Book Review: The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

Title: The Reformatory

Author: Tananarive Due

Publisher: Saga Press

Page Count: 576 Pages

Publication Date/Year: October 2023

Genre: Horror

Tananarive Due is one of the Important Voices in horror literature, her work has been nominated for many awards, she’s won the American Book Award (The Living Blood), she teaches Black Horror at UCLA, has been a expert “talking head” on multiple horror documentaries (In Search of Darkness, Horror Noire) and no less a horror Icon than Stephen King is an advocate for her work. In a genre that is largely white and male, Due is a bright light as a Black Woman writer who spins a damn good story and often with Something to Say. I’ve read about a half-dozen of her novels at this point in time.  I consider her novel The Good House a modern Haunted House masterpiece. Her African Immortals series (My Soul to Keep, The Living Blood) is a powerful dark fantasy saga.

When I saw the book for sale at New York Comic Con a few days before the official on-sale date, I knew I had to have it.

With all of that said, The Reformatory will likely go down as her Magnum Opus, her defining work. Set in Florida in Jim Crow 1950s, the novel focuses on Robert Stephens, Jr., an African-American boy who is forced into a prison camp as a result of a minor scuffle with a white neighbor. The novel is a tale of racism (duh), family bonds, ghosts, the dead, and the dark underside of our country.

On to the story...

When Robbie's white neighbor Lyle McCormack, the son of a fairly influential man in Gracetown, makes advances on Robert’s sister, Robert steps into the situation. There’s a minor physical altercation between Robert and Lyle. As a result, Robert is beaten by Lyle’s father, handcuffed, and shipped off to the Gracetown School for Boys. As it turns out, Gracetown is a recurring town in Due's fiction and if anything screamed the opposite of what its name implied, it is this “home for boys.” 

I was immediately put in the mind of "Sunlight Gardner's Home for Wayward Boys" from Stephen King & Peter Straub's The Talisman. However; the Gracetown School is even more horrific because it is based on a place that actually existed and history tells us horrible, racist, abusive behavior existed in places like this. At the school also known as "The Reformatory," racism and brutality are the norm. When Robert is taken into the School, during the drive up, he has a vision of pain and suffering, he sees fire, he feels the flames, and Robert hears the screams of death. It affects him profoundly and does not go unnoticed. What makes it all the more strange is that this fire occurred 25 years prior to the events of the novel. Robert has shown a proclivity for seeing ghosts. He is often visited by the ghost of his own mother.

The Gracetown School for Boys is haunted not just by the looming hands of racism and violence, but actual ghosts, or “haints” as they are referred to in the novel. It is not a term I was familiar with before reading The Reformatory and I’ve read quite a lot of horror. Then again, I haven’t read enough horror written by non-white people. Be that as it may, haints are considered vengeful spirits, especially by the people in power at The Reformatory.

Robert is not only haunted by the ghosts at the School, his father’s past haunts him as well. Robert has to live in the shadow of his father (Robert Sr.) being a wanted man. Robert Sr. dared speak out about inequities in Gracetown, he was labeled a communist and his voice of "dissention" was looked down upon even more because he was black.  Because Robert Sr. is nowhere to be seen and can’t be found near Gracetown by the local authorities, there’s a little bit of the sins of the father being paid for by the son.

As hard and brutal as life is within the walls of The Reformatory, Robert makes friends and tries to be upbeat. He catches the eye the whipping master and Warden of the School, a man named Haddock. Robert’s affinity with seeing haints is something that makes him useful to the Warden, because Warden Haddoc does not like being haunted.

While Robert is the central figure of the novel, Due gives ample “page time” to his sister, Gloria. Gloria is a little bit older and has one single goal: get Robert out of the Reformatory. Her journey shines an equally powerful lens on the racism of the time (and frankly, it is sad to see how some of the ugliness is still alive today) and the inequities she faces even when simply trying to visit her brother or trying to have her voice heard.

Due has a very personal connection to the history that informs the backdrop of the novel. Without knowing that, the novel feels intimate and personal. Knowing the connection only hammers home that part even more. Her prose and storytelling is gut-wrenching, addictive, and powerful.

None of this would work nearly as well if Tananarive Due wasn't a marvelous writer and storyteller. She pulled me into the story immediately, I felt empathy for young Robert and Gloria and felt their anger, pain, and frustration. Her skill at portraying youthful protagonists dealing with adult horrors is powerful, engaging, and enthralling. This is the kind of book that entertains and enlightens. It is simply transcendent. 

The Reformatory is a landmark work, a powerful coming-of-age horror novel that is a beautiful and harrowing tale. I will be shocked if The Reformatory is not at least short-listed for multiple awards for books published in 2023.

