Genre:
Horror/ Speculative Fiction
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.
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.
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.
Added
for Reprise Review: Life
After Dane was a nominee in
the Speculative Fiction (excluding fantasy) category for B&P 2014
Readers' Choice Awards. Original review ran July 18, 2013.
Format/Typo
Issues:
Review is
based on an advance reader copy.
Rating:
***** Five Stars
Reviewed
by: BigAl
Approximate
word count: 60-65,000 words
1 comment:
I also enjoyed this book. I agree with you about Lorn's work being much more than simple horror novels.
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