REVIEW: Diary of the Gone / Ivan Amberlake

TITLE: Diary of the Gone
AUTHOR: Ivan Amberlake
PUBLISHER: Self-published
AVAILABILITY: Amazon (Kindle), Amazon (paperback)

GENRE
Young Adult - Horror/Paranormal

Creepy but not gory or particularly violent. Appropriate for young readers (reminded me a bit of Goosebumps).

REVIEW

Diary of the Gone is a creepy little horror novella about a fifteen-year-old boy, Callum, who sees ghosts of the dead. The only thing he can do to keep them away is write about them in his diary - which is what the title refers to (he calls the ghosts "the gone"). But then, his visions start touching the real world when a boy from his school vanishes, and he starts seeing the boy's ghosts. And when Callum's own friends start disappearing, he realizes he can't run from his curse any longer...

Ivan Amberlake is a fine writer with a gift for bringing settings and emotions to life and transport you into his world. The haunted environment in which Diary of the Gone takes place ... creepy swamps, chilling spirits, shiver-inducing visions... really stand out, and Callum's sometimes tortured, sometimes deadpan, always tense voice makes him come alive. And the plot intrigue - the disappearing kids, secrets from the past - keep the story moving forward. It's a short, quick read, and I enjoyed every moment.

As far as young adult books go (and I've been reading a LOT lately), Diary of the Gone slides right into the category while avoiding the pitfalls that often come with it. No overlong whining here - the tight nature of the novella won't allow for it. While the premise (boy seeing dead people) isn't totally original, it hardly matters in this context. I love a good ghost story, and sometimes, I just want a good old-fashioned chiller. And what was great about this book was that it wasn't TOO horror-y. There were plenty of scares, but no gratuitous gore or violence. The fear was achieved through suspense rather than shock, which was great.

So if you're looking for a quick, creepy paranormal read, I highly recommend that you give Diary of the Gone a try.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ivan Amberlake is the author of The Beholder, an urban fantasy novel. He's a member of Breakwater Harbor Books, an author's collective, and a book blogger for Book Reveal.

REVIEW: Braineater Jones / Stephen Kozeniewski

TITLE: Braineater Jones
AUTHOR: Stephen Kozeniewski
PUBLISHER: Red Adept Publishing
AVAILABILITY: Amazon (Kindle), Amazon (paperback), Audible (audiobook), and other online retailers

GENRE
Horror - Noir/Mystery


REVIEW

Full disclosure: Red Adept Publishing, which published Braineater Jones, is also my publisher for the Jane Colt series, and I know Steve personally. The below represent my honest opinions. Man, I hate writing disclosures.

Okay, now that I've gotten that over and done with, let's get on with this review, which I've been meaning to post since the book came out in October 2013 (sorry, Steve!).

Imagine waking up with amnesia – with no clue as to who you are, where you came from, or what the hell you're doing in some rich guy's pool. Now, imagine realizing you're actually dead… well, undead. A zombie. You'd have a hellova lot of questions.

This is what happens to the titular character in Stephen Kozeniewski's novel, Braineater Jones, which follows the investigations of a man – well, zombie man – trying to figure out what the devil happened to him. Who is he? Who killed him? And why? Not knowing even his own name, he adopts the moniker "Braineater Jones" even though in this world, "Braineater" is a derogatory term for zombies.

Let me elaborate on the world a bit, because it merits a bit of explaining. Kozeniewski's story takes place in a gritty 1930s American city, though which one is unspecified. The setting is a nod to film noir, inspired by old black-and-white Humphrey Bogart movies. Prohibition is in full effect, and fedoras are in fashion. In a paranormal twist, this city is also the home of zombies. No one knows exactly how these zombies come into being – dead people just kind of wake up and start wandering around. However, their sentience is dependent on alcohol. Without booze, the zombies become mindless monsters who attack living humans – hence "braineater." And so the zombie community congregates in an underground speakeasy, run by a mysterious master.

Braineater Jones is written in a cynical, tongue-in-cheek voice with ample use of exaggeration and sarcasm. The whole story is very pulpy, and the author himself has said that it's not meant to be taken too seriously. It's pure entertainment, full of humor, plot turns, and gory zombie horror. Because zombies are at the center of the story, the book falls into the "Horror" category. But it's not Stephen King-style suspense horror. The horror elements – bloody severed body parts and the like – are meant to shock and disgust rather than to scare.

