A review by donnyeatsbooks
Hell Spring by Isaac Thorne

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

β€œπ‘»π’‰π’† π’•π’‰π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 π’”π’‰π’‚π’Žπ’† 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’‚π’π’™π’Šπ’†π’•π’š π’Šπ’” 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 π’•π’‰π’†π’š'𝒓𝒆 π’„π’šπ’„π’π’Šπ’„π’‚π’. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 π’„π’π’Šπ’Žπ’ƒ π’•π’‰π’†π’Šπ’“ π’Žπ’π’–π’π’•π’‚π’Šπ’, π’‡π’Šπ’ˆπ’‰π’•π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒆 π’•π’‰π’†π’š 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒑 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 π’šπ’π’–. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏, 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 π’˜π’‰π’†π’ π’šπ’π’– π’•π’‰π’Šπ’π’Œ π’šπ’π’–'𝒗𝒆 π’π’—π’†π’“π’„π’π’Žπ’† π’•π’‰π’†π’Ž π’ƒπ’š π’“π’†π’‚π’„π’‰π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’”π’–π’Žπ’Žπ’Šπ’•, π’šπ’π’– π’…π’Šπ’”π’„π’π’—π’†π’“ 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 π’šπ’π’– π’˜π’†π’“π’†π’'𝒕 π’„π’π’Šπ’Žπ’ƒπ’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒂 π’Žπ’π’–π’π’•π’‚π’Šπ’ 𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 π’˜π’†π’“π’† 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 π’˜π’‚π’π’Œπ’Šπ’π’ˆ π’‚π’π’π’π’ˆ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’“π’Šπ’Ž 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 π’˜π’‰π’†π’†π’ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’˜π’‰π’π’π’† π’•π’Šπ’Žπ’†.”

When Isaac Thorne offered to send me a copy of his novel, π‡πžπ₯π₯ 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐒𝐧𝐠, to review, I accepted with admittedly low expectations. The premise was certainly interesting (a group of people holed up in a general store are preyed upon by a demon taking the form of Marilyn Monroe), but it was so far-fetched that I wasn’t sure how it could possibly be executed. (To good effect, anyway.) But lo and behold, I finished the book with fresh, hot tears streaming down my face.

From giant phalluses spewing acidic cum, to hellhounds shape-shifting into Old Hollywood starlets, π‡πžπ₯π₯ 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐒𝐧𝐠 is a deluge of bizarre horrors. But it’s also a shockingly moving exploration of redemption, self-atonement, and religious trauma that particularly resonated with me, as a gay man from the south.

If you’re looking for your next horror fix, I implore you to check out this little doozy! It’s breezily paced and remarkably well-written, with a cast of sympathetic and morally complex characters, and a healthy amount of scares that are sure to satisfy fans of Stephen King, such as myself.

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