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Wayward Suns
"Bird's prose sets the bar high for his contemporaries in this slice-of-life tale marbled with self-destruction and ambiguous hellfire magic. Smart, deep, and honest. Highly recommended."
-CHAD LUTZKE, author of Slow Burn on Riverside and Of Foster Homes and Flies
In this speculative coming-of-age tale, Holden Caulfield gets a makeover and settles down in the Eighties. He doesn't know it yet, but he has a date with the dark side...
The year is 1987. Before the end of the Cold War, before O.J. and the L.A. riots and the World Wide Web. Hair is big, excess is in, and Weston Mercer is slowly losing his mind.
First, it's all so familiar. Evenings spent at the local oyster bar, followed by late nights in the pines, watching his cousin jam with his infamous band, Olympus. Days spent in a haze of drugs and classic TV and miso soup. And something else--a miserable sort of existence shrouded from purpose beyond the implacable pall of depression.
Then he meets a stranger who reveals things, dark things. Things Wes wishes he never would have heard. In the shadow of these darker truths, nothing can ever be the same...
Love. Addiction. Music. Death. Sex. Obsession. Madness.
w a y w a r d s u n s.
-CHAD LUTZKE, author of Slow Burn on Riverside and Of Foster Homes and Flies
In this speculative coming-of-age tale, Holden Caulfield gets a makeover and settles down in the Eighties. He doesn't know it yet, but he has a date with the dark side...
The year is 1987. Before the end of the Cold War, before O.J. and the L.A. riots and the World Wide Web. Hair is big, excess is in, and Weston Mercer is slowly losing his mind.
First, it's all so familiar. Evenings spent at the local oyster bar, followed by late nights in the pines, watching his cousin jam with his infamous band, Olympus. Days spent in a haze of drugs and classic TV and miso soup. And something else--a miserable sort of existence shrouded from purpose beyond the implacable pall of depression.
Then he meets a stranger who reveals things, dark things. Things Wes wishes he never would have heard. In the shadow of these darker truths, nothing can ever be the same...
Love. Addiction. Music. Death. Sex. Obsession. Madness.
w a y w a r d s u n s.
212 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
April 11, 2022
Loved this book so much!! Will definitely be in my top ten reads of the year. Well done, Hamelin!!
April 5, 2022
I loved this book. A great slice-of-life read that spins into horror. It really scratched that itch for me. Great job, Hamelin.
May 5, 2022
Hamelin Bird has a beautiful writing style. He writes highly descriptive stories. It is evident that in the story build-up and character dialogue.
“Wayward Suns” is beautiful coming of age story in prose. Bird’s slow burn story told through Wes’s point of view. Wes’s friend and relative Prentice is a rock star who lives a fast life of sex, drugs and rock n’ roll. When Wes notices a change in Prentice’s behavior, he needs to find out why. “Wayward Suns is not a tame story. There is violence, gore and ringworm 👀.
Every character in this book was fleshed out extremely well. The reader gets a sense of who these men are and their journey. 5 ⭐️
October 6, 2022
What a powerful and poignant (coming of age) story. I decided to read Wayward Suns after reading Hamelin Bird's short stories, Woolie and Hideaway. Woolie I found especially captivating.
The character development in Wayward Suns had me so invested from the very beginning. The lazy, habitual protagonist had me captivated and unable to put this book down. Told through the eyes of Wes, we watch the decline of his best friend and cousin, Prentice, into destruction.
Introspective scenes alternate with present occurrences which gave a more intimate insight into Wes and Prentice.
A slow burn with dialogue that is untamed and poetic.
I can't recommend this book or any of Bird's stories enough.
A big thanks to Hamelin Bird for pulling me out of a reading slump.
The character development in Wayward Suns had me so invested from the very beginning. The lazy, habitual protagonist had me captivated and unable to put this book down. Told through the eyes of Wes, we watch the decline of his best friend and cousin, Prentice, into destruction.
Introspective scenes alternate with present occurrences which gave a more intimate insight into Wes and Prentice.
A slow burn with dialogue that is untamed and poetic.
I can't recommend this book or any of Bird's stories enough.
A big thanks to Hamelin Bird for pulling me out of a reading slump.
May 28, 2022
Brilliant!