All in all, Braineater Jones is a fun and well-crafted bit of pulp fiction. Its goal is to entertain, and in that, it certainly succeeds. The mystery of who Braineater Jones is and how he ended up dead keeps the story moving, and between that and its concise structure, it's a very quick read.

AUTHOR INFO

Stephen Kozeniewski lives with his wife and two cats in Pennsylvania, the birthplace of the modern zombie. He was born to the soothing strains of “Boogie With Stu” even though The Who are far superior to Zep, for reasons that he doesn’t even really want to get into right now.

During his time as a Field Artillery officer he served for three years in Oklahoma and one in Iraq, where, due to what he assumes was a clerical error, he was awarded the Bronze Star. The depiction of addiction in his fiction is strongly informed by the three years he spent working at a substance abuse clinic, an experience which also ensures that he employs strict moderation when enjoying the occasional highball of Old Crow. 

He is also a classically trained linguist, which sounds much more impressive than saying his bachelor’s is in German.

Click here to watch the Zigzag Timeline video interview with Stephen Kozeniewski

REVIEW: The Ghoul Archipelago / Stephen Kozeniewski

TITLE: The Ghoul Archipelago
AUTHOR: Stephen Kozeniewski
PUBLISHER: Severed Press
AVAILABILITY: Amazon (Kindle e-book), Amazon (paperback)

GENRE
Horror - Post-apocalyptic

REVIEW
Once upon a time, there was a planet called Earth. Then, for some reason, the dead started rising again, becoming vicious, flesh-eating ghouls. Zombies. Walking dead.

Reactions range from "Hallelujah, the Second Coming of Jesus is nigh!" to "Whatever, how can I turn a profit?"And, of course, there's "Holy f***, there are ravenous corpses everywhere!"

The first of these comes from Reverend Sonntag, a religious zealot who sees the zombie apocalypse as a Biblical event. The second from Rand Bergeron, a businessman who made his fortune selling machines that whisk users into virtual reality sex dreams. And the third from pretty much everyone else.

The Ghoul Archipelago follows the mad power struggle between Sonntag, Rand, and a lunatic politician (not that Sonntag and Rand aren't lunatics as well). Caught up in all this is Captain Henk "Howling Mad" Martigan and his scrappy freighter crew. Sailing through the South Pacific, Martigan and company combat pirates, ghouls, and each other in an effort to survive.

If the above plot description sounds a bit windy, that's because the book itself is anything but another straightforward "oh no, the dead are rising" zombie novel. At first glance, it's a tale of horror that delights in shocking its audience. Look past the worm-filled eye sockets and limb-tearing scenes, and you'll see a clever sci-fi political satire.

Now, admittedly, doing so is very, very hard, especially if you're squeamish like me. I know the author (full disclosure: Kozeniewski's Braineater Jones is published by Red Adept, who's also my publisher for the Jane Colt novels), and as I was reading Ghoul, I found myself regularly Facebook messaging him to let him know just how traumatized I was. If Professor X were to listen to my thoughts as I was reading, he would have heard something like this:

"AAAAAAHHHH!!! Why, Steve, why? That's gross! Okay... just breathe... moving on... okay, that's kind of cool... WHAT THE HELL?! Steve, what's wrong with you?! *inhales* It's just a book it's just a book it's just a book... HOLY $#@*!!! Did that really just happen? There's an image I'll never get out of my head... Hey, that's interesting... whoa, WHAT! I need a drink..."

The definition of "horror" is to, well, horrify people, and Kozeniewski has a special knack for that, it seems. Just when you think you've seen it all, he thrusts another scream-inducing, lunch-losing piece of madness in your face. After I post this, I'm going to message Steve again, this time asking what I did to deserve this trauma. Steve, whatever I did, I'm sorry!

Moving on from all that...

If the fabric of Ghoul is a worm-eaten, bloodstained black sheath, Kozeniewski's unique, tongue-in-cheek writing style is the glitter sprinkled across it. Even the most violent scenes of horror aren't without their witty quips and snappy comebacks. And he bestows each of the book's many characters with sharp dialogue that rings true. This book really comes to life on the page, which could be why I required hours of cat therapy after reading it...

