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Book Review: Extasia by Claire Legrand

Extasia by Claire Legrand

Extasia by Claire Legrand

Katherine Tegen Books, 2022

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062696632

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook

Bookshop.org |  Amazon.com )

 

Extasia is a fiercely feminist dark novel of a post-apocalyptic community drenched in patriarchy and cult-like violent misogyny straight from The Crucible and Year of the Witching. The dogma is that women were responsible for the destruction of the world and thus four young girls are honored with the “sacred duty” of becoming saints, scapegoats who once a month face brutal mob violence from the community in order to expiate their sins. A serial killer has been murdering men, and the upcoming sainthood of Amity Barrow is expected to bless the community and end the killing. When the murders continue, Amity and her sister saints realize they must find a way to either solve the murders or escape. Just as things seem desperate, she is transported with her sister saints to a secret world, Avazel, and invited to join a coven and learn to wield the magical, dark power of extasia to end the killings and realize her own strength… but there’s more going on under the surface than she knows.

 

Extasia is visceral, violent, and disturbing in its intensity, but Amity is not completely isolated. She develops imperfect but strong relationships with girls and women from her community and the coven that survive even significant disagreements. While it’s somewhat heavy-handed, Legrand has outdone herself in creating a dark, powerful, horror story made even more terrible by the foundation of lies, grisly violence, and hate on which human survival after the apocalypse has been built..Recommended for ages 16+

 

Contains: violence to and killing of animals, attempted rape, torture, gore, murder, body horror, violence, gaslighting, religious trauma.

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

Book Review: Stranger Danger (Stranger, #3) by Michaelbrent Collings

cover art for Stranger Danger by Michaelbrent Collings

( Amazon.com  )

Stranger Danger by Michaelbrent Collings

Written Insomnia Press, 2020

ISBN: 979-8575116776

Availability: paperback, Kindle

 

Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.”

 

Stranger Danger is the third volume in the series featuring Legion, a teacher of justice and pain.  Like the unfortunate of the Biblical parable, Legion may have demons inside him and be quite crazy, in a figurative and literal sense.  But that doesn’t stop him from teaching people the error of their ways, in a bone-cracking, skin-pulping fashion.  If you’ve read the other two volumes (Stranger and Stranger Still) then you can’t miss this one, it’s the best one yet.  If you haven’t, this is still a great read.  Minus a couple small issues, it can still be read and understood as a stand-alone.  It’s every bit as good as Stranger Still (reviewed here ) but with the few minor tweaks made, this one is a notch above its predecessor.

 

As in the prior volumes, Stranger Danger runs two concurrent threads that start off separate, but eventually twine together.  Legion, a man with the ghosts of his brothers (Fire and Water) always with him and talking to him, stars in the first one.  He simply goes (or is led) to a place with a lot of wrongdoing, investigates the source of problems, and rectifies the wrongs inflicted on innocents, in an agonizing fashion.  This time, the site of mayhem is Tree City, a standard city with a ghetto overrun by four separate street gangs.  Legion’s story thread soon intersects with that of Candela Garcia, a cop who has been on the run from a psychopath for years, and has finally settled in Tree City, determined to make a better life for her son Chase, and the people of the city.  Her son makes the mistake of falling in with Wolf, the leader of one of the gangs.  Candela has to deal with the double trouble of helping her son and stopping the gangs from decimating the city.  Fortunately for her, Legion believes in stopping evil also, and the two of them use their opposing methods and beliefs to bring justice to the city.

 

Stranger Danger has the usual hallmarks of Collings’s writing in this series: extremely fast pace, excitement, and a mild touch of gore.  It’s the small touches that push this book above the previous one.  Fire and Water, the ghostly spirits in Legion’s head, are much better developed. Their advice does play a critical role in assisting Legion, but their constant verbal squabbling with each other also provides some occasional light-hearted moments.  The contrast between the two main characters also helps.  Candela is a straight-arrow, by-the-book cop who despises corruption and can’t be bought.  Legion understands right and wrong, but has no concept of laws when it comes to applying punishment.  Where Candela would make an arrest, Legion would break bones and crush pelvises.  It adds a nice dynamic to the story.

 

The character of Legion has also evolved.  Before, he was emotionless.  Now, at times, he actually experiences fear and (gasp!) happiness of a sort.  He isn’t flawless in his retribution either: one could make the case that a couple of the people Legion injures didn’t deserve it– they were just flunkies doing their legal jobs.  It’s different then the usual “good” or “evil” dynamic usually found in the series.  At the same time, Legion starts to question whether he should only punish the sinners, or maybe try helping out good people who don’t need correcting.   It all adds up to a more complex and interesting character.

 

Stranger Still is the best entry yet in a series that appears to have a ways to go.  Now, it’s just a matter of counting the days until the next one is released.  Recommended.

 

 

Contains:  violence, profanity, gore

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

Book Review: THE PVRITAN by Birgitte Margen

cover for THE PVRITAN by Birgitte Margen

THE PVRITAN by Birgitte Margen (  Bookshop.orgAmazon.com )

Publisher: Independently published, 2020

ASIN : B08HQ6JV85

Available: Kindle edition, paperback

 

THE PVRITAN by Birgitte Margen is a crime novel about horrific serial murders in Boston. Martina Zucco is a deadly serious homicide detective. Her mother died in childbirth, and she was raised by a distant father, whom she followed into the police force. Her partner, Neil Cavanaugh, balances out the team with his irreverent, male humor. They investigate the murders of a M13 gang member, a teenage Satanic cultist, and an incel (“involuntary celibate”). Each victim is hanged, mutilated, and publicly displayed. The eyes, tongue, or hand are cut out. Skin from the abdomen is flayed away and glued to outstretched arms like wings.

What is the motive? The author gives readers clues. She begins each chapter with an excerpt from the Geneva Bible used by the Puritans, and inserts sacrifices from the Salem witch trials between the present-day murders. The only clues for Zucco and Cavanaugh, however are small pieces of the Geneva Bible stuffed into the victims.

The author describes the Boston area well, including the Boston Commons and neighborhoods burdened with gangs or crime (Mattapan aka “Murderpan” and Dorchester aka “Deathchester”). The plot moves along quickly, keeping the reader engaged. The author gives interesting background information about the M13 gang, satanic cults and the incel community. However, the novel ends too abruptly. As in many novels about serial killers, the detective and psychopathic killer struggle to the death. However, the author does not give enough details about the murderer’s family and childhood to satisfactorily explain his psychopathy.

Birgitte Margen also wrote The Red Death, about a deadly ancient plague, previously reviewed and recommended by Monster Librarian.

Contains: violence, extreme gore, body horror, and sexual content

 

 

 

Contains: violence, gore, sex

 

Reviewed by Robert D. Yee