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Book Review: The Demon by Victory Witherkeigh

 

 

The Demon by Victory Witherkeigh

BookBaby, 2024

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8350951110

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

Buy:  Amazon.com

 

The Demon  is a sequel to The Girl, a coming-of-age story grounded in Tagalog folklore and mythology, about a Filipina-American girl whose family has promised her body to a demon on her 18th birthday as part of fulfilling an ancestral pact, but will have to choose whether to fulfil it. I haven’t had the opportunity to read it, but I suspect The Demon makes much more sense if you’ve read The Girl. 

 

The Demon starts with the demon, Hukloban taking over the physical body of the girl, who is nameless in the book. It isn’t an easy transition, and not only is the demon now overwhelmed with the physical sensations of her mortal body, but she has lost her memories and most of her demonic powers. Since Hukloban cannot remember anything, it’s unclear why the girl was taken over, what bargain she made, or who she is. Second-in-command to Sitan, the Master of Death, when he asks her she cannot remember why she wanted to be part of the mortal world. Thousands of years old, the demon will have to find her way in the human world, while satisfying her demonic needs and fulfilling her end of the bargain, made with Filipino hero Lapu-Lapu, to keep his bloodline prosperous. As in her previous book, it is a story about making choices, self-determination, and being human. How does a death goddess manage the body, mind, and emotions of a teenage girl?

 

I found this compelling, but also confusing. Witherkeigh has written an ambitious story and is juggling a lot of balls: Hukloban’s story as a college student in the modern world, trying to reconstruct herself; her relationships with the girl’s family (there are a lot of them), where the girl’s relationships are entangled with her dulies to fulfill the bargain; the far past, when she initially met Sitan (I didn’t realize they were part of the Tagalog pantheon); the confusion of her love affairs and friendships; her frustration about the benefit Lapu-Lapu’s bloodline has taken from colonizers and dictators because of the bargain; the lack of choice available to women. There are some very adult themes and conversations about death, as well as BDSM, addiction, abortion, toxic relationships, and grooming.

 

While I found The Demon to be an interesting book, it wasn’t an immersive one, as I had to keep stopping to look things up, and I found the ending unsatisfying. It was unusual enough that it kept me reading, but other readers may find it’s too much work. Witherkeigh is talented, though, and I know we will see more from her.

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

Posted on February 3, 2025 by , Reply

Book Review: Hail Santa! by John McNee

Cover art for Hail Santa! by John McNee

Hail Santa!, by John McNee

Blood Bound Books, 2024

ISBN: 9781940250601

Availabie: Paperback, Kindle edition

Buy:  Amazon.com

 

 

If you want a good holiday-themed horror story that isn’t just an excuse to have a serial killer running around (such as the films Silent Night, Deadly Night, or Black Christmas), then Hail Santa! is for you.   It’s bloody good fun (pun intended) that does a nice job combining some of the classic aspects of demon mythology with the story of Santa Claus, while managing to smash plenty of humans into pulp jelly throughout the story.  Horror fans and gorehounds alike will love this one.

 

St. Nicholas is a small, dying town in the northern Canadian woods that is given a new lease on life when a Chinese conglomerate buys up the whole town, with the plan of turning it into an upscale ski resort for the seriously wealthy skiers of the world.  However, the land was never really the town’s to sell: it’s the property of Saint Nicholas, due to a deal he (or it) made with the town’s founders centuries before, and, he isn’t happy with the idea of his town being turned into a playground for rich schussboomers.  The throttle opens up quickly on this story, as Saint Nicholas and his army of the town’s children slash and bite anything in their way, while a small and very eclectic group of adults try to stop them and save the town.

 

This isn’t just a paint-by-numbers splat-fest: there’s more under the hood when it comes to the plot.  It’s the use of demon myths that really makes the plot intriguing, such as the fact that their names wield genuine power, and that worship of them is truly important- it’s a matter of survival.  Saint Nicholas isn’t doing all this just because he’s angry: he has legitimate reasons for wreaking havoc on the town.  That all ties into what the survivors learn in their attempts to stop him, and it’s done well.  They get little clues along the way, but it takes some thinking for them to come up with a targeted plan to stop him.  It’s enough to keep the reader thinking along with the characters. You’ll have fun trying to imagine what would possibly work against the power Saint Nicholas wields.

 

The heroes in this are an extremely likable bunch.. There’s the Chinese lady responsible for the whole town project, a rookie teacher, an elderly janitor, and a couple of drunken contractors, among others.  It’s a good mix, as they have varied strengths and weaknesses, due to their backgrounds.  But, therein lies their power, as it gives them a variety of perspectives, which they need to survive, and everybody plays a vital part.  Readers will like and relate to at least some of them, and it does hurt when some of them get killed off… this isn’t an “all the good guys survive and prosper” story.  There’s also a great twist to the end of the story that takes it in a new direction: it’s much better than any standard stock ending.

 

Bottom line:  this is the perfect antidote for holiday cheer.  Recommended.

 

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

 

 

Posted on April 22, 2024 by , Reply

Book Review: The Man Who Killed His Wife (and What Happened Afterward) by Wol-vriey

cover art for The Man Who KIlled His Wife (and What Happened Afterward) by Wol-vriey

 

The Man Who Killed His Wife (and What Happened Afterward) by Wol-vriey

Blood Bound Publishing, 2023

ISBN: 9781948278690

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

Buy: Bookshop.org | Amazon..com

 

Wol-vriey’s latest is so nutty that readers might just laugh at the absurdity of it all, and that’s not a bad thing.  It’s a merry-go-round of horror craziness, like his last one.

 

Maryanne Wilson wants to get pregnant, but her poor, overworked husband Bob simply doesn’t have the energy for bedroom fun.  So, she turns to her neighbor (who of course happens to be a witch) for a demon sex charm.  That works until an argument with Bob ends in her accidental death.  Unfortunately, the charm causes Bob to have sex with her corpse, which makes him leery of calling the cops.  So, he enlists the help of another neighbor (who of course is a top-level computer hacker) to dispose of the body and come up with a viable explanation.  Naturally, nothing goes right for Bob.  Ashley, the hacker, is a psychotic sadist who wants payment in pain, the corpse won’t stay dead, and there’s the matter of the little blue demon who eats everyone he finds.  It’s a tragic comedy of errors for everyone involved.

 

Enjoying this means not taking it too seriously, as Bob constantly makes boneheaded decisions that no rational person would.  While skipping details to avoid spoilers, let’s say Bob probably could have got out of his mess in less painful ways.  Plus, this must be some apartment building, as it has a witch with real powers and an ace computer whiz with government connections under the same roof.  Who knew they were this common?  That’s why it’s important to remember, none of that matters in this type of fiction.  It’s meant to be fun and not taken too seriously, much like some of the pulp writing of yesteryear.  And, fun this is.

 

As always with this author, the book speeds along, with no deep soliloquies or wasted time.  Despite the pain and gore that show up (and, if you’ve read Wol-vriey before, this isn’t as brutal as some of his other works) the book still has a somewhat lighthearted touch compared to some of his darker, more ‘serious’ efforts.  The little blue demon goes a long way towards keeping this from getting too ugly: it’s such an obnoxious eating machine that you have to chuckle at it, and its final fate is hilarious.  Some of Ashley’s ridiculously painful ideas of a good time (and her amusing notes afterwards) also keep the story trending that way.  Quite over the top, but still entertaining.

 

Bottom line?  This isn’t a book to terrify readers, or bowl them over with its profound nature.  It’s just big, goofy horror fun, and should keep the author’s fans happy until the next one.

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

 

Posted on February 26, 2024 by , Reply
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