Ghoul is not for the faint of heart, but if you enjoy the dark and twisted, then I recommend you give this book a try. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stephen Kozeniewski lives with his wife and two cats in Pennsylvania, the birthplace of the modern zombie. He was born to the soothing strains of “Boogie With Stu” even though The Who are far superior to Zep, for reasons that he doesn’t even really want to get into right now.

During his time as a Field Artillery officer he served for three years in Oklahoma and one in Iraq, where, due to what he assumes was a clerical error, he was awarded the Bronze Star. The depiction of addiction in his fiction is strongly informed by the three years he spent working at a substance abuse clinic, an experience which also ensures that he employs strict moderation when enjoying the occasional highball of Old Crow. 
He is also a classically trained linguist, which sounds much more impressive than saying his bachelor’s is in German.

REVIEW: Yorick / Vlad Vaslyn

TITLE: Yorick (novella)

AUTHOR: Vlad Vaslyn

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

AVAILABILITY: Amazon US (paperback), Amazon US (Kindle e-book), Amazon UK (paperback), Amazon UK (Kindle e-book)

APPROXIMATE LENGTH: 22,000 words

Recommended for readers seeking chilling horror stories to read in the dark.

GENRE

Horror—Supernatural

Yorick is a creepy, chilling novella, the kind of story you would tell in the dark on Halloween to scare your friends.

PACE

Yorick has plenty of suspense that keeps the plot moving forward, especially in the second half.

PERSPECTIVE

Third person omniscient. The majority of the story is told from the third person point of view of Roberta, but every so often the narrator shows what’s going through the minds of the other characters.

CONTENT REVIEW

Poor old Roberta has hit rock bottom. Her husband died years ago, she hasn’t seen her daughter in years, and she’s even had to put down her beloved cat. Alone and miserable, she wallows in despair and heads to a nearby riverbank. But before she can throw herself in, she unearths a skull in the mud, a skull that speaks to her, whispering words into her mind. Glad to once again have a companion, Roberta cherishes the skull, whom she names Yorick, and does whatever she must to keep him happy.

Yorick is an unsettling horror novella that chronicles Roberta’s descent into utter madness. Written with rich, gruesome descriptions, it’s the kind of story you read to for chills and thrills. Vaslyn tells the story mostly from Roberta’s point of view but keeps her at arm’s length, giving the reader a sense of an omniscient narrator with a voice of his own, a voice that’s not afraid to paint vivid images. For instance, here is the passage in which Roberta first notices the skull: “The river drew closer in little fits and starts, and as she neared it, she noticed a funny little dome poking out of the grass near the shore, a pimple in a patch of thinning hair.”

Fans of Shakespeare will no doubt notice that Yorick was also the name of the deceased jester Hamlet speaks to in his famed skull speech: “Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest… Where are your gibes now?” Like Hamlet, Roberta, too, talks to the dead and pities him for the fact that he can no longer do the things he used to. And because she sees Yorick as her friend, Roberta will do whatever it takes to make the unfortunate skull whole again.

Absurd as Roberta seems, one cannot help feeling bad for her and understanding her motivations, even as she becomes increasingly insane. Watching her spiral deeper and deeper into psychosis is disturbing yet entertaining, somewhat reminiscent of reading the dark tales of Edgar Allen Poe. Creepy in all the right ways, Yorick is a highly enjoyable tale of grief, loneliness, and horrifying madness.

THE NITPICKY STUFF

There are a teeny, tiny, barely perceptible handful of errors, so few I feel bad mentioning them.

This novella is divided into chapters, and there is a table of contents.

This book is a horror story, and so some readers may find parts of it disturbing.

AUTHOR INFO

Vlad Vaslyn resides in Lowell, Massachusetts with his wife, Jordana. He has an Associates Degree in Journalism from Middlesex Community College and worked as a freelance writer for a few years before going back to school. He is currently a member of the National Honor Society at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, where he studies History and English. His favorite authors include Stephen King, John Steinbeck, Richard Adams, William Golding, Isaac Asimov, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Robert Jordan.

