Reviewed by: BigAl
Genre: Horror
Approximate word count: 60-65,000 words
Availability
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Author:
A nominee
in the inaugural Books and Pals Readers’ Choice awards, this is horror author
Edward Lorn’s fifth novel.
For more, visit Edward's blog.
For more, visit Edward's blog.
Description:
After
serial killer Dane Peters, The Rest Stop Killer, is executed, his mother is
haunted by … something. Could it be the ghost of Dane? As Dane’s mother, Ella,
tries to find a way to “lay her son’s troubled soul to rest,” she also has to
come to terms with what she did to contribute to his demise.
Appraisal:
Of Edward
Lorn’s previous novels I’ve read, two were much more to my taste than the
third. When I pondered the reason, I realized that while Lorn describes himself
as a horror author, there was much more going on in my two favorites. One was a
mystery with horrific elements, the other, while primarily horror, had a strong
coming-of-age theme as well. I guess this means that horror is okay with me, as
long as it doesn’t feel like horror purely for shock value.
I can’t
think of a fitting label to attach to Life
After Dane other than horror, yet for me, like those other books that had
something more going on, this story has a subtext that justifies the horror. I
think it is a sense of karmic justice being served, at least it felt that way
to me. Your thoughts might be different. And deciding how you feel about that
will go far afield as you consider issues as far ranging as parental
responsibility, victimization, and your definition of justice.
Another
thing that stood out for me was the obviously conscious effort to keep the
language acceptable to all except the most sensitive. The worst word I saw was
damn. How Lorn did this while remaining true to the story with characters who
would make a sailor blush, was an interesting touch. It wouldn’t work
everywhere, but it did in this book.
And the
ending. Oh, my. Didn’t see that coming.
FYI:
The
strongest language I saw used was the word damn.
The author skirted around stronger language, implying, but not actually using
it.
Format/Typo Issues:
Review is
based on an advance reader copy.
Rating: ***** Five stars
a Rafflecopter giveaway
4 comments:
Thanks for the review, Al!
E.
I read Life After Dane, and I would agree with your review; karmic justice is exactly what I thought. I wanted to crawl into the book and beat the crap out of the parents myself. No worries, though. Dane's parents got exactly what they deserved (in my opinion).
This was a great book, and one I would definitely recommend to horror lovers. It deserves a five star rating!
Lorn's books sound intense and excellent. I will check them out. Thanks, Al!
Karmic justice is a good way to put it. This was a super intense book for me, but often it didn't feel like a typical horror flick, dealing with real issues instead of just horror scenes to freak out the audience.
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