My first read from Hamelin Bird, but certainly not my last. WAYWARD SUNS is a powerful, beautifully-written novel. I know I'll end up reading this one again. Highly recommended!
My first read from Hamelin Bird, but certainly not my last. WAYWARD SUNS is a powerful, beautifully-written novel. I know I'll end up reading this one again. Highly recommended!
May 1, 2022
Wayward Suns is a coming-of-age novella about men in their twenties, thirties, perhaps even older. Men that have surpassed their first "coming-of-age" but need to go through the trials and tribulations of their second or even third puberty.
Violence, drugs, gore, ringworm, and dreams of being on stage, this novella is a long-lasting journey. It's both surreal and grounded in reality. This is the second book I’ve read of Hamelin's and I’ve noticed that in all of his writing, you can flip to any page and find more than a few tantalizing lines, words to linger over. I tried to write down some of my favorites in Wayward Suns as I read, to give a taste of his lovely prose.
“The rosy smell of crabs lay thick in the wind as the old tavern appeared up ahead, oddly sinister against the shore.”
“He wore a sort of trench coat — actually more of a duster— some black thing that hung as loosely around his body as it would have a coat hanger; fat violet bags festered beneath his eyes.”
"Meanwhile, back in reality, there was a sweaty fat man riding me like a greased-up pig and I was too mud-drunk to even notice.”
Not only does he describe situations brilliantly, Hamelin writes dialogue in this genuine way that not many authors can do. They aren’t canned answers, they aren’t lines you’ve read before or seen in movies. These are unique to the characters and make any situation feel real.
5 stars!
Violence, drugs, gore, ringworm, and dreams of being on stage, this novella is a long-lasting journey. It's both surreal and grounded in reality. This is the second book I’ve read of Hamelin's and I’ve noticed that in all of his writing, you can flip to any page and find more than a few tantalizing lines, words to linger over. I tried to write down some of my favorites in Wayward Suns as I read, to give a taste of his lovely prose.
“The rosy smell of crabs lay thick in the wind as the old tavern appeared up ahead, oddly sinister against the shore.”
“He wore a sort of trench coat — actually more of a duster— some black thing that hung as loosely around his body as it would have a coat hanger; fat violet bags festered beneath his eyes.”
"Meanwhile, back in reality, there was a sweaty fat man riding me like a greased-up pig and I was too mud-drunk to even notice.”
Not only does he describe situations brilliantly, Hamelin writes dialogue in this genuine way that not many authors can do. They aren’t canned answers, they aren’t lines you’ve read before or seen in movies. These are unique to the characters and make any situation feel real.
5 stars!
June 12, 2022
“At last money was not a concern, at least temporarily; I was, however, becoming increasingly obsessed with death.”
This is a story of growth... a coming-of-age story, in a sense. It's the story of Prentice, a rock star whose days are filled with excess, drugs and sex, and his cousin Wes who starts noticing changes in his behavior. Worried and curious, he needs to know what is going on with his cousin and help him, before it's too late.
As a big fan of Hamelin Bird's work, I don't need to read the blurb before reading one of his books, I blindly trust him. So when I picked up this book, I had no idea what it was about. I admit I was a bit confused at the beginning, as I didn't know/understand if Wayward Suns was a work of fiction with supernatural elements or not. But I was quickly swept away by the beautiful prose, almost poetic at times, even when describing the most violent scenes.
All the characters are well written, I can't say I particularly cared for them but, like a car crush, I couldn't look away from their destructive journeys.
Action and introspective scenes alternate in this book, giving the reader the chance to fully appreciate both. The ending is powerful and unexpected!
Overall I quite enjoyed Wayward Suns and I can't wait to read more by this author!
4 stars.
* I'd like to thank Hamelin Bird for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This is a story of growth... a coming-of-age story, in a sense. It's the story of Prentice, a rock star whose days are filled with excess, drugs and sex, and his cousin Wes who starts noticing changes in his behavior. Worried and curious, he needs to know what is going on with his cousin and help him, before it's too late.
As a big fan of Hamelin Bird's work, I don't need to read the blurb before reading one of his books, I blindly trust him. So when I picked up this book, I had no idea what it was about. I admit I was a bit confused at the beginning, as I didn't know/understand if Wayward Suns was a work of fiction with supernatural elements or not. But I was quickly swept away by the beautiful prose, almost poetic at times, even when describing the most violent scenes.
