The Devil Takes You Home

Gabino Iglesias hasn’t released a novel since 2018’s Barrio noir, Coyote Songs. This August, this Bram Stoker, Anthony, and Locus award-nominated author will once again drag you through a horrific nightmare of grief, loss, and desperation. One thing you can count on when reading anything by Iglesias you are in for a weird, wild, and strangely violent ride. I found myself reading this book at odd times and in unusual places just to get in one more page. 

Be advised, he unapologetically sprinkles Spanish throughout the novel. It flows like the blood gushing through and out of this tortured tale of a man agonizing the loss of everything he loved—his daughter and wife, and what little life he managed to piece together in a country that dangles its promises in front of far too many—just out of reach. The Devil Takes You Home is as much a horror as it is a crime novel, but it is also a human story. It is a brutal account of a near-impossible heist. It starts with the horror of a happy family losing a child to cancer—a loss that should not have happened and wouldn’t have if life was fair. 

You don’t know horror until you’ve spent a few hours inside a hospital looking at the fitful sleep of a loved one who is being taken from you. You don’t know desperation until the uselessness of praying hits you.

Cancer is just the beginning. It gets darker. Much.

The protagonist, Mario, is a rich and complicated character. Along for the ride is his junky, friend Brian and a cartel man, Juanca. Mario is willing to go any length to hang onto what little piece of hope he can. As his story unravels, it begs the question, how bad can you be and still be good? How much can you witness? How much can you force yourself to do before you lose what makes you human?

Someone needs to give Iglesias duffel bags full of money so he can write full time and bleed more stories. Let him conjure up more “magic” to transport us to a dangerous world between worlds where magic, blood, and hope live. My hope is he won’t make us wait four more years for his next novel.

The release date for this one is August 2nd, 2022. That date coincidently is the release of Don’t Fear the Reaper. The sequel to Stephen Graham Jones's My Heart Is A Chainsaw. Pre-order both of them NOW from your favorite independent bookstore.

Thank you to the publisher, Mulholland Books, and NetGalley for the review copy. And an added thanks to Gabino Iglesias for keeping me up late and scaring the shit out of me. Again.

Woodland Wardens by Jessica Roux

Woodland Wardens is beautifully designed. While I don’t have any first-hand skill with oracle decks or Tarot cards, have always drawn me to the hidden mysteries of the nature of things. The author, Jessica Roux, pairs her words and illustrations and offers visions of magic as she pairs plants and animals. Her love and knowledge of the natural world harken back to the Victorian Age when the study of flora and fauna was itself an art form. 

One need not be a practitioner of the mystical or dark arts to benefit from the thoughtful reflection gained from the deck. It is “intended as a living tool for deepening your self-awareness, especially to nature.” The author encourages you to act as a warden throughout your day. She encourages you to be a steward and to guard the gifts bestowed upon us by the things and spirits found in nature. My one complaint is that the Guide is not in color. 

This guide is perfect for those experienced with oracle decks as well as the beginner. Roux walks you through various ways to put the deck to use. She also encourages you to discover your own path. The cards themselves offer some strange and unexpected pairings. Take Card 42, the Eel and the Iris. This card symbolizes SAFETY. My first thought is that neither offers a sense of safety, but when one considers the author’s words, it is much easier to see. The eel, being slippery, enables it to escape harm, while the iris is a medieval symbol of power and victory. One can see how stealth and power can ensure “safety in our homes, relationships, and work”.

Woodland Wardens pulls from a variety of belief systems—from the ancient Greek, Roman, and Norse to Maori and other indigenous beliefs and traditions. It even draws on the teachings of the Christian Bible. I can see the deck, along with the guide, being a thought-provoking tool to reflect on life and nature. 

This deck is magical, but it does not have all the answers. That said, Roux’s thoughtful words and rich illustrations should provide enough as a basis to start your journey.  

Well, I'll Be Damned!

This is just the beginning of Jonathan Maberry’s foray into epic dark fantasy. It started in the middle of an all-out invasion where things were happening fast. The Silver Empire was being overrun in the most unbelievable of ways. There is viciousness and brutality against pretty much anything that lives. The invasion itself was over in a flash of banefire, then the story slowed to a trickle or a few dozen mugs of wine and ale. Things can slow in epic fantasy because of world-building and character development. The story follows multiple storylines, along with more than a few flashbacks. But then? Then all the snares and webs and traps had been set, and the tale took off.

