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Beasts of 42nd Street
From the award-winning author of Our Lady of the Inferno comes another tale of New York in the Bad Old Days: A saga of murder, bloodshed, and betrayal set against the backdrop of Times Square at the height of its decadence and depravity.
In the kingdom of the damned that is 42nd Street, there’s no lowlier subject than Andy Lew. An unrepentant junkie, voyeur, and degenerate, he’s only tolerated by the more dangerous men around him because he keeps the projectors at the Colossus theater running on time, entertaining them with the most extreme horror cinema money can buy.
There’s something unique about Andy, though. He owns a movie. It’s the only one of its kind. No one knows who made it. Only he knows where it came from. The woman it stars is beautiful beyond imagination—and the images it depicts are more nightmarish than the darkest depths of Hell. The beasts of 42nd Street will do anything to possess it, but there’s something they don’t understand. Andy loves the woman in the movie—and he’ll go to any lengths to protect her…
A savage love letter to 70s exploitation cinema and a biting satire of toxic fan culture, Beasts of 42nd Street makes horror dangerous again as it ventures into the mind of a psychopath like no other— one that will have readers recoiling even as they keep coming back for more.
In the kingdom of the damned that is 42nd Street, there’s no lowlier subject than Andy Lew. An unrepentant junkie, voyeur, and degenerate, he’s only tolerated by the more dangerous men around him because he keeps the projectors at the Colossus theater running on time, entertaining them with the most extreme horror cinema money can buy.
There’s something unique about Andy, though. He owns a movie. It’s the only one of its kind. No one knows who made it. Only he knows where it came from. The woman it stars is beautiful beyond imagination—and the images it depicts are more nightmarish than the darkest depths of Hell. The beasts of 42nd Street will do anything to possess it, but there’s something they don’t understand. Andy loves the woman in the movie—and he’ll go to any lengths to protect her…
A savage love letter to 70s exploitation cinema and a biting satire of toxic fan culture, Beasts of 42nd Street makes horror dangerous again as it ventures into the mind of a psychopath like no other— one that will have readers recoiling even as they keep coming back for more.
262 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 17, 2023
52 people are currently reading
271 people want to read
About the author
Preston Fassel
7 books84 followersPreston Fassel is an award-winning novelist and journalist whose work has appeared in Fangoria, Rue Morgue, and Screem Magazine. He is a two-time winner of the Independent Publisher's Gold Medal for Horror, for Our Lady of the Inferno (which was also named one of the ten best books of 2018 by Bloody Disgusting) and The Despicable Fantasies of Quentin Sergenov. His debut nonfiction book, Landis: The Story of a Real Man on 42nd Street, the first published biography of film critic and magazine founder Bill Landis, was nominated for the 2022 Rondo Hatton Award for Book of the Year. He graduated Cum Laude from Sam Houston State University in 2011 with a BS in psychology. He held the Tetris world record for like five months in 2009.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
December 27, 2023
More masterful, lyrical wordsmithery from Fassel, yet the subject matter and an utterly detestable, obsessive, delusional, degenerate, burnout scumbag of a protagonist make it a tough read. In addition to being a tale of woe, witness to a vile human life being sucked into the abyss, it is also in a way a sick, grimy homage to 70's era sleaze and slasher films, grindhouse theater and the fetishization of death. As repulsive as it is compelling, Beasts of 42nd Street will leave you feeling thoroughly sullied and is most definitely not for the faint of heart.
dreaded-dnf
February 3, 2023DNFing around page 50. This isn't working for me. Perhaps I will pick up again at a future date, but as for right now, I'm setting it aside. No rating or review.
April 13, 2025
Fassel really loves old school NYC, especially 42nd street! I found his Our Lady of the Inferno a fantastic read and I really liked this, but not quite as much. Fassel gives us a really nasty protagonist here, Andy Lew, a weenie wager junkie who runs the projector in a grindhouse cinema on 42nd street. The text oscillates between 1965 and 1977, but largely in the latter period, when 42nd street ruled the sleazy pit of NYC, and Fassel brings this to life with all the grime and craziness that defined the era and place.
