AUTHOR: Edward Lorn
PUBLISHER: Red Adept Publishing
AVAILABILITY: Amazon US (paperback), Amazon US (Kindle e-book), Amazon UK (paperback), AmazonUK (Kindle e-book)
APPROXIMATE LENGTH: 242 pages
Recommended for fans psychological thrillers and chilling horror
stories
GENRE
Horror—Suspense/Paranormal
Dastardly Bastard is the suspenseful tale of a
tour group that finds the chasm they visit contains supernatural forces. Like
many horror stories, it opens with ordinary people in an ordinary situation,
and then the dangers start creeping in bit by bit, picking them off one by one.
They discover the truth behind the mysteries as they struggle to fight back,
all the while confronting disturbing memories and fearful ghosts. Familiar
territory for fans of Stephen King and other such suspense writers.
PACE
Dastardly Bastard is a fast-paced suspense story
that ends each chapter with an irresistible hook. I finished the book in two
reading sessions, with the break in the middle being only due to that pesky
thing called a day job.
PERSPECTIVE
Dastardly Bastard rotates between the close third
perspectives of each of its principle characters, allowing the reader to view
the story from many different angles. Chapter breaks indicate a change in
perspective.
CONTENT REVIEW
A photojournalist,
a bestselling author, a pair of young lovebirds, a widow and her son. These are
the people who make up the tour group bound for Waverly Chasm, led by tour
guide Jaleel. The chasm is a stunning natural formation with a quirky poem
describing the legend surrounding it: “The Dastardly Bastard of Waverly Chasm /
Does gleefully scheme of malevolent things…”
Who
this “Dastardly Bastard” is and what “malevolent things” of which he schemes
are remain a mystery for the majority of the novel. What starts out as an
ordinary hiking tour soon to horror as the supernatural begins taking over. The
group finds themselves trapped by unexplained happenings—possessions,
disappearances, paranormal phenomena—and forced to confront their most
devastating and horrible memories. What is real and what is imagined become
blurred, and the characters must confront the evil of the mysterious force
known as the Dastardly Bastard if they are to survive.
Lorn’s
talent for suspense and snappy writing style make Dastardly Bastard a difficult book to put down. Through his
descriptions and clever plotting, he creates a story that’s easy to get lost
in. Who is the Dastardly Bastard? What does he want? How can the characters,
mere mortals to his supernatural power, fight back? Why did he choose to attack
them when so many other tour groups have passed Waverly Chasm in peace?
On top
of that, each point of view character is fully developed, and so one really
cares about what becomes of them. Lorn opens his novel with an introductory
chapter for each, allowing the reader to get to know these people before
they’re thrown into the chasm’s horrors. The third person narration of each
point of view character’s chapter adjusts to reflect that particular
character’s unique traits. For instance, morbidly obese photographer Mark is
written with a tongue-in-cheek attitude that reflects the character’s attitude
toward himself. Donald, the vertically challenged author, exudes bitterness and
a witty bad attitude, shields against years of abuse. Widow Marsha, meanwhile,
is written in a forlorn and sympathetic manner.
And
then there’s Justine, who came on this tour to humor her boyfriend. From the
moment she’s introduced, one realizes that there’s something… special… about
her. She appears to be an ordinary, if someone sassy, girl. It’s soon revealed
that she has a strange connection to the supernatural. “Throwing shadows,” as
she calls it. What these shadows are and what they mean is integrally related
to the Dastardly Bastard. Meanwhile, she experiences visions of her deceased
grandmother, Nana Penance, a spunky old woman who sometimes seems to be
Justine’s guide and salvation and other times a tormentor.
Each
character comes alive on the page, and each has his or her mettle tested as he
or she faces off with the shadows of the past. In a way, Dastardly Bastard is as much a character study as a horror novel. I
couldn’t help sensing a message behind the thrills, a message about how much
the past can haunt you, consume you, if you let it fester.
Dastardly Bastard presents an interesting twist
on the horror genre, unashamed to play on its conventions and unafraid to bend
them to its own purposes. No one can come out of Waverly Chasm unscathed, if indeed
they come out at all. That includes the reader. Whether it’s because of the
chills and frights—dark specters and phenomena that shame Final Destination—or the poignant character moments in between, Dastardly Bastard is a book to remember.
THE NITPICKY
STUFF
This
book is impeccably edited, and I did not find any errors.
This
book, being a horror novel, contains a lot of scenes that some might find
disturbing—undead people, violent imagery, and the like. However, there is
nothing gratuitous about the gruesome parts.
AUTHOR INFO
[from the back of
the book]
Edward Lorn is an American horror author
presently residing somewhere in the southeast United States. He enjoys
storytelling, reading, and writing biographies in the third person.
Disclosure: Red Adept Publishing is also the publisher of my own novel, Artificial Absolutes. I bought and read this book on my own, and the above reflects only my honest opinion.
Great review sounds very good love books like this thanks for posting
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