Kagen is our unlikely hero. Of course, he is the main character and should be the hero, but as the aftermath of the invasion sets in, it looks less and less likely that he has any hero left in him. He is haunted and, because of the circumstances at the beginning of this book, damned with no hope of salvation. I could have done with a little less of Kagen the Drunkard, but it reveals to what depths our hero has sunk. If that bothers you, don’t let it put you off. Stick with the story, it grows and twists and is full of rich characters, male and female alike. The Witch-King of Hakkia and his cronies make for some great villains. And there are the side stories with nuns, the undead, and the minions of Cthulhu. Those threads will keep you guessing right up to the end. This story has it all. Interesting, complicated, and mysterious characters? Epic battles and sharp cutty things? Check. Sorcery, enchantment, and creatures? Check. Thieving? Yup. Blood? Gore? Magic? Political intrigue? Check, check, check, and oh, yes! 

From the outset, we were told that Kagen the Damned is "the first installment of an exciting new series of dark epic fantasy," so don’t be disappointed when this tale ends on a maddening cliffhanger. It will leave you wanting more. I cannot wait for book two, Son of the Poison Rose! 

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for providing an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

THE VIOLENCE by Delilah Dawson

When I had requested The Violence, I had no idea what to expect. I am familiar with the author, Delilah Dawson/Lila Bowen, and have read several other works. I enjoyed everything I read, so it is no surprise that I liked this book, but it is so very different than what I expected. So, what did I expect? Given the state of the world these days and her other books, I expected something more along the line of The Stand or the more recent stories like Survivor Song or The Wanderers. There is a virus, but unlike the aforementioned novels, the whole world hasn’t gone to hell and spiraled into a post-apocalyptic nightmare. 

There’s a passage in the book of a description of men who possess and abuse women. Damn! This book is powerful on so many levels. As I read it, I often thought of the pain relived by so many abused. The Violence proved to be a blessing and a curse. My hope is that the author and all those who have lived through abuse physical and/or mental, are able to escape and heal. Perhaps this book will be a start. 

The book is brilliant. It is expertly crafted. The characters—mostly women— are rich and multi-layered like the story itself. There are certainly horrific scenes in this book, but it is a human story—one of survival and redemption. It should be on everyone’s reading list. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Estate Sailin'

Over the weekend, my wife and I made the trek downstate to a couple of remarkable estate sales. One was in Ormond Beach and was the home of a former Washington D.C. bureaucrat who worked in the Finance sector. His wife was a model. The place was loaded with old invitations to D.C. events & parties. I picked up a few trinkets and some fun postcards. There was also a "Confidential Committee Print" of the EXAMINATION OF VICE PRESIDENT DESIGNATE NELSON A. ROCKEFELLER'S TAX RETURNS AND OTHER RECORDS. Tucked inside that was a typewritten sheet on the topic of "Men." It starts out "Men are what women marry. They have two feet, two hands, and sometimes two wives, but they never have more than one dollar and one idea at a time." I assume the sheet belonged to the same woman that owned the "Uppity Women Unite" button. Judging from the things in their home, they must have been a fun couple.

 

The second one was in Gainesville. It was the estate of Jack Clare Nichelson, an accomplished artist and long-time professor at the University of Florida. He passed away a number of years ago. The sale was the first of two. The house was a very cool mid-century modern designed home and was loaded with some of the things he collected over a lifetime. I ended up only purchasing the small wooden Madonna pictured. It is barely an inch-and-a-half tall and, while most likely just a tourist souvenir, the detail is remarkable for such a small piece. There were a number of pieces of tramp art that would have been nice, but I refrained.

Estate Sales are places of a duality of feelings. I love finding unique and strange things just as I love finding a hidden treasure, but there is also a great melancholy that often overcomes me. They are small snapshots of people's lives filled with things that made only them happy as they didn't seem to hold enough of the person to make those that they left behind treasure them as well.