Darren Lee Compton is not an author that takes time to “get into the book”, in the first sentence or two, you can feel the “game on” attitude and you are plunged back into the fray without a warning, and of course it should be like this, we readers have signed up for this, right? And the humour settles us in as well right away:
“After trading worried glances with the crows, Wyatt turned his attention to the front porch. The crows continued to observe. One cawed to another as if to say, “Watch this shit.” ”
Talking about Wyatt, he will be a fundamental character for this book even thought we know very little about him. He won’t be the one to put hands in the dirt and grime, but one that is always there when needed in times of support. Although he might seem unimportant and discreet , Wyatt has some tricks up his sleeve and a very good instinct. He is peculiar, which makes him more intriguing. Very well done.
Ok! Be ready for not only the creepy, but the nasty. Let me tell you something, few are the books that can give you goosebumps, but Darren Lee, stepped on the “gross” factor in this one. Ew.
There are little clues about the case that Fiya is investigating, because this creature is not known, by her, nor is very common, for some reason, but from the title of the book, you know that the worms are, somehow the villains of the book, and if all goes as it seems, we are going to have a hurricane of deaths and wtfs in this second part of the series.
As we read, and we get to be sure it’s a worm, we also get clues that contradict it. A worm with legs and fingers? How is that possible? It can be, but it can also be a worm-ghost. We’ll see.
For those readers who thought that the last book lacked a bit of drama, Darren Lee heard your prayers and yes, he shot for it high by showing us the bitchy side of the Order of the Venandi, Gemma, that apparently has a grudge, or a beef with our main character, for some strange reason that we are yet to find out. But don’t worry, the drama, never, not even by an inch, outmatches the horror on this book, nor the creepy factor that glue us to our seats.
There are some scenes that are just bound to end in disaster, and you as a reader hope to have as little of those as possible, BUT, be prepared. To give you an idea of some of the this-isn’t-ending-well feeling scenes, there’s one where a team is dropped off an helicopter to retrieve an item that is tied to the creature-villain, and the person it wants to kill is on the team. Bad enough? Yeah, but the author thought: Oh, that isn’t bad enough, let us spray some very difficult weather conditions, a power outage and some zombies into the mix, just to spice things up and see how this goes, eh?
And just to top this off, the author gives a twist of the story, adding some fur into the mix, and an enemies-to-friends possibility? Were our suspicions from the last book correct, or will this just be a necessary fluke? Nice plotting! And talking about nice plotting, there are still mysteries left unanswered from the previous book that we will have to wait bit to be revealed, which adds to the spice of the story.
In total, we have, an unknown entity that is hunting people down, and using worms to aid in her kills, a secret held in several families for generations, a vengeful werewolf stalking our main character, an infestation of zombies, and someone with a grudge on Fiya that doesn’t make any sense, all mixed with gory and detailed descriptions of unimaginable proportions.
So, how good is this book? Is it better than the previous? In many senses, yes, although in here, due to the elements of the main villain, the author decided wisely to cut a bit on the action and focus on the horror and suspense part while advancing the plot. Are there still fights? Yes, but not as many as the previous book, but this is a horror/paranormal book, so there are no points deducted from it, and the author made a stellar job on the plot, the characters, settings and he kept it very realistic. Heck, characters went into the bathroom, hahahahh, so yeah this book is a perfect continuation from the previous one and does make us want for another one, that is already in the works, called, “Breath of Blood”. So yes! The series continues!
Pros:
- Fluid narrative throughout the book
- Hints and pieces scattered to keep the mystery
- Cool action scenes and lots of suspense
- High levels of gore and vomit inducing images
- An unstoppable villain with only one purpose, to kill
- Realistic characters
Cons:
- none
Scribble's Worth 