This is difficult to describe without giving spoilers, so I will go light on the plot. Andy Lew has been working as a projectionist for over a decade, and he has a small fiefdom at the place, including his own private screening room. He and the manager do not always see eye to eye, especially after Dany rejected his sexual advances, but so it goes. His only 'buddy' if you can call it that is 'Gator', a sleazy vice cop who lists Andy as a CI. Gator caught Andy with his pants down (literally) one day and kinda owns him; oh, and he sells him smack on the side.
Andy's real love, however, is a film he procured back in 1965, and this features prominently in the story; I thought it was just an underground porn flick, . Andy loves the female star, and even has special songs he plays when he screens it; he has a projector in his filthy, rat-infested abode. Gator likes the film also, and has been trying (rather lackadaisically) to help Andy track down the female star. The tale starts in 1977, and goes back to when Andy first obtained the film in 1965.
Really hard to root for Andy, who, in 1977, turned 41, has been a junkie for years, plasters the walls of his apartment with photos and newspaper stories of nasty, violent death and mayhem. Fassel does take you into his little, drug-addled brain pretty deeply, however, and by the end I felt some sympathy. I love tales set in NYC before the financial crowd gentrified the hell out of it, and Times Square especially. I also love grindhouse film and exploitation flicks, many of which feature in the background here. All in all, a fun, brutal tale featuring a perverted junkie. What's not to like? 4 sleazy stars!
This is difficult to describe without giving spoilers, so I will go light on the plot. Andy Lew has been working as a projectionist for over a decade, and he has a small fiefdom at the place, including his own private screening room. He and the manager do not always see eye to eye, especially after Dany rejected his sexual advances, but so it goes. His only 'buddy' if you can call it that is 'Gator', a sleazy vice cop who lists Andy as a CI. Gator caught Andy with his pants down (literally) one day and kinda owns him; oh, and he sells him smack on the side.
Andy's real love, however, is a film he procured back in 1965, and this features prominently in the story; I thought it was just an underground porn flick, . Andy loves the female star, and even has special songs he plays when he screens it; he has a projector in his filthy, rat-infested abode. Gator likes the film also, and has been trying (rather lackadaisically) to help Andy track down the female star. The tale starts in 1977, and goes back to when Andy first obtained the film in 1965.
Really hard to root for Andy, who, in 1977, turned 41, has been a junkie for years, plasters the walls of his apartment with photos and newspaper stories of nasty, violent death and mayhem. Fassel does take you into his little, drug-addled brain pretty deeply, however, and by the end I felt some sympathy. I love tales set in NYC before the financial crowd gentrified the hell out of it, and Times Square especially. I also love grindhouse film and exploitation flicks, many of which feature in the background here. All in all, a fun, brutal tale featuring a perverted junkie. What's not to like? 4 sleazy stars!
October 8, 2025
Obligatory ecstatic author review goes here.
December 14, 2022
This book is a grimy sleazy walk through the dangerous and slimy underbelly of New York city in the 70s and it delivers a tale of basest human desires run amok.
I loved the author's writing style. It flows and ebbs and each sentence provides images that you'll not forget soon.
There are no protagonists in this novel. The characters we see here are not those you'll feel sympathetic towards or want to connect with. They are violent, sociopathic, sadistic drug addicts and enablers who only have their own interests at heart. And I absolutely loved that!
I had the best time in the presence of these people, not because I agreed with any of their decisions, but because I felt tainted after reading this. Like I needed steel wool to scrub the stains from my soul. And when a book is that effective, you know you've read something grand!
There is a supernatural element, especially near the end, but the characters that take us to that point are horrific enough by themselves. I highly recommend this book!
I loved the author's writing style. It flows and ebbs and each sentence provides images that you'll not forget soon.
There are no protagonists in this novel. The characters we see here are not those you'll feel sympathetic towards or want to connect with. They are violent, sociopathic, sadistic drug addicts and enablers who only have their own interests at heart. And I absolutely loved that!
