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Book Review: Seeing Evil (Cycle of Evil #1) by Jason Parent

cover art for Seeing Evil by Jason Parent

Seeing Evil (Cycle of Evil #1) by Jason Parent

Red Adept Publishing, 2015

ISBN-13 : 978-1940215495

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition ( Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

 

Human monsters are the worst, so a father who has been abusing his daughter for years and is also a serial killer responsible for his wife’s death has to be one of the sickest incarnations of evil possible. The amount of sheer, utterly realistic terror in Seeing Evil by Jason Parent quickly builds up an intensity that begins in the first pages of the book and doesn’t end until the final scene.

 

The main character in this novel of pain, suffering, and derangement is Michaek, a boy who discovers that if he has even the briefest physical contact with a person who is about to encounter evil, he will actually be transported into that very future nightmare scenario and must watch it unfold. Michael’s first supernatural experience occurs as a result of a school bullying incident, but he is forced to continue having these revelations, up close and personal, when he learns the secrets of another student, the serial killer’s daughter, and becomes involved in a race against time to save her from a terrible fate.

 

The plot and characters are riveting. With just the right details and compelling psychological profiles, the anxiety-filled daily life of traumatized individuals is closely examined. The manner in which the threat of constant danger, the reality of physical and psychological abuse, and the ceaseless sense of impending doom plays out in the victims’ lives is insightfully articulated and seamlessly connected to the dramatic police investigation. That part of the story is also engrossing because it makes clear how evil can go unchecked for far too long when the diabolical power of a killer successfully paralyzes ordinary people with fear. It also calls attention to the role of the “intuitives” who work on real criminal cases and how much it might be possible for these people to “see” as well as how the nature of their work affects them.

 

Unfortunately, we live in a world in which children are bullied, abused, and murdered.  Seeing Evil is about more than observing that evil; it is about hearing it, feeling it, and, most of all, about getting close enough to touch it. Parent makes this possible with a gripping narrative that provides that most potent of page  turners, the dread of what might come next.  Highly recommended.

 

Reviewed by Nova Hadley

 

 

Posted on April 25, 2021 by , Reply

Book Review: Goblin by Josh Malerman

cover art for Goblin by Josh Malerman

Goblin by Josh Malerman
Del Rey (May 2021)
ISBN-13 : 978-0593237809
Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook  ( Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

 

After several blockbuster novels, and with Malorie, the sequel to Bird Box still fresh in readers’ minds, Josh Malerman finally gets to introduce the town of Goblin to fans everywhere.

 

Goblin is Derry. It’s Oxrun Station. It’s Cedar Hill. It’s Green Town. It’s all of us in our hometowns and yet, it’s something brand new, where the greats would likely fear to live. Think of Goblin as Derry’s disturbed little brother.

 

This book, comprised of a sextet of short novellas, takes the small town motif and shreds it, molding it into something which fills the reader with uneasy pleasure from cover to cover. Malerman seems to display more skill, more darkness, with each story.

 

“A Man In Slices” shows how friendship can be a tricky concept. One boy does whatever he can to help his lonely friend, at any cost.

 

“Kamp” is a lighter tale about a man petrified of a seeing a ghost. Everyone in his family has, and he knows his time is coming. How Walter copes with the expectation will make many readers feel a bit better about their own issues with things that go bump in the night.

 

“Happy Birthday, Hunter” displays the heart and obsession of a man who cannot give up the hunt. Nash’s addiction comes to a boiling point during his 60th birthday party when he decides to kill Goblin’s most prized game in the north woods, a place from which no one ever returns.

 

“Presto” is a love affair with magic, the oldest and darkest kind where a young boy seeks to learn the secrets behind his favorite performer in a story which channels classic Bradbury.

 

“A Mix-Up at the Zoo” details the inner struggle of Dirk, a man who switches jobs to become a tour guide in a zoo, a far cry from his other employment in the slaughterhouse. He finds a talent for understanding the mighty beasts within the cages, but feels a certain darkness brewing when he drifts off in thought.