Visit his website

REVIEW: Red Sand / Ronan Cray

TITLE: Red Sand

AUTHOR: Ronan Cray

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

AVAILABILITY: Amazon US (paperback), Amazon US (Kindle e-book), Amazon UK (paperback), Amazon UK (Kindle e-book), Smashwords (multiple e-formats)

APPROXIMATE LENGTH: 65,800 words

Recommended for fans of sci-fi horror and suspense, such as the TV show Lost

GENRE

Horror—Suspense/Mystery

Red Sand is reminiscent of the TV show Lost in that it’s about shipwrecked survivors on a mysterious island. As in any good horror tale, the survivors are picked off one by one. Some of the deaths are quite gruesome, disturbing even. The story is wrapped in mysteries that are gradually revealed as the characters discover the truths behind their unfortunate circumstances.

PACE

Red Sand alternates between sections detailing the characters’ backgrounds and high-intensity horror scenes. The back story sections are written in the characters’ voices and maintain a steady pace. The mystery surrounding the island keeps the suspense going until the violent end.

PERSPECTIVE

Red Sand is told from multiple third person points of view.

CONTENT REVIEW

The Princess Anne was just another cruise ship making its way across the ocean, ferrying people from all walks of life, each on board for his or her own purpose. Most are neither heroes nor villains, only ordinary human beings with ordinary problems.

Then their ship goes down, and a few lucky survivors are fished out of the water by inhabitants of a nearby desert island. The inhabitants aren’t savage natives—they’re fellow Westerners, survivors of a previous shipwreck. Having lived on the island for years, they’ve developed a system to keep food in their bellies. The survivors of the Princess Anne are put to work fishing, farming, and otherwise maintaining operations necessary for subsistence. But it soon becomes clear that there’s more to the island—and its inhabitants—that meets the eye. One by one, the Princess Anne’s survivors vanish, picked off by both nature’s and man’s brutality.

Red Sand is an ensemble show. Although some characters drive the plot more than others, Cray treats each one as if he or she is special, presenting the reader with lively backstories told from the characters’ points of views. He wants you to know them before he kills them. It’s a refreshing take on the genre—too many horror writers throw people away simply to illustrate the external dangers. But even though they are props in a bloody show, they’re nevertheless human beings, each with a story.

Cray seems all too aware of this. His cast isn’t made of faceless redshirts; they’re living, breathing people, each with his or her own motivations, on the island for different reasons. There’s Howie, the formerly henpecked widower whose wife left him a cruise ticket—and another wife to henpeck him. And Lauren, the coupon-clipping con artist running away to her new life. And Mason, the lonely single man seeking adventure and companionship. Cray lets you know at the very beginning, in his Author’s Note, that no one will come out alive.

But don’t be fooled by Cray’s seemingly innocuous backstories. Behind the developer of sympathetic characters lies an unapologetic sadist. The horror in Red Sand is more than gruesome—it’s the stomach-turning stuff of nightmares, largely thanks to Cray’s gift for description. Through vivid yet tight language, he brings each scene to life, whether it’s painting the setting or depicting a grisly death. For example, without spoiling too much, here's the death of poor Howie: "He thrashed his arms and legs, pushed against the sand, whipped his head in fury and terror, to no avail. Unbreakable bonds held him to the ground...It wrapped around his ribs and exerted pressure, oh so gentle pressure, until his scream tapered off into a wheezing his...The sun glinted off something near his eye. A slender tentacle slid into view, silhouetted against an azure haze. It drove in figure eights through his eye sockets."

The deaths are told from the close third perspectives of the victims, allowing a reader to feel their terror and hear their thoughts, which are often bizarrely incongruent with the circumstances. Cray’s writing also smacks of the philosophical at times, through dialogues discussing what it means to be cut off from civilization and internal ruminations on what was left behind.

But even knowing the characters’ inevitable fates, I found myself caught up in the story’s suspense. Mysteries abound on the island. The motivations of the islands’ de facto colonizers, so rational at first, soon become garbled. They maintain a rigid hierarchy, keeping themselves behind a salt wall while the Princess Anne’s survivors are made to camp outside. What is it that they fear? What are they hiding from the survivors? And what are they hiding from each other? Tuk, the leader, seems so benevolent at first, but it’s soon revealed that there’s much more to him than a determined John Smith-like survivor.

