The Resurrectionists has tentacles and that’s all you need to know!

 

But I’ll tell you a little more.

 

Set in 1788 and featuring a world where racial tensions run high, Salem Hawley is an emancipated black man doing his best to fight for what is right. He is decent and dedicated and it’s these traits that lead him down a dark and disturbing path and straight to a deviant group of Resurrectionists who are up to unimaginable things. They rob graves, they mutilate the bodies and, like the idiots they are, they read from an old tome in an attempt to please the elder gods. Of course dead bodies simply aren’t enough you dummies!

 

“Suffering is always the key.”

 

That’s all I should say about that because I do not want to spoil this experience for you. This book is very well written and filled with some Barker-worthy disturbing imagery, a well-crafted protagonist and a few perfectly written evil, dumb-ass men who want to achieve power at any cost. I’d like to think those types are purely fictional but I have my doubts every time I turn on the news. Thankfully there are decent men like Salem Hawley to balance it all out.

 

The pace is fast and the creatures are nasty and they will make you squirm.  There be monsters! There be gore! There be brutality! There be come-uppance! It’s all terrible and I mean terrible in the best horror-filled way. I absolutely cannot wait to read the next installment of Salem Hawley’s adventures in monster hunting! 

 

I also love the fact that in the author notes Hicks mentions that he was inspired to write this series after reading Mary Roach’s book Stiff which featured all sorts of fascinating death facts and makes mention of real life Resurrectionists. If you haven’t read Stiff and have a morbid curiosity about this sort of thing you should put it on your read soon list along with this book, of course.

 

4 ½ Stars

 

Wow! I read and reviewed another novella by Michael Patrick Hicks not so long ago (or at least it remains very fresh in my mind), and I’d read great reviews for this novella as well, so I knew it would be good. In this novella, like in the previous one, the author manages to pack great (and pretty scary) action scenes, to create characters we care for, and to bring depth into the proceedings, with a great deal of sharp social commentary, all in a small number of pages.

This novella also combines elements from a large number of genres, and it does it well. Yes, it is horror (and “cosmic” horror fits it well) but that’s only the beginning. We have historical fiction (the 1788 Doctor’s riot, which took place in New York as a result of the actions of a number of medical students and their professors, known as Ressurrectionists [hence the title), who robbed graves to get bodies for study and experimentation, disproportionately those of African-Americans, was the inspiration for the whole series, as the author explains in the back matter); elements of gothic horror (fans of Frankenstein should check this novella out); some of the experiments brought to mind steam-punk, there are monsters and creatures (Lovecraftians will definitely have a field day); a grimoire written in an ancient  language with fragments of translations that brings the occult into the story (and yes, secret societies as well)… All this in the historical background of the years following the American War of Independence, characters traumatised by what they had lived through, and an African-American protagonist, Salem Hawley, who has to deal with the added trauma of past slavery on top of everything else.

The story is narrated in the third person, mostly from Hawley’s point-of-view, although we also get to see things from the perspective of some of the less savoury characters (not that anybody is whiter than snow here, and that ambiguity makes them all the more real), and it is a page turner, with set action pieces and scenes difficult to forget. The rhythm of the language helps ramp up the tension and the frenzy of some of the most memorable battle scenes (we have memories of real battles and also battles against… oh, you’ll have to read it to see), which will be very satisfying to readers who love creature/monster horror. There are also some metaphysical and contemplative moments, but those do not slow down the action, providing only a brief breather and helping us connect with the characters and motivations at a deeper level.

I guess it’s evident from what I’ve said, but just in case, I must warn readers that there is plenty of violence, extreme violence, gore, and scary scenes (especially for people how are afraid of monsters and strange creatures), but the monsters aren’t the only scary beings in the story (there is a scene centred on one of the students —the cruellest one, based on a real historical character— that made my skin crawl, and I think it’s unlikely to leave anybody feeling indifferent). Also, this is the first novella in a series, and although the particular episode of the riot reaches a conclusion, there are things we don’t know, mysteries to be solved, and intrigue aplenty as the novella ends (oh, and there’s a female character I’m very intrigued by), so people who like a neat conclusion with all the loose end tied, won’t find it here.

I have also mentioned the author’s note at the end of the book, explaining where the idea for the series came from, offering insights and links into some of the research he used, and also accounting for the historical liberties he took with some of the facts (I must confess I had wondered about that, and, as a doctor, there were scenes that stretched the suspension of disbelief. Fans of historical fiction might take issue with the factual inaccuracies if they are sticklers for details. Perhaps a brief warning at the beginning of the book might put them at ease, because I think that moving the note to the beginning could detract from the element of surprise and enjoyment). I was fascinated by this historical episode (I was more familiar with the body snatchers exploits in the UK), and I’ll be sure to read more about it.