I had the best time in the presence of these people, not because I agreed with any of their decisions, but because I felt tainted after reading this. Like I needed steel wool to scrub the stains from my soul. And when a book is that effective, you know you've read something grand!
There is a supernatural element, especially near the end, but the characters that take us to that point are horrific enough by themselves. I highly recommend this book!
May 29, 2023
A bold, brash and chaotically vibrant transgressive horror novel. The sleazy backdrop takes center stage, and Andy Lew is a character you'll love to loathe.
December 29, 2022
Beasts of 42nd Street by Preston Fassel is a great crime story but a less effective horror novel. Don’t get me wrong- this short book is packed to the brim with the gross, the disgusting, and the miserable. There are no heroes here, nor do any characters want to be. We read about the bottom of the scum trying to survive.
This may be where some people get turned off. Andy Lew, our protagonist, is not someone you like spending time with. He’s a projectionist at a movie theater, with a taste for the extremely graphic. When at home he lies in filth using dope as an escape. Even the other low life characters prefer to not share a room with him. But Andy is in possession of a special object. A unique film reel that is unlike anything else in the world. This film is the real center of the novel. It's what motivates Andy. The reason other characters come back to him. Discovering its origin is the main narrative thrust.
I can’t lie- I was confused as I stumbled through the first half of the novel. Something happened to Andy twelve years ago, something better left forgotten, that is suddenly rearing its head again. I got lost in motivations, details, characters, and backstories.
Then Fassel starts to put the pieces together. We see what haunts Andy; what makes this film reel so special to him. From then on I was hooked. I cruised through the last hundred pages.
Like the films Andy projects, 42nd Street is a bleak story from the first to the last word. Hope is not what you should expect to feel when reading. If you are ready for a journey through misery then this is a solid ride.
I was given this e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review.
This may be where some people get turned off. Andy Lew, our protagonist, is not someone you like spending time with. He’s a projectionist at a movie theater, with a taste for the extremely graphic. When at home he lies in filth using dope as an escape. Even the other low life characters prefer to not share a room with him. But Andy is in possession of a special object. A unique film reel that is unlike anything else in the world. This film is the real center of the novel. It's what motivates Andy. The reason other characters come back to him. Discovering its origin is the main narrative thrust.
I can’t lie- I was confused as I stumbled through the first half of the novel. Something happened to Andy twelve years ago, something better left forgotten, that is suddenly rearing its head again. I got lost in motivations, details, characters, and backstories.
Then Fassel starts to put the pieces together. We see what haunts Andy; what makes this film reel so special to him. From then on I was hooked. I cruised through the last hundred pages.
Like the films Andy projects, 42nd Street is a bleak story from the first to the last word. Hope is not what you should expect to feel when reading. If you are ready for a journey through misery then this is a solid ride.
I was given this e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review.
March 19, 2023
This book is the darkest of the dark and deals with the lowest of the low.
This is destitution noir, the underbelly of 42nd Street NYC in the 60’s and 70’s. Scrape up the dredges of society and this book is about the deplorable humans that live beneath them.
This is a character study of Andy Lew, a projection film operator working at a rundown grindhouse movie theater. I couldn’t help but like Andy even though he is brash and he does not give any flying fucks…unless it is about her, the stunning mysterious girl who is sadly the main subject in a snuff film that Andy acquired. He has a hyper fixation on the movie reel and his selfish possession of it leads Andy to deal with a reprehensible cast of pornographers, cultists, and the NYPD.
Beasts of 42nd Street is bleak, hideous, violent, and beautiful. It is written so well. This is a true memorial to the rotten Big Apple of the 1970’s.
This is destitution noir, the underbelly of 42nd Street NYC in the 60’s and 70’s. Scrape up the dredges of society and this book is about the deplorable humans that live beneath them.
