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Book Review: Marriage by Wol-vriey

cover art for Marriage by Wol-Vriey

Marriage by Wol-vriey

Burning Bulb Publishing, 2023

ISBN: 9781948278621

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

Buy: Amazon.com

 

Marriage is the equivalent of a silly 80’s B-grade horror film. There’s plenty of gore and graphic sex, a crazy plot, and little depth or making sense.  The last third of the story finishes out the book with a bang that helps make up for a lackluster beginning.

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The protagonist, Adam Norwood, has an affliction that causes his skin to catch on fire when exposed to sunlight, so he inhabits a darkened mansion on an river-island, with his wife and father in law.  Drunken debauchery takes place at the mansion every couple weeks, with a somewhat rotating cast of overage party animals.  Sounds like fun, but Adam keeps having dreams of his wife killing him, in vivid detail–, vivid enough to seem real.

 

That’s the plot for the first part, and it’s pretty thin.  There’s no real character development of interest, rather they are standard caricatures of 30-something drunken lechers.  Most readers probably won’t find them interesting, since they are all interchangeable: it would have helped the story to flesh the characters out. As it is, if anything, you’ll be rooting for them to all get killed off!   Adam also needed further character development. What does he do every day, living in a darkened mansion on a permanent basis?  Binge-watch old WCCW wrestling matches?  Write a memoir of the trials of living with his affliction?  Deify plums?  And how in the world did his father-in-law become a genius at witchcraft?  This part of the book is rather tedious, and tough to get through.

 

BUT… on page 83, the narrative moves away from its early repetitiveness and shifts into gear, introducing a black magic element.  On page 128, it kicks into overdrive, and it’s a wild ride to the finish of the 171 pages.  There are worm-hole creatures that remind one of the movie “Tremors”, some resurrection, and a wacky but entertaining set of explanations for the weird happenings on the island.  They may be pretty outlandish, but this IS horror fiction: realism isn’t required.  The most intriguing part is Adam’s sleuthing, to find if what he sees is really happening, or all in his head.  It’s the best part of the book: it keeps you guessing, and holds your interest.

 

Bottom line: it’s short on making much sense, but the last part of the book provides enough of a payoff to make getting through the first part worth it.  It’s not on the level of the author’s real bell-ringers like The Final Girl and Women, but it’s still fun.

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

 

 

Posted on February 4, 2024 by , Reply

Book Review: String Them Up by William Sterling

Cover art for String Them Up by William Sterling

String Them Up, by William Sterling

Crystal Lake Publishing, 2023

ISBN: 9781957133591

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition

Buy: Bookshop.org |  Amazon.com

 

For horror fans, books like this are cotton candy for the brain.  There’s nothing especially memorable in the story, but there’s enough in the 158 pages for the equivalent of a quick sugar rush.  It’s pure entertainment, enough to make reading it worth it. Think back to the 80s, when there were a LOT of horror books published that were uuite enjoyable, if not especially original, and you get the idea (although since then, the average page count has gone down and the sticker price has come up. Readers with Kindle Unlimited are in luck if they want to check it out).

 

Speed synopsis: a cop loses his family in a tragic accident, moves to a small town with secrets in its past,, joins the police force with old friend, messy murders happen, and mayhem ensuest.  The End.

 

There’s enough spice thrown in the story mix of this for the reader to keep the pages flipping:: one poor fellow is found hung in a tree by his torn out ligaments and tendons. The toymaker, an eccentric hermit, is the standout character, although the other players carry their parts fine in the narrative.  The best part is undoubtedly the dolls that appear throughout the book, whether they are hanging in trees or dismembering people.  Dolls are always creepy when used correctly, and the author uses them very well. They add a nice touch of cold air to the book, enough to make your skin crawl a bit.  And, when the dolls go to work on people with fishhooks and line… (shudders and hides under the covers)  Toss in a dose of small town politics and secrets and a dash of crystal meth, and you have a quick, entertaining read that is worth the few hours of time needed for the investment.

 

Bottom line: this won’t shatter your senses, but it will keep you involved and get the job done.  It’s worth a look.

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

Posted on January 31, 2024 by , Reply

Book Review: Outrage: Level 10 by Lucy Leitner

cover art for Outrage: Level 10 by Lucy Leitner

Outrage: Level 10 by Lucy Leitner

Blood Bound Publishing, 2021

ISBN: 9781940250496

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

Buy: Amazon.com

 

Outrage Level 10 succeeds as both a thriller and a darkly humorous look at today’s overly sensitive “cancel culture” society taken to extremes.  It’s an exciting story, and the setting will force readers to ask questions about where we are headed as a society, and what we would consider a “perfect’” world.

 

It’s a strange future that Alex Malone, ex-head breaker for the now-defunct Pittsburgh Penguins (a hockey team) and now a cop, lives in.  There is no more government, just the Speaker, as the mouthpiece of the People; the Hammer, who is the People’s enforcer and… that’s it.  It’s all the will of the People in regards to policy, crime, and everything else, decided by popular vote of the citizens through their phones and various social applications.  Almost all crime consists of someone offending someone else.  Once it’s been posted online, if the outrage meter hits high enough through people commenting, the offenders face the Hammer, who most likely will condemn the perpetrators to the mysterious Maze, from which almost no one returns.  People do live much longer, since all diseases have been cured, or the causing substances banned, but is it worth the price?

 

That’s the world of Alex, and as a cop, he’s a member of an almost unnecessary profession (apparently “defund the police”  REALLY took hold) since everything is by popular fiat, and everyone is policing each other.  It doesn’t help that the few cops left are reviled by pretty much everyone.   Alex tries a new drug designed to treat his CTE, and the drug, through visions, pulls him into a mystery involving senior citizens disappearing from retirement homes.  As Alex soon finds out, it’s hard to solve a case that affects the few people left in power, and even harder when everyone is looking for an excuse, real or imagined, to take him down.

 

The plotline is an intriguing mystery and a tough nut to crack.  Alex makes an excellent protagonist, and is sympathetic as a person who really has no value in a politically correct society.  That is, until he remembers the old police motto, “to protect and serve”.  In Leitner’s world, protecting means eliminating anyone whom you disagree with, not helping for the common good.

 

Leitner”s vision of a world gone crazy provides the excellent story backdrop.  She wisely keeps her own views out of it, instead using her razon-sharp humor to get the point across, without coming off as preachy.  That’s the mark of excellent satire; the ability to write without tipping your own hand to the readers.  She’s shown this skill in other works like Bad Vibrations, and it’s on full display here.  Leitner has created a terrifying world, where people are condemned for accidentally serving the wrong food, since that can be seen as aggression or some sort of -ism.

 

Bottom line: another excellent work from one of the smartest writers of dystopian satire today.  Recommended.

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

 

Posted on January 25, 2024 by , Reply
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