A thrilling story, well-written, packed with action, creature and cosmic horror, a great protagonist and a fascinating historical background. I can’t wait for part 2!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me an ARC copy of this novella that I freely chose to review.

“He could only watch as a pasty arm jabbed at his face. His back arched as he screamed, the spiked forelimb spearing his eye. Warm jelly oozed down his face as the orb exploded…”

 

BROKEN SHELLS (High Fever Books, 2017), the latest by author, Michael Patrick Hicks (REVOLVER, MASS HYSTERIA), is a wild underground creature-feature. The story follows Antoine DeWitt, a man that is slugging his way through a paycheck-to-paycheck life. Antoine has a screaming, crying baby at home with his lady, and is tired of it all. He's just been fired from work when he receives a Money Carlo winning ticket promising him $5, 000, he reluctantly decides to check out the to-good-to-be-true deal. The dealership has something for Mr. DeWitt, but it’s not exactly what he was expecting. 

 

This is a fun and nasty little novella from Hicks. He shows his love for creatures-features, brings the gore and the terror, and his show-stealing creations (the Ba’is) are fantastic. Joe Dangle, the owner of the dealership, and his family have been responsible for keeping the creatures locked away, feeding them (bodies, of course), and keeping it all secret. Evil bugs with sharp claws that will poke your eyes out or rip your mouth apart, the Ba’is rule this story. 

“Her lips stretched, her skin blanching under the strain, and then the corners of her mouth split, the flesh unzipping into a gruesome and jagged smile as her cheeks ripped apart.”

Personally, I disliked both DeWitt (who numerous times considers walking away from the stress of his wife and kid) and Dangle (car salesman + murderer =cretin), but LOVED the Ba’is and all the carnage they unleash throughout.

If you’re a big creature-feature fan (digging on works like Adam Cesare’s VIDEO NIGHT or Hunter Shea’s THEY RISE) you’re going to love this book.

I give BROKEN SHELLS 3.5! What a ride.

 

Release Date: 02.06.18

 

This story’s ending is what earned it the fifth star. What can I say, I’m a bleak guy, and this is a bleak story. Without diving into spoilers, I think this story could have gone one of two ways . . . And Michael Hicks chose the courageous way. He went where the story commanded. And I applaud him! That final chapter - shivers.

 

Broken Shells, the upcoming horror novella from Hicks, is a creature feature of the best sort. All kinds of gooshy, nasty bugs are present and accounted for; to make a pun, Hicks preys on the fear of insects. Me, I don’t mind bugs so much . . . But I am very claustrophobic. This story did get me there. A large portion of this story involves the main character being trapped and having to escape; I was on the brink of an anxiety attack while reading. That’s how I know this author did his job.

 

This is a fun, scary read, and it is easily conquerable in a sit or two. Highly recommended! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Black Site - Michael Patrick Hicks Black Site is a little hard to define. It’s a science fiction short story in which horrible things happen, and there’s a touch of horror, but I have trouble saying it’s a sci-fi horror. Instead it feels more like a thought exercise regarding the dangers inherent in looking for the answer to life’s mysteries. It also raises some questions about clone behavior and genetic tampering amongst as well.

The plot of Black Site alone was fascinating. I don’t think I’ve ever read another book or short story with a variation on this particular plot. One of those times when you just have to kind of sit back and wonder how in the world the author thought of it. He works the Lovecraft elements in well, but it’s the science fiction side of the story that is the most appealing.

I wanted to like Black Site more than I did. I feel like it was just too short, though, and that worked against the story. I wanted to get involved in what was going on. I felt like it could have been a trippy read that mentally stimulated me and kept me wondering, but it didn’t. Instead, because things moved so quickly, I didn’t have time to really get invested in what was going on. Or have time to wonder about what was happening. There was also a section regarding Victor’s ‘origins’ that didn’t sell to me because it needed spun out a bit more.

Black Site is well-written, regardless of the length issues. I would like to see this as a sci-fi video short. It has that kind of feel, where a visual representation would be fantastic to see. I have a feeling this want of mine started when I saw the cover reveal for the book. The cover for Black Site is the whole reason I got it. It made me perk up and go “Ooh”. I’m not often one of those people that will buy a book based on cover alone, but this one totally got me.

This was difficult to rate. The true rating came out to about a 3.5 (and I know from looking at Goodreads that I’m in the minority with that opinion). Maybe I just wasn’t in the right mood that weekend to read Black Site. Who knows. But, since I don’t rate in halves, I rounded up to a 4 because of the fact that it looked professionally edited, was well-written even if it didn’t grab me, and had that completely awesome cover.