Highly, highly recommended.

© 2023 Rob H. Bedford

Book Review: Blood Country (The Raven #2) by Jonathan Janz

Title: Blood Country (The Raven Book 2)

Author: Jonathan Janz

Publisher: Flame Tree Press

Page Count: 288 Pages

Publication Date/Year: 2022

Genre: Horror

I’ve been making my way through Jonathan Janz’s backlist over the last couple of years. About a year ago (June 2022), I read and thoroughly enjoyed The Raven, his take on the post-apocalyptic story, but with a very potent horror lacing throughout the story. Blood Country is the second novel in the series and the focus, as the title implies, is vampires.

Briefly, in the world of The Raven, a group of rogue scientists released a virus that transformed humanity into creatures out of our nightmares: werewolves, trolls, cannibals (the strength of the people they eat is added to their own), witches, and vampires. Dez McClane is a rarity, he was unaffected by the virus so he is a man without any added abilities. Since the first novel, he’s been searching for the woman he loves. The conclusion of that novel provided him with a direction to head: Blood Country, the land of the vampires. With the woman he saved (Iris), Dez sets out to find his girlfriend Susan and to hopefully right a wrong.

Reading The Raven is a must before diving into Blood Country as the two novels very much feel like two episodes of a larger story, and the story Janz is telling in these novels is an absolute blast. He puts us in Dez’s head, which allows Dez’s fears and doubts to be felt quite effectively. Before the events of the series, Dez lost his family and has blamed himself so his self-blame is only increased with the loss of Susan.

Dez, Iris and their other allies (Michael, a man who can control fire as a result of the changes to the world, a young boy named Levi, and a couple of other allies I won’t spoil) head to the heart of Blood Country, a high school which serves as the seat of power for the vampires, particularly the Vampire Queen. Once they arrive at the high school, the action gets more intense and the emotional twists and turns become more sharp.

The story is very brisk and works somewhat cinematically. I was able to visualize a lot of the action Janz was relaying the novel and felt myself turning the pages rather quickly as a result. In the relatively short space of the story (under 300 pages), Janz crafts a story that is equal parts breakneck plot and character. After having read a small sampling (4 novels at this point) of Janz’s work, I’ve found my reading sensibilities really sync up with the stories he writes. When I was younger, one of my favorite RPGs was Gamma World. I think what appealed to me about that game is something Janz nails so well, even if Gamma World leans more towards fantasy-based monsters and Janz is firmly planted in horror.  The mix of “our world” and something fantastical and horrific is what both these things capture so well. Ultimately, Blood Country was just pure fun for me because I love an over-the-top apocalyptic tale, especially when there are monsters and/or mutants of some kind.

After two novels in The Raven series, I was very pleased to learn there will be at least one more novel. The conclusion most certainly left a very clear path where these characters need go and I cannot wait to catch up with Dez and his crew. The world and characters seem rather fertile for more stories and the length of the two novels so far lend themselves nicely to an episodic, long-form story that could lead to more than just one additional novel.

© 2023 Rob H. Bedford

Book Review: Son of the Poison Rose by Jonathan Maberry

Title: Son of the Poison Rose

Author: Jonathan Maberry

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Page Count: 687 Pages (including appendix/glossary)

Publication Date/Year: January 2023

Genre: Epic Fantasy / Epic Horror / Grimdark

I was a big fan of Jonathan Maberry’s first foray into Epic Fantasy last year, Kagen the Damned; which was one of my favorite fantasy novels I read in 2022, so I was looking forward to diving into Son of the Poison Rose, the second installment of the Epic Horror-Fantasy.

I was not disappointed.

Son of the Poison Rose picks up almost immediately after the events of Kagen the Damned. Kagen is on the run, mentally, physically, and emotionally scarred as a result of the events of the first novel. He’s got a pair of trusted companions, Filia and Tuke, at the start of the novel with whom he is attempting to take down the Witch King who has conquered the Silver Kingdom, Kagen’s hope.

The first book is required reading before jumping into Son of the Poison Rose and there may be spoilers below.

Kagen is a great study in dealing with dread and post-traumatic stress … he witnessed his parents killed, his kingdom conquered, felt his gods abandon him, and learned the identity of the Witch King. He blames himself for many things that have befallen the world. A good chunk of the early narrative focused on Kagen’s self-doubt, fears, and not-so-positive coping mechanisms. He “recovers” and gains more focus. He comes to realize he was drugged so he couldn’t fulfill his duties of protecting the youngest children and heirs to the throne and also learns they were not actually killed.