All the characters are well written, I can't say I particularly cared for them but, like a car crush, I couldn't look away from their destructive journeys.
Action and introspective scenes alternate in this book, giving the reader the chance to fully appreciate both. The ending is powerful and unexpected!
Overall I quite enjoyed Wayward Suns and I can't wait to read more by this author!
4 stars.
* I'd like to thank Hamelin Bird for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
May 4, 2022
Every small town has a bar like this: slightly run down with a couple of old-timers shooting the shit at the end of the bar. You don’t know when they got there but you know it’s a full day shift. Those stools are theirs and theirs alone.
If you’re lucky, you get close enough to hear them talk about the old days. A song you’ve heard many times before. Of deals with the Devil. Of the consequences of living hard.
The same stories every old man at the end of the bar tells only this one isn’t exaggerated. It’s a story of a musician and his cousin and the battle for his soul.
Hamelin Bird’s style is like a movie you catch on cable after midnight, from an era where movies could just be bleak and dark. A hidden gem you can’t wait to tell your friends about the next day. Of the grit you found behind the pulsing and crackling static.
This is a slow burn but the character building is incredible with a hell of an ending. I could picture peak dirtbag John Heard and Jeff Bridges for any Cutter’s Way fans around here.
Thank you to Hamelin Bird for sending me a copy of your novel.
If you’re lucky, you get close enough to hear them talk about the old days. A song you’ve heard many times before. Of deals with the Devil. Of the consequences of living hard.
The same stories every old man at the end of the bar tells only this one isn’t exaggerated. It’s a story of a musician and his cousin and the battle for his soul.
Hamelin Bird’s style is like a movie you catch on cable after midnight, from an era where movies could just be bleak and dark. A hidden gem you can’t wait to tell your friends about the next day. Of the grit you found behind the pulsing and crackling static.
This is a slow burn but the character building is incredible with a hell of an ending. I could picture peak dirtbag John Heard and Jeff Bridges for any Cutter’s Way fans around here.
Thank you to Hamelin Bird for sending me a copy of your novel.
February 16, 2023
“It's a surreal feeling to look back and know that moment when life takes a turn that, once made, is forever unalterable.”
Wayward Suns by Hamelin Bird.
Hamelin’s work came highly recommended by fellow Authors I admire, and one of his kind Readers sent this book to me, for reasons I didn’t question then and will not question now.
Hamelin Bird’s got game.
An artful lyricist with a pseudo-cynic’s brooding tone, he sashays his way in and out of every sentence with panache, exploiting the pliability of the English language and making it his playground.
“Like a gargoyle awakened from his state of stone, Prentice stalked the stage in androgynous glory . . . His dark Ibanez Destroyer slung low at his waist, Prentice sang and screamed the drunken woes of the world, no longer an artist but a pained scribe of human sorrow.”
A veneer of political correctness plagues many voices in modern fiction — mostly found in traditional publishing while not entirely uncommon in the Indie sphere — but no such facade is found here. A certain candor lives and breathes in Bird’s prose that I found both gripping and refreshing. The writing is grungy and unabashed, the antithesis of flowery and superficial. “It’s not what you say,” the old adage goes. “But how you say it.” And since we’re dealing with a studious disciple of Stephen King, let’s double down on the point with wisdom from the instructor: “If you intend to write as truthfully as you can, your days as a member of polite society are numbered.”
The story unspools with an easily absorbed fluidity, fueled by Bird’s garrulous dexterity and enhanced by hints of skullduggery; an unidentified species of ambiguity haunts the second half of the book — one you can’t quite put a finger on — and this dynamically raises the stakes.
Engaging from beginning to end, Wayward Suns shows off Bird’s versatile vernacular as he dreams up an alluring dysphoria in Kurt Cobain colors.
Wayward Suns by Hamelin Bird.
Hamelin’s work came highly recommended by fellow Authors I admire, and one of his kind Readers sent this book to me, for reasons I didn’t question then and will not question now.
Hamelin Bird’s got game.
An artful lyricist with a pseudo-cynic’s brooding tone, he sashays his way in and out of every sentence with panache, exploiting the pliability of the English language and making it his playground.
