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Book Review: Freaky Franky by William Blackwell

Freaky Franky by William Blackwell

Telemachus Press, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-945330-94-0

Available: Paperback, eBook

 

Freaky Franky by is a gory, yet moralistic, tale about the increasingly popular, cult religion of Santa Muerte. Santa Muerte’s origins include elements of pre-Columbian  gods, European symbols of death and plague, and Catholicism.  It is said to have tens of millions of devotees in Latin America, especially Mexico and the American Southwest, among the disadvantaged, poor and downtrodden.  In Mexico, Santa Muerte is said to be popular among members of rival drug cartels.  The Roman Catholic Church and several Protestant denominations condemn its practice.

 

The Lady’s symbol is a female skeleton dressed in a robe, which usually carries a globe and scythe.  Devotees light candles and give offerings of tobacco smoke, alcohol, money and food.  The Lady grants wishes for love, wealth, health and protection.  However, she also grants wishes for vengeance and power over others.

 

Freaky Franky begins with seemingly unrelated horrific murders in Mexico and Prince Edward Island (PEI).  Equally gory murders and a violent sexual assault follow in the Dominican Republic.  Soon it is clear that the common thread is that worshipers of Santa Muerte are to blame.  In particular, Franklin, an expat who fled from a tragic childhood in Prince Edward Island, is responsible for much of the mayhem in a Dominican resort town.

 

However, in this story the Lady grants wholesome wishes as well.  A Mexican doctor in PEI uses Santa Muerte to cure Franklin’s nephew.  Anita, Franklin’s estranged sister, travels to the Dominican Republic to reconnect with him.  She prays to the Lady to help a young vacationing couple and turn Franklin away from doing evil.  Devotees can use Santa Muerte for good or for evil.  However, the novel makes it clear that those who use it for evil will be severely punished in their mortal life and in their afterlife.  Franklin struggles between these choices.  Can he be saved?

 

The plot is initially confusing until the common thread of Santa Muerte becomes clear after the first few chapters.  Thereafter, it moves along well.  The characters are mostly one-dimensional.  However, Franklin and Helen, Anita’s bullied friend, are interesting when they waver between using the Lady for evil and good.

 

Contains: graphic sex, sexual assault, violence and gore.

 

Reviewed by Robert D. Yee

Posted on April 18, 2018 by , Reply

Book Review: Songs of Dreaming Gods by William Meikle


Songs of Dreaming Gods by William Meikle

Macabre Ink, 2017

ISBN-13: 978-1946025951

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook

 

Haunted house stories have been overtaken by tropes and lazy writing, and in most cases, should be boarded up. In recent years, however, a few have managed to introduce something new. Books such as House of Leaves, The Unseen, and The Haunted have introduced new wrinkles to the sub-genre. Songs of Dreaming Gods is one of these: it’s far more than a haunted house story. It is a solid read that stretches the imagination: readers may have to flip back a few pages occasionally to be certain they’ve caught all the nuances and plot twists. Is it horror? Definitely. But it’s not contained by the genre.

Those familiar with the works of William Meikle know that the author conjures up some pretty freaky designs for plot and setting (The Hole and Fungoid quickly come to mind).  In Songs of Dreaming Gods, we see that Meikle has once again done an extraordinary job in the telling of the story and in the layering of both the house and characters. Reading the book is like peeling an onion, or opening Russian nesting dolls.

A trio of local cops are called to the house where a bloodbath has occurred. Several bodies, or what’s left of them, are discovered in an old house. What’s been done to them is unlike anything one would expect from any human being, or animal. The trio realize that this is unlike any crime they have yet encountered. Doors that led to the stained floors where the forensic team should be now open up to another room not in their reality. Each of the investigators come to the house with their own wounds, mentally or physically, and face different doors, each which lead to scenes and realities that break down what each has known in his or her life. Once the characters go deeper into the house, and themselves, the reality they knew cannot be retrieved. All they can hope for is to escape with whatever the house allows them.

Songs of Dreaming Gods is decidedly different from most recent haunted house reads. With its fast-paced plot and complex structure, Meikle’s latest is a welcome addition to the sub-genre. Recommended.

Reviewed by Dave Simms

Posted on April 11, 2018 by , Reply

Book Review: Clowders by Vanessa Morgan

Clowders by Vanessa Morgan

Amazon Digital Services, 2018

ASIN: B078GTVF7Z

Available: Kindle edition

 

Author Vanessa Morgan acknowledges that the real city of Clervaux, in Luxembourg, is not noted for supernatural events, or for being a haven for cats.  However, in the fictional world of Clowders, the human inhabitants of  Clervaux are vastly outnumbered by cats, a clowder of cats (“clowder” is the collective noun used to describe a group of cats). The story starts when an American couple, Aidan and Jess, move to Clerveaux with their young daughter, Eleonore. Aidan, a self-absorbed wanderer, has been hired to work in a veterinary practice in Clervaux, and Jess has agreed to the move to please him and save their marriage. What they have not been told, although it is common knowledge among the villagers, is that a tengu (a spirit of the mountain and forest found in Japanese folklore) protects the village’s cats, and if a human kills a cat, the tengu kills nine humans.

 

Aidan and Jess are driving home from an unsatisfying night with colleagues from the veterinary clinic, when Jess accidentally runs over and kills a cat.  The tengu stalks the family, although they are still ignorant of the curse.  Others, who have lived in Clervaux much longer, sense that they are all doomed, but still do not tell Jess and Aidan.  When the villagers learn about the accident, they turn against the newcomers, fearing that they will be among the nine victims.  When Jess and Aidan finally learn about the curse, they plan to leave.  But can they escape?

 

Morgan does a good job in describing the flaws and foibles of the characters.  Although the death of the cat was simply an accident, the characters’ weaknesses and actions contributed to it.  For example, although Jess had drunk the least, was her driving impaired by drinking more than usual because of worry and jealousy at Aidan’s flirting with another woman?

 

In the ebook version I reviewed, Morgan gives away the plot before the book before the book’s introduction. There is one instance of in which “of” is mistakenly used for “off”. Morgan has a good story here; Clowders is worth reading. Recommended.

 

Contains: moderate sexuality, moderate gore

 

Reviewed by Robert D. Yee

Posted on March 17, 2018 by , Reply
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