This is a character study of Andy Lew, a projection film operator working at a rundown grindhouse movie theater. I couldn’t help but like Andy even though he is brash and he does not give any flying fucks…unless it is about her, the stunning mysterious girl who is sadly the main subject in a snuff film that Andy acquired. He has a hyper fixation on the movie reel and his selfish possession of it leads Andy to deal with a reprehensible cast of pornographers, cultists, and the NYPD.
Beasts of 42nd Street is bleak, hideous, violent, and beautiful. It is written so well. This is a true memorial to the rotten Big Apple of the 1970’s.
August 23, 2022
Review coming to Kendall Reviews soon.
September 18, 2024
I was so on the fence about this book. Is it good? Yes.. and no. The way the author describes scenes is downright verbally artistic and grunge poetic which is both a positive and a negative. I could visualize many scenes and unfortunately some I wish I didn't. The plot of this book seems simple enough as dark and twisted as it may be and it works and is solid. However, toward the end it takes a random turn that leaves me questioning things and leaves a lot left rather unanswered or vaguely answered.
Andy Lew is the main character but in my opinion should not be rooted for in this book. He's the epitome of scum of the earth and what he does to get the film he wants is barbaric but what's even more crazy is how he sees and treats the film. This made me cringe and wonder how something written so well could also be so disturbing at the same time. Overall, this book was certainly an entertaining experience although one I would likely not want to take again but I'm glad I read something different for a change and this was definitely it. 3.5 stars.
Andy Lew is the main character but in my opinion should not be rooted for in this book. He's the epitome of scum of the earth and what he does to get the film he wants is barbaric but what's even more crazy is how he sees and treats the film. This made me cringe and wonder how something written so well could also be so disturbing at the same time. Overall, this book was certainly an entertaining experience although one I would likely not want to take again but I'm glad I read something different for a change and this was definitely it. 3.5 stars.
June 6, 2023
Beasts of 42nd Street
For one thing, Andy Lew ain't no Andy Taylor. If Andy from Mayberry met Andy from the Deuce, a matter-antimatter explosion would result. If you don't get the reference, you weren't around in 1977, the year Mr. Fassel sets his novel. The story is grounded in a gritty reality, NYC's 42nd Street grind-gore scene, and there are damn few sympathetic characters. It's probably not going to end like you thought. Happy reading!
For one thing, Andy Lew ain't no Andy Taylor. If Andy from Mayberry met Andy from the Deuce, a matter-antimatter explosion would result. If you don't get the reference, you weren't around in 1977, the year Mr. Fassel sets his novel. The story is grounded in a gritty reality, NYC's 42nd Street grind-gore scene, and there are damn few sympathetic characters. It's probably not going to end like you thought. Happy reading!
February 16, 2023
Grimy, Gritty and Depraved!
If you're looking for loveable characters and a light-hearted romp, turn away! If, on the other hand, you're looking for something dark, dirty, and straight out of the exploitation films of the 1970's, this is the book for you!
I'm not going to sugarcoat it, the characters are truly awful. They are racist, misogynistic, homophobic, and every other horrible thing you can think of, giving an authentic period feel. Even the seemingly well meaning characters are at least mildly racist. The main character, Andy Lew, is a sexual deviant, and others commit all sorts of horrors.
Even with all of that, the author does a masterful job of making Andy Lew strangely sympathetic. Almost against my will, I found myself cheering him on in his quest. I was fully invested as I learned more about his backstory. I liked that while it gave a little context to his actions, it doesn't excuse them at all.
In the end, this book isn't for the faint of heart, or stomach. That being said, I truly enjoyed it and am glad I chose to give it a chance.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
If you're looking for loveable characters and a light-hearted romp, turn away! If, on the other hand, you're looking for something dark, dirty, and straight out of the exploitation films of the 1970's, this is the book for you!
I'm not going to sugarcoat it, the characters are truly awful. They are racist, misogynistic, homophobic, and every other horrible thing you can think of, giving an authentic period feel. Even the seemingly well meaning characters are at least mildly racist. The main character, Andy Lew, is a sexual deviant, and others commit all sorts of horrors.