“Like a gargoyle awakened from his state of stone, Prentice stalked the stage in androgynous glory . . . His dark Ibanez Destroyer slung low at his waist, Prentice sang and screamed the drunken woes of the world, no longer an artist but a pained scribe of human sorrow.”
A veneer of political correctness plagues many voices in modern fiction — mostly found in traditional publishing while not entirely uncommon in the Indie sphere — but no such facade is found here. A certain candor lives and breathes in Bird’s prose that I found both gripping and refreshing. The writing is grungy and unabashed, the antithesis of flowery and superficial. “It’s not what you say,” the old adage goes. “But how you say it.” And since we’re dealing with a studious disciple of Stephen King, let’s double down on the point with wisdom from the instructor: “If you intend to write as truthfully as you can, your days as a member of polite society are numbered.”
The story unspools with an easily absorbed fluidity, fueled by Bird’s garrulous dexterity and enhanced by hints of skullduggery; an unidentified species of ambiguity haunts the second half of the book — one you can’t quite put a finger on — and this dynamically raises the stakes.
Engaging from beginning to end, Wayward Suns shows off Bird’s versatile vernacular as he dreams up an alluring dysphoria in Kurt Cobain colors.
November 6, 2022
In this slice-of-life Fiction, we follow Wes who has a rock-star cousin named Prentice whom is on a downward spiral of drugs and booze. While Wes tries to deal with his own depression, he chats with his buddies about ways to help heal his cousin.
This was such a slow burn with not much going on at first. It’s very character driven and focuses on introspective moments and mundane conversations with people about real life situations. The characters are richly drawn out and I found Prentice’s character especially interesting. I’m always drawn to the rock n’ roll world and was curious to see how everything would turn out for him. Things don’t start to pick up until the third part of the book, which was my favorite part to devour. It’s where all the horror comes to life with lyrical descriptions of a nightmarish scenarios that evoked grotesque visions in a delicious form of eye candy. I seriously can’t get enough of Bird’s writing, it’s what held my attention throughout. You can literally flip to any page and find a beautiful quote to highlight, it’s pure art!
While I wish there was more of the horror and supernatural and maybe a bit more Rock n’ Roll, I enjoyed this and appreciated the gorgeous writing. I recommend checking this out if Slice-of-life about wasted youth with a tinge of horror is your thing. I’ll definitely be seeking out more by this author!
This was such a slow burn with not much going on at first. It’s very character driven and focuses on introspective moments and mundane conversations with people about real life situations. The characters are richly drawn out and I found Prentice’s character especially interesting. I’m always drawn to the rock n’ roll world and was curious to see how everything would turn out for him. Things don’t start to pick up until the third part of the book, which was my favorite part to devour. It’s where all the horror comes to life with lyrical descriptions of a nightmarish scenarios that evoked grotesque visions in a delicious form of eye candy. I seriously can’t get enough of Bird’s writing, it’s what held my attention throughout. You can literally flip to any page and find a beautiful quote to highlight, it’s pure art!
While I wish there was more of the horror and supernatural and maybe a bit more Rock n’ Roll, I enjoyed this and appreciated the gorgeous writing. I recommend checking this out if Slice-of-life about wasted youth with a tinge of horror is your thing. I’ll definitely be seeking out more by this author!
August 9, 2022
Thoroughly enjoyed this ride that just seemed to get crazier the more I read. Some great descriptions that led to top notch visualizations. Will definitely be picking up the next book from this author!
August 27, 2022
Wayward Suns follows Wes as he spends his days in a small town with his group of friends, mostly hanging around, getting high and drinking their sorrows away. Wes noticed that his cousin Prentice, the town's star musician, who leads a life of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll, starts behaving strange and becomes more unhinged than usual, and is determined to find out why. But what starts as a slice of life kind of story descends into the creepy and supernatural, as Wes slowly uncovers just how much it costs to make a wish come true.
I really enjoyed the story and the gloomy atmosphere that the author managed to build through his unique writing. This is the type of book that stays with you, mostly because it's unlike any others. Some passages read like a fever dream and the ending was perfection. The writing is very raw yet somehow... lyrical? Don't know how else to put it but it's definitely something else.
