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Ratio of Brookes to Ashleys <\/em>by Wol-vriey<\/p>\n Burning Bulb Publishing, 2021<\/p>\n ISBN: 9781948278454<\/p>\n Available: Paperback, Kindle edition\u00a0(\u00a0Bookshop.org<\/a> \u00a0|\u00a0 Amazon.com\u00a0 )<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Where his last novel, Women<\/em>, was the equivalent of ten cans of energy drink, Ratio of Brookes to Ashleys<\/em> is equal to a pitcher of sugar-free iced tea.\u00a0 The gore factor (for Wol-vriey, at any rate) is remarkably tuned down and the sex is minimal.\u00a0 Instead, this is a dialogue-oriented story, with more focus on the characters than an action-packed narrative.\u00a0 It’s a decent read, just a change of pace from his usual smashmouth, in your face style.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n While playing the dating game in his late 20’s, Mike Broadman dates Ashley Brooke Cummins, a vindictive woman with serious mood swings.\u00a0 He has the good fortune to stop dating her after a couple of months, followed by the misfortune of being cursed by her before her suicide.\u00a0 The curse?\u00a0 He can only date Brookes or Ashleys for the rest of his life.\u00a0 The curse seems to work\u2026 too well.\u00a0 Not only do people Mike knows start getting murdered, people he dates with the correct names start getting killed also.\u00a0 While Mike is convinced the curse is real, the police suspect an actual human killer.\u00a0 Or, possibly, a combination? That’s the mystery at the heart of the story, as Mike tries to prevent further deaths and find out the true cause.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It’s an original idea, and the story moves at a slower, more measured pace than Wol-vriey’s previous novels.\u00a0 Character interactions and dialogue account for the majority of the book.\u00a0\u00a0 The characters are fairly one-dimensional people in their late 20s, but they are able to carry the story well enough despite the lack of character depth.\u00a0 The character of Ashley Cummins’ ghost does provide some entertaining contrast, and it would have been nice to have seen her developed into a bigger role.\u00a0 The Siamese twins (Brooke and Ashley, of course) also provide a bit of extra color.\u00a0 The violence is at a much lower level that Wol-vriey’s usual work.\u00a0 There are a couple of messy knifings, but most of the rest of the violence comes from people getting hit by cars; nothing too unorthodox.\u00a0 It’s minimal enough that readers who dislike splat stories may be fine with this one.\u00a0 Occasionally, the story does get a bit hokey (finding online hexes that actually work, for instance), and there seems to be an abundance of females named Brooke or Ashley in the book, but hey, it’s fiction.\u00a0 The story does wind up nicely with a climax that has a twist, and a hilariously amusing curse that causes a real predick<\/em>ament for the person involved.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Overall, it’s a fun read, just a different style from the author’s usual work.\u00a0 This is one the average horror reader can enjoy, but fans of the hardcore stuff may want to stick to his other works.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Reviewed by Murray Samuelson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ratio of Brookes to Ashleys by Wol-vriey Burning Bulb Publishing, 2021 ISBN: 9781948278454 Available: Paperback, Kindle edition\u00a0(\u00a0Bookshop.org \u00a0|\u00a0 Amazon.com\u00a0 ) Where his last novel, Women, was the equivalent of ten cans of energy drink, Ratio of Brookes to Ashleys is equal to a pitcher of sugar-free iced tea.\u00a0 The gore factor (for Wol-vriey, at<\/p>\n