I appreciated that Maberry devoted a significant amount of the narrative to the Witch King as he tries to cement his rule. That is proving quite difficult for the man once known as Herepath since his coronation was interrupted, thus throwing into question how powerful he truly is. His “children,” the aforementioned heirs of the empire twins Alleyn and Desalyn (whom the Witch King renamed Gavran and Foscor respectively, and has passed off as his own), are demonstrating a strength that is making it difficult for Herepath the Witch King to keep under his spell. Plus Herepath is obsessed with finding Kagen.

Maberry sets these two personalities at odds with each other along with the supporting characters for each. I’ve mentioned Tuke and Filia for Kagen already. Herepath has a mysterious, powerful, being with Lovecraftian roots join as advisor – The Prince of Games, who may be Nyarlathotep, but lists off other possible names he’s had in the past including Flagg (yes, Randall Flag, The Walkin Dude) and one very familiar to fans of Maberry’s Joe Ledger novels – Nicodemus. Remember, this book is set in “our world” but about 50,000 years in the future (A conceit I love) and fits in with how Maberry likes to link his stories together. The Prince of Games here comes across far more mischievous than I remember Nicodemus being in the Joe Ledger novels

Maberry also introduces readers to Kagen’s siblings, the twins Jheklan and Faulker , brings back Rissa from the first volume somewhat briefly, Mother Frey (another great character) as well as what I’d call a guest appearance from the vampire sorcerer Lady Maralina.

While Maberry established a fantastic, deep, mythology through smart world-building in The Sword of Kagen, more depth and richness is elaborated upon in Son of the Poison Rose. The Cthulhu/Lovecraftian elements become even more prominent and I loved it. I said about the first volume how well Maberry interwove horror elements into Epic Fantasy framework. That intermingling worked to an even greater degree in Son of the Poison Rose because he was enhancing and building upon a strong foundation with intriguing details.

The only criticism I can level at the novel is that there was a bit of a repetitive nature to some of Kagen’s self-doubt. It felt like he was going through the same conversations with himself more than a couple of times in maybe the first third of the novel. Granted, depression and self-doubt drive that kind of internal dialogue in reality. In the novel, it slowed the pacing just a bit for me. Thankfully, that is just a minor criticism because I was glued to the pages and loved how Maberry structured his chapters.

Son of the Poison Rose is a wonderful follow-up that sets things in motion for what I hope will be a thrilling conclusion in Dragons in Winter.

This series provides for a dark and intriguing take on the Epic Fantasy genre and will appeal to horror fans as well. Great stuff and Highly Recommended.

Book Review: HIDE by Kiersten White

Title: Hide

Author: Kiersten White

Publisher: Del Rey Books

Page Count: 256 Pages

Publication Date/Year: 2022

Genre: Horror

We all played Hide and Go Seek when we were kids, right? How many of us played in an amusement park, let alone an abandoned and closed amusement park? Probably very few people were afforded that opportunity. That’s the basic premise of Hide, Kiersten White’s first novel for adults. The added layer is that 14 people are chose to play in the “Olly Olly Oxen Free Hide and Seek Tournament” in an Amusement Park that has been abandoned since the mid-1970s. The winner is promised fame and $50,000. 

Our main sightline into this novel is Mackenzie Black, a young woman who is the lone survivor of her father snapping and killing her family. She’s out of work and essentially homeless, so it is difficult for her to say no. Especially since she has spent most of her life hiding…hiding from the spotlight, hiding in the house when her father murdered the family.

Other participants in the latest game are an “internet celebrity,” a CrossFit instructor, a person hiding from his own cultish family, a street artist, an actress, among others. White does a very good job of providing just enough background for these supporting characters to make them distinct and real.

Each night the contestants go out and hide, with two people always being “found.” How they are found, nobody knows. The “found” contestants simply don’t show up at the check in in the morning. As more of the contestants are found, the remaining contestants begin to form bonds in pairs. This is not something Mack planned on or even wanted when she entered the contest. Her journey as a character provides a great deal of the novel's emotional weight. 

I couldn’t help but find parallels between this novel and one of Stephen King’s early novels written as Richard Bachman, The Long Walk. The Long Walk is a gem of a novel and could be considered one of King’s best. White takes a similar premise and adds in some of her own flavors, particularly around the history of the amusement park and how the contestant pool shrinks every day. There’s some borderline folk-horror elements to the tale, but White grounds the events and characters with enough reality that those elements are just as believable.

I thought she brought Hide to a very satisfying conclusion that could have some room for more stories.

I’ve also got to give a big shout out to the design of this novel, the end papers are wonderful. Anybody who has visited some kind of amusement park knows there’s a map you can get that shows where the rides are. Well, the endpapers in Hide Elwira Pawlikowska are clever in their depiction of “The Amazement Park” where the novel is set.

Hide is a fun, dark, vicious novel I have to recommend.