JG Faherty

Half a century ago, a young priest was called to the jungle to help with an exorcism. Though he was successful, the demon vowed to come back for Father Bonaventura someday.
30 years ago, a group of friends attempted a séance in a haunted dorm and woke a sleeping evil.
One year ago, little Abby Rawlings began suffering the torments of unseen forces. Unable to cope, her father calls for help, bringing in a group of paranormal experts who do not believe in demons but intend to either debunk show more these supernatural goings on or possibly clear the home of poltergeist activity.

A little slice of hell has come to the town of Hastings Mills and it's growing day by day. Before long the non believers will be forced to face the truth. Whatever is tormenting Abby is not confined to her and they can not handle this alone. Father Bonaventura has grown old and frail, but he may be the only hope.

There are a lot of characters to unpack and get to know here. It took me some time to get everyone straight. I did once have to flip back closer to the beginning to get the names of those who were present at the séance to make sure I was clear on the attendees, so pay attention there, it matters later on, these things are all connected.
I don't think I have been so freaked out since I read the story that inspired a head spinning Linda Blair to visit my nightmares in my teens. The earlier events in the book that introduce the characters and set the scene are chilling enough, but as the book progresses into full throttle hell on earth it makes those earlier incidents seem mild by comparison. This is a good vs evil story of epic proportions. The action just never lets up.


I received a complimentary copy for review. show less

There is so much going on in this novella. I read it once for the story. You have to do that because this one is going to rip you apart as you follow Fist from the shattering opening scene through one harrowing pivotal scene after another. I then read it again for all of the rest of the story. The symbolism. The literary references. The structure. The landscape as we progress becomes more surreal, the characters more symbolic and archetypal, as we drop from one level to the next and finally show more into the fire created by his own regret.

Choices. It is all about choices. How some choices, once made, can't be undone. We follow Fist as he carries his dead (both figuratively and literally like Faulkner's characters in As I Lay Dying) to their final resting place and himself to his revenge and, he hopes, redemption. Along the way he meets people that are not necessarily bad, just conflicted like himself. He also meets monsters, some human some not, a fascinating character ("The Artist") that I think of as a reflection of the novelist himself, and in the end, his own personal demon.

Emotionally wringing, this book will take its toll on you. From its devastating first few pages to what is the most gut wrenching final sentence that I have read in a long time. It will leave you shaken and numb. This novella is what dark fiction is all about. show less

I received this ebook through Early Reviewers. Overall I found it to be a fast read. Drawing heavily on Lovecraft's Old Ones mythos, the story basically played out as a good versus evil story. Two strangers arrive in a small town, one a preacher who is actually an immortal creature working to spread chaos and violence, as he slowly gains enough power to open the way to Earth for the Old Ones to enter. He slowly brainwashes the populace, feeding off of the escalating violence and hostility as show more neighbours and family turn on each other with horrific results. John Root, a traveler who collects folktales and myths and is the latest in a family line whose job it is to seek out and fight evil like the creature masquerading as a preacher. He knows a mishmash of herbal medicine and magic and the author provides him with some interesting aspects such as a black medicine bag that is more of a tunnel to somewhere else than just a carrying case.

One thing that didn't ring true for me was that Cyrus Christian was known by other names such as Loki, Anansi, Trickster, etc. Yes, those are gods of chaos and mischief, but I don't see them as evil in the way that Cyrus Christian was portrayed, nor could I see them working to aid the Old Ones. It's a small point but it did bother me whenever those other names were used. I just felt it was not an accurate representation of Tricksters, but taken much beyond into something that was completely evil and horrific.

The action moved quickly and the atmosphere of evil was well described but I felt like we were barely scratching the surface and that it might've been helpful, especially for those who are not familiar with Lovecraft, to have provided more background and detail of the Old Ones and this seemingly eternal battle between Root and his adversary, who we learn can't be killed. At times I felt that the town violence went a little over the top, especially when after it died down people just rationaized all that had happened and blamed it on the heat or electrical ions and moved on. I doubt that the kind of violence on the scale described could happen and that people could move forward afterwards or rationalize it in any way. That just felt a little too easy and didn't ring true. It began to feel that no matter what eventually happened, there had been so much damage to the people in the town that they would never be able to move back to a normal place after it.

I would probably recommend this book to anyone who enjoys horror and Lovecraft. It's a fast and somewhat enjoyable read if you suspend disbelief and just ride along with the story. It's not the best horror I've read and there isn't much that is new or creative but I did find myself wanting to keep reading to see what would happen and I did like the John Root character. If the author decided to make it into a series I would probably give a second book a try, especially if the author decided to dig a little deeper into John and his family line and there was some progression rather than just a repeat using the same basic story with just a different town. show less

Review copy

Opening line..."She was born with the power to cure. Now she's developed the power to kill." I'm in.

Leah Degarmo is a veterinarian with the power to cure with just a touch, but her gift comes with a dark side: whatever she takes in she has to pass on, or suffer it herself.

I've read a number of stories recently where the principal character has interesting powers and I don't mind telling you they have all been among my favorites.

The Cure is certainly a page turner and I couldn't show more wait to see what was going to happen next. As the story grew and the pressures on our heroine mounted, so did her talents, what starts out as a simple way to help pets and their owners turns into something much more terrifying.

When her secret gets out and into the hands of some very bad people that's when it really hits the fan, but by the story's end when things seem to be calming down, they are actually much worse than ever.

With just a small suspension of disbelief, the plausibility of everything else is rather simple and there is an overall feeling of helplessness throughout. Every time you think you've seen the worst that could happen, something even worse happens. Fun.

I get the feeling the end is not really the end, although I have not seen any word on plans for a sequel, there is plenty left to be explored.

The Cure is available in paperback and ebook formats from Samhain Horror through their website and Amazon.com.

Recommended. show less