Even with all of that, the author does a masterful job of making Andy Lew strangely sympathetic. Almost against my will, I found myself cheering him on in his quest. I was fully invested as I learned more about his backstory. I liked that while it gave a little context to his actions, it doesn't excuse them at all.
In the end, this book isn't for the faint of heart, or stomach. That being said, I truly enjoyed it and am glad I chose to give it a chance.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
January 24, 2024
Beasts of 42nd Street is a love letter to the late-'60s/early-'70s era of exploration cinema set in New York. This grimy, cynical, disenfranchised and bleakly nihilistic tale exudes the desperation and the dog-eat-dog hopelessness that permeated the Big Apple during this era. It makes you feel contempt for the main character, cringe from the visceral and unabated look at a city on fire. All the sickness, death and addiction that rode through like a plague can be felt well after the reader shuts the book.
In the simplest terms, this narrative is about a quest. Andy Lew, our troubled degenerate protagonist, is after one thing: a person...or, an image of a person. He is a projectionist at the Colossus, a theater on 42nd Street. He has threaded the projector with endless runs of exploitative sleaze to an audience who mainly shows up to deal/steal uninterrupted. However, he comes in contact with a certain film of dubious origins: Last House on Dead End Street. This captured footage has a lady victim who has enraptured Andy, even in celluloid death. He is under its spell, wanting to fight, kill and ruin anything he has to in order to have her. These cretins who haunt his theater don't deserve her. But, much like the heroin he is so used to shooting, this mangled temptress has weaved a web of addiction upon Andy. The initial taste of the carnage depicted has his insides burning and his body aching for more. His need cannot be circumvented. He will suffer through hell and beyond to have his pulverized princess.
If you are a fan of the grindhouse films of the '70s, this book is for you. If you crave transgressive literature that is deftly crafted to make you feel all kinds of lows, this book is for you. If you desire a narrative that dissects and rearranges the guts of the classic quest for love, this book is for you. Or, if you want something to burn you down to your very core, this book is for you.
I'm giving this gross guide into guts and grime ☠️x5!!!
In the simplest terms, this narrative is about a quest. Andy Lew, our troubled degenerate protagonist, is after one thing: a person...or, an image of a person. He is a projectionist at the Colossus, a theater on 42nd Street. He has threaded the projector with endless runs of exploitative sleaze to an audience who mainly shows up to deal/steal uninterrupted. However, he comes in contact with a certain film of dubious origins: Last House on Dead End Street. This captured footage has a lady victim who has enraptured Andy, even in celluloid death. He is under its spell, wanting to fight, kill and ruin anything he has to in order to have her. These cretins who haunt his theater don't deserve her. But, much like the heroin he is so used to shooting, this mangled temptress has weaved a web of addiction upon Andy. The initial taste of the carnage depicted has his insides burning and his body aching for more. His need cannot be circumvented. He will suffer through hell and beyond to have his pulverized princess.
If you are a fan of the grindhouse films of the '70s, this book is for you. If you crave transgressive literature that is deftly crafted to make you feel all kinds of lows, this book is for you. If you desire a narrative that dissects and rearranges the guts of the classic quest for love, this book is for you. Or, if you want something to burn you down to your very core, this book is for you.
I'm giving this gross guide into guts and grime ☠️x5!!!
January 5, 2023
I had difficulty getting to the story until the third “movie.” Everything before that seemed like a deep fascination and love affair with snuff films from a character that appears to have mental problems – he is in love with a woman he has never met, who got her head caved in. Maybe I would have more of an appreciation for this part of the story if I had more of a background in the 70’s exploitation films that inspired this story. I don’t usually have as much trouble as I do in following where a story is going, but I did with this one. While most of it made sense towards the end, my confusion persisted until nearly the end of the story. The third movie made much more sense and was much easier to follow. I do believe that others will enjoy this book and appreciate the 70's exploitation themes. It just wasn't for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 2, 2023
From the cover and some of the reviews, I was concerned that this was going to be too extreme in violence and gore for me to enjoy. While I love horror, I don't usually care for the really extreme stuff, and some contemporary horror fiction that tries to deal with the really darker corners of life is just a turn-off for me. However, I follow the author on Twitter, where he's a really interesting guy, and I have a real fascination for New York in the '70s and the whole grindhouse culture, so I gave it a shot. Turns it, it's just extreme enough in the violence and gore. It has a surprising amount of empathy for its utterly pathetic characters, and really gives a sense of the times and human desperation, while having obvious artistic merit. So the best of both worlds, which I'm always hoping for!
dnf
March 10, 2023DNF @ 48%.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC of Beasts of 42nd Street!