I personally would have liked to see a more fleshed out Prentice, as so much of the story revolves around him and he's only presented as the town's rock star and kind of a jerk 😅🤷♀️ But other than that, the rest of the characters felt very real and, overall, the small town vibes, the impending doom, the eeriness of what goes on - are all very well depicted.
I really enjoyed the story and the gloomy atmosphere that the author managed to build through his unique writing. This is the type of book that stays with you, mostly because it's unlike any others. Some passages read like a fever dream and the ending was perfection. The writing is very raw yet somehow... lyrical? Don't know how else to put it but it's definitely something else.
I personally would have liked to see a more fleshed out Prentice, as so much of the story revolves around him and he's only presented as the town's rock star and kind of a jerk 😅🤷♀️ But other than that, the rest of the characters felt very real and, overall, the small town vibes, the impending doom, the eeriness of what goes on - are all very well depicted.
May 11, 2022
Wow! This kid can write. I was a huge fan of Bird's debut, Double Vision. This story carries similar supernatural suggestions and poetic prose. I didn't end up loving this one as much -- the writing is outstanding, but this short book feels like a short story stretched to 200 pages. There's just not a lot of plot, but the characters are incredibly written and if you're a fan of slow burn character studies with a tinge of the supernatural, or tales of wayward small town young adults, maybe check it out. Regardless, I will be tuning in for the next Hamelin Bird extravaganza.
June 22, 2022
“It’s a surreal feeling to look back & know that moment when life takes a turn, once made, is forever unalterable.”
.
SO - in anticipation of starting Hamelin Bird’s “Ambrosia” today, I’m pregaming by compiling all the notes I took while reading Wayward Suns into a manic rant. Enjoy.
.
@Hamelin - Okay, first of all, how dare you write Wayward Suns like this? I went in thinking oooh… 80’s, grungy music, grungier men, gritty sex, nostalgia.. nice.👌🏼& then suddenly I’m halfway through, emotionally wrecked, suspicious of every stranger, & questioning my entire family tree.
.
“Through the long hours of the day, I’d somehow convinced myself she wasn’t real at all, that she’d only been imagined, a living dream; but now I watched her, loved her, ached down in my soul for her, drinking her in as a depraved man would a cup of cold water in the desert.”
.
Wes, our protag, is such a painfully relatable mess. Not only does he have a poetic stream of consciousness, but he also happens to live off of seafood, trash tv, & existential dread (I mean, same).
.
“I had been lying still for so long, I’d begun to mistake it for peace.”
.
In typical Hamelin fashion, the writing makes me close the book for a second & stare at the ceiling. Whomst gave you permission to cause this, sir???
.
“Sometimes people make decisions they shouldn’t make. They do things they shouldn’t be doing, & everybody knows it but them, everybody can see it moving & changing them, turning them. You want to protect them, sometimes you just wanna roll up your sleeves & beat the sense into them if you could - but you can’t, it’s not something you fight like that. In the end, you can only stand back & watch as they fade into these shadows that move slower & slower until one day they stop moving at all & you let out this long breath that has in it the power to fog a thousand windows.”
.
Bird somehow blends southern fried coming of age angst with this eerie, slow-creeping dread that feels like Houston humidity that you can’t get out of bc you lost the house key & can’t get back inside yet. It’s hellfire magic meets “hey remember that one time your cousin did something sketchy & you never unpacked it emotionally? Let’s go there.” 😭
.
“Fires blazed wildly, burning in every direction - big fires & small fires & fires that shimmered white against the total blackness of the cavern. In the distance, great billows of smoke hurled skyward, raining a storm of ash like sinister snowfall over the rocky cavern floor. & still the screaming, everywhere, a chorus of howls that sent chaos to the air.”
.
The hellscape Bird conjured was so uniquely eerie & somehow personal. It wasn’t just your standard hellish lake of fire scary. It was a deep, crawl under your skin unsettling. I had full body chills reading the final pages 😰
.
“& in desperate times, when that senseless rage comes eating at our hearts & our fists shake for want of some warm hand to hold them, any old schlock rocker will do - as long as he doesn’t break face, doesn’t allow us to look into the mirror & see ourselves not there. As long as he’s a convincing enough reflection of us all. &, of course, he must never look back in anger; must never puff up at the laity, & insult too greatly the ones who made him.”
.
