HELL, I believe would be a better place than the torture PD Alleva puts us thru in his horror novel GOLEM.
Phew, psychological horror is a genre I don’t read too often, well, there is only so many nightmares I can stand to bear. The last book I remember reading with thousand of breaks of keeping it down and picking it up instantly was IT BY STEPHEN KING and honestly, that was 20 years back.
GOLEM, I feel is a genre by itself, the author succeeds in scaring the bejesus out of any living soul with a heart.
The blurb of the book says “Fans of The Silence of the Lambs, Clive Barker, John Connolly, old Stephen King, and Anne Rice will be fascinated by this edge of your seat psychological horror thriller with a story that tears out the heart of humanity and throws it on a slab to be feasted on.”
AND that is a fair warning by the author as he incorporates the scene into the book and left me reeling. The violence described in the story is pretty extreme with scenes of torture and abuse, even those involving children so readers who have issues about the same should stay away from this novel.
Alleva’s writing is visceral, the effect created is highly terrifying. The setting of the story in the historical times was fascinating as the author explores the wickedness that hides behind most faces irrespective of the class of society that they belong to. The story proceeds thru three main characters John, Alena, and Annette but it was the characterization of Golem that mesmerized me. As his formation is completed, we can’t help but be charmed by his personality like Alena, but as the horror is unveiled and the true colors brought to light, his mere presence is enough to fuel our rage and hatred.
There are parts of the story that I felt were lagging but as Alena keeps reiterating, the DEVIL is in the DETAILS so I could let it go. It was interesting to see how Alena manages to deal with Golem although she has been admitted to the psychiatric facility. The ending was as expected in perfect sync with the story even though I did wish for a different one. The author, however, has left a small crumb which was reassuring.
I have never been scared of ghost stories but it is always books that deal with DEMONS and DEVILS that have me hiding under the blankets freaking out and this one is definitely topping the list. PD Alleva in his acknowledgments explains the process of how the story was formed and in his own words “Golem is a story about isolation, paranoia, and division, and, as unfortunate as it is, reflects our current society in a nutshell. Who opened the front door and invited the devil in? Well, we all did, didn’t we?”
Highly recommended to readers who love horror fiction with psychological elements as the story explores the dreadful human vices which will have us hanging down our shameful heads.
Many thanks to the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.
“Excellently written, with a twisted, spiraling, unexpected end that will leave you speechless.” ~ TBM Horror Experts
Detective. Angel. Victim. Devil.
A haunting tale of suspense, loss, isolation, contempt, and fear.
On November 1, 1951, war hero John Ashton was promoted to detective. His first assignment: find the district attorney’s missing daughter. But his only lead is Alena Francon, a high society sculptor and socialite committed to Bellevue’s psychiatric facility.
Alena has a story for the new detective. A story so outlandish John Ashton refuses to heed the warning. Alena admits to incarnating Golem, a demonic force, into her statue. A devil so profound he’s infiltrated every part of New York’s infrastructure. Even worse, he uses children to serve as bodily hosts for his demonic army, unleashing a horde of devils into our world.
When Alena’s confidant, Annette Flemming, confirms the existence of Golem, John is sent on a collision course where fate and destiny spiral into peril, and the future of the human race hangs in the balance.
The Devil Is In The Details!
Fans of The Silence of the Lambs, Clive Barker, John Connolly, old Stephen King, and Anne Rice will be fascinated by this edge of your seat psychological horror thriller with a story that tears out the heart of humanity and throws it on a slab to be feasted on.
This post contains affiliate links for products and services I recommend. If you make a purchase through those links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.
This review is published in my blog Rain’n’Books, ##Goodreads, ##Amazon India, ##Book Bub, ##Medium.com, ##Facebook, ##Twitter.