Red Sand is a fairly quick read. Cray’s vibrant writing makes it easy to get lost in the passages, whether it’s the colorfully told backstories or the intensely depicted scenes of violence. It’s more than just a gore fest—the plot and concepts are fascinating. All in all, a wonderfully entertaining—and sometimes scream-inducing—story.

THE NITPICKY STUFF

This book is very well edited. If there were typos, I didn’t notice any.

The front section of the book contains an illustration of the island and a list of characters with brief descriptions.

The book is organized in eight long chapters with section breaks.

This book is classified as “adult” on Smashwords for good reason. Many of the character deaths are described in gruesome, bloody detail. There is some adult language. Sex is mentioned but not described in detail.

AUTHOR INFO

[From the author’s Smashwords page]

When he's not eating horse meat in Kazakhstan or sipping civet in Macau, Mr. Cray is drinking his way through New York. His hobbies include fashion, architecture, and pouring social opprobrium into his writing. Mr. Cray is available for dinner party conversation before 7, weeknights.

Visit his blog, Follow him on Twitter, Like him on Facebook, or Contact him by email

RELATED: An Interview with Ronan Cray

SPOTLIGHT: Dropcloth Angels / Gerald Johnston

It's rough out there for a reviewer! With all the books out there I want to share, I don't always have time to compose a full-length review. Therefore, I'm beginning a "spotlight" series to as a quicker way to highlight some of the books I've read and enjoyed.

TITLE: Dropcloth Angels

AUTHOR: Gerald Johnston

PUBLISHER: Freakshine Press

AVAILABILITY: Amazon US (Kindle e-book), Amazon US (paperback), Amazon UK (Kindle e-book), Amazon UK (paperback)

APPROXIMATE LENGTH: 480 pages (paperback)

GENRE: Horror/Thriller

Zoe isn't exactly a model citizen. She's a hooker with a drug addiction, a bad attitude, and a penchant for talking to the imaginary Purple Monkey. Zane is an artist. He carves ordinary women into beautifully bloody paintings and captures it all on film. Their worlds collide when Zane creates a gruesome masterpiece out of Zoe's angelic sister.

Gideon is a businessman. He knows how much people will pay to see a brilliant performance like that.

I was lucky enough to read the manuscript of Dropcloth Angels before it was published. It's both a horror story about a serial killer and a character study of two perverse and determined individuals. Zoe counts as the good one, but she's far from being, well, good, with her foul mouth and unrepentant ways. Zane, meanwhile, is charming and sophisticated, the kind of villain you can't help being in awe of. 

And then there's Purple Monkey. The smart-mouthed Purple Monkey is a childhood toy come to life—and a complete nightmare for Zoe. A figment of her imagination, he seems to show up whenever she least needs him and torment her.

Johnston drew me in from the get-go with his unique voice and knack for suspense. He really gets into his characters heads and lets the reader get to know them—their philosophies, their drives, their ways of thinking. He's also not afraid to "go there" when it comes to the plot, so if you have a weak stomach, beware. This isn't a book for the squeamish ones. But it's certainly a book that will mesmerize you with its twisted vision, one that is disturbing yet irresistible.

Visit the Author's Website

REVIEW: Dastardly Bastard / Edward Lorn

TITLE: Dastardly Bastard

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.

Visit his website or Follow him on Twitter

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.

REVIEW: Smudgy in Monsterland / Paul Rasche

TITLE: Smudgy in Monsterland

AUTHOR: Paul Rasche

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

AVAILABILITY: Amazon US (Kindle e-book), Amazon UK (Kindle e-book), Lulu Marketplace (iTunes e-book), Lulu Marketplace (hardcover)

APPROXIMATE LENGTH: 382 pages (hardcover)

Recommended for fans of twisted fantasies and demonic horror.

GENRE

Fantasy—Horror/Demonic

Smudgy in Monsterland is a twisted tale that takes place about a thousand years in the future, in which Nazis won World War II and subsequently conquered the Earth and its interplanetary settlements. The title refers to a cartoon series that became a cultural phenomenon and inspired the theme park in which the story takes place. Although it opens like a science fiction novel, it soon spirals into the domain of the supernatural, introducing Satanic cults, demons, and witchcraft. Death and mutilation occur with relative frequency and are treated offhandedly, with the bloody scenes described but not in excessive detail.

