astoldbybex's review
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
ericarobyn's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Baggage by Simon Paul Wilson & Matt Wildasin is a brutal and fast-paced story filled with guns and monsters that will violently rip your heart out before putting it back inside with a little “there, there” pat!
Join this crew of misfits as they come together to battle demons both in the real world and in their minds.
Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way. Artwork in the background of my book photo is from My Favorite Thing Is Monsters by Emil Ferris.
When this tale begins, we meet a man named Matt Wilson who ready to die after the devastating loss of his wife. But to make matters worse, he didn’t just lose his wife to an accident, sickness, or crime. He lost her to a monster. A real monster.
Matt Wilson is demon hunter and he blames himself for not saving her.
Next, we meet a group that consists of a woman, an older man, and a teenager. And as fate would have it, these three also hunt demons.
When their paths cross, the group of four is off to a horribly rocky start when it comes to friendship; punches are thrown, lies are told, and guns are drawn. But this group is about to have to put their distrust aside to band together to fight a rot demon. But of course, the rot demon isn’t the worst that they’re going to face.
First things first. I cannot wait for readers to experience this story and understand why the cover art is a ton of bullets! What wonderful cover art work by Matt Wildasin!
The action here was so well done! Starting very early on, the only “downtime” readers will get between the action and the blood and guts are super suspenseful sequences that still have you on the edge of your seat!
I loved getting to know these characters. I was rooting for each of them throughout the story and kept getting so nervous when they ran into the latest monster.
And speaking of monsters, I had a blast learning more about what evil beings were in this world! Each one was more terrifying than the last. And let me tell you, the line up of monsters at the end will be haunting my nightmares!
My Favorite Passages from Baggage
Seeing as we are all singing off the same hymn sheet, a shaky truce is agreed upon.
While hags are definitely not something you’d want to wake up and find staring at you from the bottom of your bed, they do have a quality I like: bullets hurt them. Empty a full clip into a hag’s hideous face and they won’t be bothering anyone anytime soon. This info pleases me; I like it when things can die and stay dead.
The demon retaliates, taking a swing at me. A wall of razor-sharp black talon-like nails slashes the air in front of my face. The air current produced by the attack reeks; the fiend smells of sulfur and decay. I back bend to dodge the assault, nearly pulling off the pop-culture favorite ‘Matrix lean,’ but manage to pull the trigger at the same juncture. The blast from my firearm knocks me backward into a row of pews.
“The Cadaverous are a demonic sect who revel in pain and death. They’re not interested in ending the world, or anything like that,” I pause for a moment to let this bomb sink in, then I keep going with the info dump. “No, these guys just want to cause as much suffering as possible. They get their kicks from carnage, and they’re good at creating it. And, as you’ve just found out, they can’t be killed.”
Besides, all I really want out of this whole exchange is a fucking cheeseburger.
I feel tears beginning to pool at the base of my eyes and I struggle to choke them back as I swallow what feels like razor blades down my throat. I know, I said I was going to tell these folks everything, but my love for my wife is indescribable. It isn’t just a feeling, but an invisible force that, when pressed against the skin, felt of silk. Her essence, her very presence was something otherworldly. Being with her felt like every day mattered and the sun that rose in those years was only for us.
Let’s make one thing absolutely clear here: men can cry. If anyone disagrees with this, they need to drop all that toxic masculinity bullshit and woman up, or fuck off. I don’t mind which.
My Final Thoughts on Baggage
What a journey these characters went on! From start to finish, this was a treat to read. This is another book that I highly recommend picking up on a day off. If you try to put it down after one intense scene, you won’t stop thinking about what could happen next and your fingers will be itching to pick it up again!
I highly recommend this book! And while perfect as a standalone, I can’t help but hope for a follow-up or a couple of prequels. I’m just not ready to let these characters go!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
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