Vampire Series of Extreme Horror #2
Synopsis:
As a child, Hyeri’s uncle tortured her. Years after escaping his brutal touch, she discovers a secret organization of vampires and joins the ranks of the undead. Gaining supernatural strength and speed, she seeks one thing: revenge. When Hyeri unleashes her decades-old hatred upon her uncle, she’s interrupted by a vampire enforcer who seeks to apprehend her for breaking company protocol and revealing her vampiric nature to mortals. Hyeri fends off the assassin, but an errant attack wounds her uncle, and the vampires glimpse an evil that has taken refuge inside of him. The darkness desires to remain unknown and plots to silence them both. Forced to combine their abilities, the vampire duo sharpen their swords and gorge on blood to increase their strength. Can they withstand the onslaught of Hyeri’s uncle, The Gray Man of Smoke and Shadows? Before they can find out, someone else stumbles onto their path. Someone with abilities they have never seen. This strange being, full of rage and vengeance, is hell-bent on destruction. But who will be his target? Find out in Volume II of the Vampire Series of Extreme Horror based in South Korea.
Edition:
Paperback
Disclosure:
I received a review copy of this book from the author in exchange for review consideration. They give me no money, nor do they in any way influence my thoughts – those are 100% my own for better or worse.
*I know, there have been a lot of review copies lately. I’m trying to catch up again. Don’t worry, I’ve still got a bunch of bought and paid for books in my TBR!*
My Thoughts:
You may recall that back in March of this year I reviewed Todd’s first entry in the Vampire Series of Extreme Horror, Butchers. You may also recall that I really enjoyed it. Needless to say, when he reached out and asked if I would like a review copy of the second entry as well, I was psyched.
Well, The Gray Man of Smoke and Shadows did not disappoint. I actually liked this one even more. The story is deeper. It’s more complex. I marked pages, and I took notes. I wondered – is there any Korean cultural significance or lore surrounding the Gray Man of Smoke and Shadows or the dol jogak-ga, or did Sullivan invent them (as far as I can tell through cursory research, it seems to be the latter, but if you know something I don’t, please share!)?
“No one can save her except for you. The gray man of smoke and shadows will sacrifice her to keep his home of flesh and blood just a little while longer. Come back to the garden and the stone will make you the man you were always meant to be.”
I appreciate that in this book we see a real blurring of the lines between who is ‘good’ and who is ‘bad.’ I love it when stories aren’t totally black and white. I mean, in book one we saw some pretty bad business from Hyeri. She seemed like little more than a sadistic schoolgirl. But here we find out a bit more of the ‘why’ of her. And I loved the pairing up of two opposing forces in order to destroy something far worse than either of them.
Where book one felt like a non-stop, manic surface-level tale of violence, book two feels like something more substantial. I got those few extra pages I wanted in the first one, and every damned one of them was put to good use. There’s no fluff here – it’s all story, and it’s a dark and thrilling one at that.
Although it markets as extreme horror, please note that there is no lingering on violence, gore, or any types of abuse in this or the first novella (although FYI in this one child physical and sexual abuse is implied). Imagine a rape-revenge film where you don’t have to spend 85 minutes going over the rape part in graphic detail before finally getting the 5 minutes of revenge. Instead you get 5 minutes where the narrator tells you some shit went down, and then the next 85 minutes is the pursuit of revenge – that’s this. And I love it.
Also, again with the great cover, which was done by L. A. Spooner.
About the Author:
Todd Sullivan attended his first serious writing class in 1995 at Stanford University. Between 1997 and 2002, he participated in the National Book Foundation’s 10 day summer writing retreats. In 2006, he graduated with a Bachelors in English with Concentrations in Creative Writing from Georgia State University. He moved to New York that same year, and received a Masters of Fine Arts from Queens College in Flushing, New York in 2009. Todd moved to Jeju, South Korea, where he taught English in the public school system for five years. He currently lives in Seoul, and is studying the Korean language at Yonsei University. He is also working on a speculative fiction/urban horror novel that takes place in Korea.
Rating:
What a follow-up!
The Gray Man of Smoke and Shadows By Todd Sullivan Nightmare Press Published: May 24, 2020 Paperback, E-book 142 Pages