I feel like this is a huge case of it’s a me issue. I’ve been slogging through this book for over a month & I’ve only made it to the 48% mark. Yikes @ me. The writing is well done & the characters are absolute Trash (which is the point so this is a compliment); I’m sure a lot of people will love this book! I just couldn’t make myself care about what was going on & when I put the book down, I never think about how I want to pick it up again.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC of Beasts of 42nd Street!
I feel like this is a huge case of it’s a me issue. I’ve been slogging through this book for over a month & I’ve only made it to the 48% mark. Yikes @ me. The writing is well done & the characters are absolute Trash (which is the point so this is a compliment); I’m sure a lot of people will love this book! I just couldn’t make myself care about what was going on & when I put the book down, I never think about how I want to pick it up again.
March 9, 2023
I'm a fan of the '70s, horror, film, and HBO's series "The Deuce," so I was excited to read this book! The criminality picks up around page 125, and readers should know that the supernatural is minimal. This book is very well-written literary horror, full of unlikable characters, transgressive, where the real is scarier than the surreal.
Thank you to Cemetery Dance Publications for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review.
Thank you to Cemetery Dance Publications for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review.
June 1, 2023
This is the first time I've read anything by this author and I have to say I wasn't disappointed.
If you enjoy 70's grime horror quite Video Nasties (to me possibly Driller Killer esque) then this would be up your street.
None of the characters are particularly likeable but to me, it drew me even more into the story and tickled the dark side of my inner self!
An E-ARC copy was given for an honest review.
If you enjoy 70's grime horror quite Video Nasties (to me possibly Driller Killer esque) then this would be up your street.
None of the characters are particularly likeable but to me, it drew me even more into the story and tickled the dark side of my inner self!
An E-ARC copy was given for an honest review.
April 28, 2023
a disturbed projectionist navigates 60s/70s Times Square in a fever dream of drugs, violence, exploitation films and depravity. Definitely one of my favorites this year!
March 8, 2024
well written but would not recommend to anyone
July 21, 2024
Scuzzy, evil & an absolute page tuner. Our hero's a junkie projectionist in grindhouse era New York, obssesed with a girl he saw in an, um, illegal film. With nothing but a clue visible in 3 frames - 1/10 of a second - he's determined to find her in between dodging crooked cops, porn mavens, cultists and general human slime. The grunge level is so gross I felt rather ill a few times, but the writing is so compellingly I zipped through it in 4 days. There's even an important cameo by a real life exploitation director. Considering how he behaves, I'm amazed his surviving family didn't sue the writer. Terrific author, great book.
June 25, 2024
Upsetting!
This is a well-written novel about despicable people, squalor, and snuff films. I took a nap on the couch while reading this book and had a bad dream.
This is a well-written novel about despicable people, squalor, and snuff films. I took a nap on the couch while reading this book and had a bad dream.
May 14, 2024
Astonishing study in obsession
I just finished this incredible work of fiction. I completely stumbled onto the book wondering how I'd never heard of something so clearly packed with references to things that fascinate me. I started it as a lark, initially certain that this was going to be a kitschy, close-to-home but mindless entertainment. Boy, was i wrong. It's certainly set in a mileu that fascinates me and it traffics in films and filmmakers that are squarely in my wheelhouse. But more importantly, the book is a study in obsession, in what happens when obsession goes bad, what happens when the search for new experiences dries up the well of human emotion until all that's left is a tiny trickle of poisonous filth. That such pernicious and unpleasant characters and situations as Preston Fassel paints here are also so fascinating is testament to his power as a writer. Highly recommended to people who like 70s horror films, the history of grindhouse theaters, and the history of New York before they cleaned it up; this is also a good read for people who like gritty, grimy characters and situations, written evocatively and carefully with an expert hand. I will be thinking about this book for a long time and will certainly read it again.