PACE

This book is mostly fast-paced. A few chapters in the opening take the time to set the scene, and there are lulls in which time passes, but the majority of the book barrels forward at a pace that kept me flipping the pages. By the time I got to the second half, I couldn’t stop and finished the book in one session.

PERSPECTIVE

The majority of the book is written in third person limited, describing the experiences and thoughts of the main character, a 12-year-old boy named Odo. One chapter near the beginning is the first person account of a Satanic terrorist, and there are a handful of chapters focusing on another Satanic cult member, Gretel, written from third person limited.

CONTENT REVIEW

12-year-old Odo Kreppler is the sole survivor of a terrorist attack on the space habitat on which he lives. The space habitat serves as an enormous amusement park dedicated to the cartoon series “Smudgy in Monsterland,” a cultural phenomenon that has run for centuries. Odo’s sole comfort in his newly orphaned state is his plush Smudgy toy, a white rabbit missing an ear.

Sent to an orphanage near the Monsterland park, Odo finds himself bullied by the other boys, who have formed gangs united under the mutual goal of defeating the corrupt nuns who serve as their guardians. After a particularly cruel boy destroys the Smudgy toy, Odo is greeted by a real life talking rabbit claiming to be Smudgy’s brother, Sludgy. Confused, traumatized, and tormented, Odo is blind to the absurdity of the situation and unquestioningly does Sludgy’s bidding in hopes of not only getting revenge on the bullies, but gaining immortality.

Throughout the book, Odo is driven chiefly by his paralyzing fear of death. For a chance at eternal life, he is willing to compromise his morals and even his very soul. Many of his actions, when reflected upon after the fact, are nothing short of despicable. And yet when caught up in his story, one cannot help sympathizing with this tortured young boy, whose sanity is questionable. He acts out of desperation, not malice. The eventual destruction of his innocence, with its glimpses of hope and pits of despair, is both horrifying and fascinating to watch.

The world Rasche creates in Smudgy in Monsterland is truly unique. The title could refer to the cartoon that so influences Odo, or it could refer to Odo himself. The premise of the cartoon is that Smudgy, a noble rabbit, is trapped in a world of fantastical and wicked creatures, a twisted version of Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland. Like Alice, Odo is torn into an unfriendly and unfamiliar world, but instead of delightful nonsense, he faces the very worst of both humanity and the supernatural. Rasche shares Carroll’s flair for the bizarre. The orphanage is located next to the amusement park’s largest rollercoaster, and thus serious moments are interrupted by the screams of tourists. The orphans assign each other random gang names, such as Blue Folder and Recommended Method, based on the first words heard from a television channel. Personalities are exaggerated—such as the large oaf Jep, whom Odo bribes with cakes into doing his dirty work, and the drunken nuns. And then there’s Sludgy, the little black bunny rabbit who serves as Odo’s personal Mephistopheles.

All this rests against the backdrop of a twisted regime, in which the cartoon Smudgy has become next to holy, Nazi officers chop off their ears in reverence to the character, and those convicted as witches are burned alive annually. Smudgy in Monsterland is the kind of book more focused on its universe than its characters, as people other than Odo and Sludgy are left as vague sketches, background humming to the main conversation. While some are memorable, such as Lambchop, the bully who destroyed the Smudgy toy, and Suki, the pretty teenage girl who helps Odo and serves as his only friend, most are merely functional.

Smudgy in Monsterland can only be accurately described as “indefinable.” Part dystopian sci-fi, part demonic horror, intertwined with a maniacal sense of humor. The surrounding madness is both disturbing and mesmerizing, and the atmosphere of the book is one that left me thinking both “what the hell is this?” and “I can’t stop reading...”

THE NITPICKY STUFF

There are a handful of small errors that are barely perceptible when one is caught up in the story.

Some readers may find the Satanic themes and gruesome violence disturbing. Although the protagonist is a young boy, this is not a children’s book.

AUTHOR INFO

Paul Rasche lives in Melbourne, Australia. He is a cartoonist and designer as well as a writer. Contact him by email or Find him on Google+.

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