular character, who forsakes his own well-being to help others. Grayson sees him again when she learns she is pregnant, and infected. The fireman helps her escape her abusive husband and leads her to a “camp” where other infected victims learn to live with the disease. Most of the plot revolves around the wild array of characters at camp, including a cult-like group, and we soon learn there are no true villains in this story: just misguided humans.

 

The Fireman is surprising and brilliant, and at over 700 pages, it would serve as a great summer read. Joe Hill is an incredible storyteller; the reader feels as though they are sitting at a bar or campfire listening to a master spin a yarn. The writing is smooth, and the story will stay with the reader long after the covers are closed. I won’t be surprised if it garners a Stoker. Highly recommended.

 

Reviewed by David Simms

 

Posted on July 6, 2016 by , Reply

Book Review: The Dark at the End of the Tunnel by Taylor Grant

The Dark at the End of the Tunnel by Taylor Grant

Crystal Lake Publishing, 2015

ISBN: 9780994679338

Available: Kindle ebook, trade paperback

I enjoy a good novel, but sometimes a solid collection of short stories is just as good, if not better. The Darkness at the End of the Tunnel by Taylor Grant contains ten short stories, each with unique storytelling elements.

There are a number of standout stories. “The Vood” is about a creature who hides and devours from the shadows. Grady lost his mother to this creature, and he has feared it since childhood. Growing up with it has caused problems for him, but a lifetime of preventing it from devouring him hasn’t protected Grady from himself. “Show and Tell” is the story of a sixth grader who is called into the guidance councilor’s office after his teacher finds disturbing artwork in his desk. The tale he tells of the pictures is equally disturbing…and deadly. In “Whispers in the Trees, Screams in the Dark,” Blake resents his father and his new wife moving them to a new city, where he has a hard time making new friends. He meets two boys who want to show him something remarkable in the woods; a woman with beauty surpassing that of anyone they have seen. But her beauty comes at a price. In “The Intruders”, Mason makes a discovery during his research for his true crime book after speaking with several serial killers. All of them have one thing in common: they hear voices. Now Mason can hear them, too. The last story in the collection, “The Dark at the End of the Tunnel,” concerns a man coming out of a decade in stasis to discover he has no memories. As they gradually come back, he’s haunted by disturbing hallucinations. Desperate for answers, he reaches out to his broker, Mr. Wheeler, and his doctor, Dr. Smythe.

Grant is a screenwriter and filmmaker, but Dark at the End of the Tunnel is his first short story collections, and it is fantastic. The characters are memorable, the gore is fantastic, and Grant’s storytelling skills are polished. There are certainly stories that have their share of monsters, but it’s the stories that make you take a look at the darker side of humanity that make it truly worth it to pick up this book. You won’t be disappointed. Highly recommended

Contains: body horror, gore, sexuality

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on June 25, 2016 by , Reply
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