Bryan Phoenix

Saint's Vigil by Bryan Phoenix

This horror/thriller was a read that was on my bookshelf for quite a long time. I tried picking it up a few times but it wasn't doing it for me. Finally, I forced myself to sit down and finish it - and it was quite the treat. It just took a little bit to get starter.

This book is brutal (in a good way, I guess? It's meant to be). It's not lighthearted, and I dare say it deserved an NC17 or R rating if it was rating through the MPAA. There's lots of pain and loss within the story, but I wouldn't say this horror lives up to a Stephen King kind of horror. This kind of horror was very brutal, bloody and cruel. It's not a scare you psychologically, it's more of a realistic, disgusting kind of horror. Some people like that, I personally don't. And don't get me wrong, I LOVE a good horror novel that scares me, but this one seemed more wrong than scary. There's corpses and mutilation and things you don't typically see in books (or I'm reading all the wrong ones...or right ones? I guess...)

The style of this book flows smoothly, and it keeps moving at a relatively medium-pace the entire novel. I thought it could have moved a bit faster (due to how large this book is) but it was okay.

I found the characters kind of dull. I didn't connect with them like I do other characters (villainous and heroes/antiheroes alike). Within this story, these characters could have been real winners - the brutal nature of this story leaves so much room for characters with real motives and crazy storylines, but it didn't hit it out of the park for me.

Overall, this book has good themes but wasn't my top novel of the year. It's a good read for someone who wants something brutal and "disgusting" (in a good way, I promise!! Like a brutal Quenten Tarantino sort of book).

Three out of five stars.

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.… (mehr)