RevengeRevenge
Gabrielle Faust and Solomon Schneider

Barking Rain Press
Review by Rick Amortis

One does not merely read Revenge so much as they virtually experience this epic tale. The reader is drawn into a lucid fantasy of the damned and depraved as we feel more like the lead protagonist’s companion along a journey as opposed to a third party observer. We experience the epitome of sin and mankind’s oblivious inclination to embrace it as such. Enter a sorrowful, self-pitying Marcus who does precious little but mope around the house in his easy chair. Even his fiancée Brenda has had enough and commits adultery running into the throws of passion in another man. Marcus learns of her deception and commits suicide.

The back drop of hellfire and brimstone presents itself as a demon Desiderium arrives on the scene to collect Marcus’s infernal, eternal residency. The descriptions and emotions illustrated are so stunningly vivid, it’s comparable to a virtual film reel clicking and clacking within the reader’s cranium. Such imagery becomes larger than life beginning with the question if perhaps Faust and Schneider have visited Damnation and reporting their experiences much like you or I may do with Orlando, Florida.

Revenge is crafted with literary prose that differs dramatically from much of contemporary commercial horror fiction of today. It is evident many authors get swept away with appealing to the masses in simplistic form. From a marketing perspective it makes perfect sense. The more intrigued readers will be the more books will sell. It is refreshing to see an author embrace an artistic form throwing caution to the wind without compromising artistic integrity. Make no mistake about it however one will not breeze through Revenge in an afternoon or two like a Stephen King novel or perhaps Dean Koontz. Faust and Solomon’s prose beckons the imagination, savouring each passage of dialogue, action and exposition until you’re begging for more.

There are countless references of the deadly sins and all of the characters associated with hellacious folklore. It’s particularly amusing to witness the chain of command from Lucifer, Belial and so on. The minions of hell provoke a most profound episode of after thought that will resonate with the reader, long, long after the fact.

It takes a talented author to create a memorable novel and a formidable team to conceive an unforgettable collaboration. Faust and Schneider are so flawlessly synonymous one will be hard pressed to decipher who had created which elements and vice versa. Each voice eclipses into one another igniting a certifiable terror feast into the unknown.

Will Marcus meet his maker and ultimate destiny? Will he get to confront the adulterous Brenda and see her writhe in agony over her own sins? Delve into your own personal redemption in Revenge.

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