I just finished this incredible work of fiction. I completely stumbled onto the book wondering how I'd never heard of something so clearly packed with references to things that fascinate me. I started it as a lark, initially certain that this was going to be a kitschy, close-to-home but mindless entertainment. Boy, was i wrong. It's certainly set in a mileu that fascinates me and it traffics in films and filmmakers that are squarely in my wheelhouse. But more importantly, the book is a study in obsession, in what happens when obsession goes bad, what happens when the search for new experiences dries up the well of human emotion until all that's left is a tiny trickle of poisonous filth. That such pernicious and unpleasant characters and situations as Preston Fassel paints here are also so fascinating is testament to his power as a writer. Highly recommended to people who like 70s horror films, the history of grindhouse theaters, and the history of New York before they cleaned it up; this is also a good read for people who like gritty, grimy characters and situations, written evocatively and carefully with an expert hand. I will be thinking about this book for a long time and will certainly read it again.
August 17, 2023
This is some crazy fucked-up shit, but I was definitely engaged throughout the story of our creepy remorseless protagonist Andy Lew. An antisocial film projectionist working in the grimy NYC streets of the 1970s, Andy finds himself on a quest to protect a film reel depicting the brutal murder of a young woman. Even though this woman died a while ago, he finds himself having more affection for her than any of the living people in his life. During his nightmarish journey, he stumbles into many more freaky and disturbing individuals. The ending takes a compelling supernatural turn that feels like a mix of Taxi Driver and True Detective. Every page drips with grime and sewer ooze, not a moment of fun or joy to be found.
Despite basically all the characters being completely loathsome and irredeemable, I still enjoyed the read. However, I definitely felt the need to shower off all the mental dirt and filth I dipped into while reading this.
Despite basically all the characters being completely loathsome and irredeemable, I still enjoyed the read. However, I definitely felt the need to shower off all the mental dirt and filth I dipped into while reading this.
April 19, 2023
Beast of 42nd Street is like stepping into a time machine headed straight into the dark and depraved world of 1970's New York. No heroes, no winners, no holds barred. A story of the darkest desires that burn within the lowest of the low. The story will hook you and grab hold as it unfolds, and will stick with you long after you're done like a nightmare. You can't help but root for Andy as he crawls through the muck and misery of his own life to fulfill his most desperate needs. And just when you think you've seen rock bottom, just wait. You will be taken on a ride lower than you could ever imagine, and Fassel is your personal tour guide. A fantastic crime story that will leave you feeling filthier than ever. I was a bit nervous going into this read, knowing it would be dark, filthy and gnarly. But I am so glad I made the trek. I couldn't put it down. So, you should pick it up.
March 20, 2023
Full of depravity and thrilling crime, this one definitely won’t be for everyone. A lot of fun and very original. Really puts you in the setting of a dark, violent world of the worst people the underground is even ashamed of.
July 16, 2023
I hated every single character.
However, I absolutely love Grindhouse movies and I feel like this book had a Grindhouse vibe to it… if that makes sense.
This book was nasty, and that’s the point. The author did a really good job with how everything is written and described!
However, I absolutely love Grindhouse movies and I feel like this book had a Grindhouse vibe to it… if that makes sense.
This book was nasty, and that’s the point. The author did a really good job with how everything is written and described!
March 21, 2023
First time reading Preston Fassel, and really enjoyed this book. Enjoyed the characters, the p[ot, and the pacing. We definitely need to read more from Preston Fassel. #Beastsof42ndStreet #NetGalley
February 7, 2024
This book is confusing, fucking awesome and leaves you wanting to know why he is what he is. It jumps back and forth so much that it weaves a story. Read it for yourself and find out.
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