Book review -The Gorge by Jason McPherson

 

One of my favourite things about The Gorge is the setting. What an epic location for a creepy story involving dark voices, a charismatic cult leader and the ghosts of a long dead Indian tribe. The vast wilderness of The Blue Ridge mountains, expertly described by the author, lends itself to a wild, creepy story, both violent and scary in equal measure, but never predictable.

Nathan Mires is comfortable in and knows the mountains well, it is the obvious place to flee when voices in his head cause him to go on a murderous rampage, but the voices know the mountains very well too and tighten their grip on him, using him as a physical force to defend their sacred grounds against any they deem as unwanted intruders. Nathan is powerless against them and succumbs to their will, killing more. The story could have followed a predictable path here, with a background of Native American spirits in a wild and lonely environment, but new storylines and layers are added to an already thrilling creepfest. A pastor with a devoted following stirs up trouble in the local town, setting his flock on a collision course with Mires and a far darker evil than even a cult leader with a god complex can comprehend.

 

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A review of Book of the Forsaken by Yannis Karatsioris:

The Book of the Forsaken is one of the most unusual and original fantasy stories I’ve read. Basically centred around three main characters, all of whom possess special powers of one sort or another; a petty-criminal Irishman who can manipulate fire and project his sight to see what is happening elsewhere, a suave French bookseller who can teleport anywhere, and a Russian magician who can perform much more than mere illusions, particularly when it pertains to death; handy as he doubles as an assassin. A fourth character who is also the narrator and some sort of demi-god, not only tells the story but becomes actively involved in order to manipulate events.

The three men are each given separate tasks which brings them all together at a live event – a magic show performed by the Russian trickster in Moscow. The Irishman is aided in his release from prison in order to assassinate a Russian government minister at the event. The Frenchman is instructed to steal a rare book from the German ambassador, and finally the Russian magician is also instructed to murder a government minister, but not the same one as the Irishman. All three perform their tasks and are brought together with much manipulation by the narrator who enters the scene as a character.

With the three main characters now together and in possession of the book, a whole mystery opens up to them, twisting and turning, involving two fantastical groups, The Magi and The Forsaken Races. The Book of the Forsaken is the key to a deadly game played out between these two groups. What part does the narrator have to play in this game? And what is the fate of the three main characters? Intriguing question to be found in The Book of the Forsaken!

 

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