Book Review: The Wicked by James Newman

An ancient demon lurks beneath the town of Morganville, an unholy creature conjured into existence by the tragedy at the Heller Home for Children. And it wants the souls of the townspeople...


"A place possessed... by an unholy being named MOLOCH."

Well, this was a DAMN good time! If you're a fan of 80s horror, then this is a book you need to pick up. The perfect homage to all the things we love about 80s horror - but the only difference between this and quite a lot of 80s horror is that this is very well written *shade thrown*

Newman is a fantastic writer, he creates a family and characters that you really care about from the get-go. The stakes are high and you really do feel tense as Newman ramps up the pressure. You know that NO character is safe, and I really love that in a book. I hate when you're reading and you just know a certain character will get out of a sticky situation because the author doesn't have the balls to kill his darlings... Reading is so much more enjoyable when anything could happen to ANY character.

There is gore and blood, and a LOT of body fluids! I was laughing out loud at some of the sex scenes in this one - they're quite graphic and disgusting, but fun?! The copious amounts of sex and orgies really did give it that 80s horror vibe. I just really enjoyed the rollercoaster ride that this book was - it's a real page-turner! Short chapters really help you fly through it, but you won't want to put it down anyways.

Demons/demonology are probably my favourite horror trope, so this book ticked all my boxes. I even got the pleasure of looking up Moloch in my Encyclopaedia of Demonology for extra tidbits - yes, I do own such a book. 

Highly recommend this one if you want a horror book that is pretty scary and unsettling at times, whilst also being lots of fun. I will definitely be picking up more from Newman!

4.5 stars.

Johann
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