 

“The Hedges” is the final story in the collection. Mazes built in corn and the famed topiary in the film version of The Shining emerge here. Young Margot claims to have solved the unsolvable creation by Wayne Sherman. What she finds at the end causes her to alert the Goblin police, a decision that might be worse than keeping the secret to herself.

 

The mythology of Goblin’s history is richly drawn within these stories, and connects them with a style that keeps the reader turning pages. Malerman has created a town which may even be darker than King’s, Grant’s, and Bradbury’s nightmares. Goblin is all Malerman and should be listed on every horror reader’s itinerary of places to visit, with the lights turned low and the night breeze creeping into the room. Highly recommended.

 

Reviewed by David Simms

Posted on March 22, 2021 by , Reply

Book Review: Root Magic by Eden Royce

cover art for Root Magic by Eden Royce

Root Magic by Eden Royce

Walden Pond Media, 2021

ISBN-13 : 978-0062899576

Available:  Hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook  ( Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

 

 

Root Magic takes place on Wadmalaw, one of the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina that is home to the Gullah-Geechee nation, a unique ethnic group with a combined heritage from African and indigenous individuals with its own language and traditions. Author Eden Royce, creates a vivid picture of Gullah-Geechee culture and traditions in the setting of the Sea Islands around the time of the Kennedy assassination though her eleven-year old narrator, Jezebel.

After her grandmother dies, Jezebel’s grandfather decides it is time to teach Jezzie and her twin brother Jay the basics of root magic for the purposes of protection, such as painting their house “haint blue” so evil spirits and boo-hags can’t enter, mixing potions, and creating root bags.  The nearby marsh, previously a place the twins used to play, becomes dangerous as it tries to suck Jezzie in.  Still, the twins are fascinated by root magic and can’t wait to learn more.  Jezzie, in particular, starts to develop new powers, such as the ability to astrally project.

Things are not so easy at school. Jezzie has been jumped a year forward, and new girls from families with more money have moved to town. Jezzie, with her darker skin, mended clothes, and rumors of witchiness, becomes a target. Her only friend is Suzie, who can’t invite her over or visit her home, for reasons that become clear later.  In his grade, Jay has become friendly with the other boys, and Jezzie is worried that her connection to him is breaking.

In addition to troubles at school, there are troubles at home. A police officer has taken a particular interest in Jezzie’s family, invading their home in their absence, demanding food, threatening them, and breaking their things. He knows they are a family of root workers and his behavior towards them escalates. While Jezzie and Jay do face supernatural threats in the book, it is Jezzie’s compassion to animals and creatures in trouble (including boo-hags) that helps protect her family from this dangerous but not at all supernatural threat.

Royce’s descriptions make it feel almost like the reader could step through to the island, and she is able to set the time period effectively with just a few sentences. Jim Crow and racist policing are alive and well, and that’s built into the story. Children questioning why the school would still be segregated, the police searching Jezzie’s house without a warrant, and the effect of the Kennedy assassination on the community will get their answers without an exposition dump.  Royce’s presentation of the controversy over passing on root working practices both in the community and in the same family is also interesting, and she illustrates that root work is not a religion, but is a way of connecting with the world.

While the Gullah-Geechee nation became official in 2000, its existence is not well known, and it has a unique culture and language. Introducing Gullah-Geechee culture and language to a more mainstream audience through a middle-grade novel makes it very accessible. Eden Royce is a member of the Gullah-Geechee nation, and I think it would be very difficult to write about it from outside (in fact, there was a controversy over this not that long ago). Royce has a background as a horror writer for adults, with writing grounded in folklore and the Southern Gothic. I’m so glad she chose to use some of these same elements in this engaging historical Southern Gothic #OwnVoices novel for children. Children who enjoy this book may also enjoy Tracey Baptiste’s The Jumbies, Claribel A. Ortega’s Ghost Squad, and Marie Arnold’s The Year I Flew Away. Highly recommended for ages 8-12.

 

Contains: racism, police brutality, violence

Posted on March 19, 2021 by , Reply
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