Given that this is my third time reading a Hamelin Bird piece, it is officially signed, sealed, & delivered: The man’s ability to write a beautifully satisfying ending is unmatched… haunting, & stunningly insightful. I’m either crying or sweating or smiling or all of the above. Every time. I don’t know how he does it, but each ending feels inevitable & still knocks the wind out of me.
.
10/10 I hate you, I love you stars. ⭐️
.
SO - in anticipation of starting Hamelin Bird’s “Ambrosia” today, I’m pregaming by compiling all the notes I took while reading Wayward Suns into a manic rant. Enjoy.
.
@Hamelin - Okay, first of all, how dare you write Wayward Suns like this? I went in thinking oooh… 80’s, grungy music, grungier men, gritty sex, nostalgia.. nice.👌🏼& then suddenly I’m halfway through, emotionally wrecked, suspicious of every stranger, & questioning my entire family tree.
.
“Through the long hours of the day, I’d somehow convinced myself she wasn’t real at all, that she’d only been imagined, a living dream; but now I watched her, loved her, ached down in my soul for her, drinking her in as a depraved man would a cup of cold water in the desert.”
.
Wes, our protag, is such a painfully relatable mess. Not only does he have a poetic stream of consciousness, but he also happens to live off of seafood, trash tv, & existential dread (I mean, same).
.
“I had been lying still for so long, I’d begun to mistake it for peace.”
.
In typical Hamelin fashion, the writing makes me close the book for a second & stare at the ceiling. Whomst gave you permission to cause this, sir???
.
“Sometimes people make decisions they shouldn’t make. They do things they shouldn’t be doing, & everybody knows it but them, everybody can see it moving & changing them, turning them. You want to protect them, sometimes you just wanna roll up your sleeves & beat the sense into them if you could - but you can’t, it’s not something you fight like that. In the end, you can only stand back & watch as they fade into these shadows that move slower & slower until one day they stop moving at all & you let out this long breath that has in it the power to fog a thousand windows.”
.
Bird somehow blends southern fried coming of age angst with this eerie, slow-creeping dread that feels like Houston humidity that you can’t get out of bc you lost the house key & can’t get back inside yet. It’s hellfire magic meets “hey remember that one time your cousin did something sketchy & you never unpacked it emotionally? Let’s go there.” 😭
.
“Fires blazed wildly, burning in every direction - big fires & small fires & fires that shimmered white against the total blackness of the cavern. In the distance, great billows of smoke hurled skyward, raining a storm of ash like sinister snowfall over the rocky cavern floor. & still the screaming, everywhere, a chorus of howls that sent chaos to the air.”
.
The hellscape Bird conjured was so uniquely eerie & somehow personal. It wasn’t just your standard hellish lake of fire scary. It was a deep, crawl under your skin unsettling. I had full body chills reading the final pages 😰
.
“& in desperate times, when that senseless rage comes eating at our hearts & our fists shake for want of some warm hand to hold them, any old schlock rocker will do - as long as he doesn’t break face, doesn’t allow us to look into the mirror & see ourselves not there. As long as he’s a convincing enough reflection of us all. &, of course, he must never look back in anger; must never puff up at the laity, & insult too greatly the ones who made him.”
.
Given that this is my third time reading a Hamelin Bird piece, it is officially signed, sealed, & delivered: The man’s ability to write a beautifully satisfying ending is unmatched… haunting, & stunningly insightful. I’m either crying or sweating or smiling or all of the above. Every time. I don’t know how he does it, but each ending feels inevitable & still knocks the wind out of me.
.
10/10 I hate you, I love you stars. ⭐️
May 9, 2024
“ . . . death, ladies and gentleman; that was the unspoken word of the day, the elephant in the room of our own sad lives.”
📚
It’s 1987, and Weston Mercer has a familiar routine: days passed in a drug-induced, TV-consumed haze; evenings spent at the local bar; and late nights whiled away watching his cousin’s notorious band. He’s depressed, the usual haunts and typical habits losing their sparkle, the people around him changing, and not for the better. And when a stranger comes into his life, Wes’s world alters irreparably, exposing him to grim possibilities that toe the line into insanity. Can he separate fact from fiction, or is he actually going insane?
Wayward Suns crafts a rich, singular atmosphere that makes it feel like an instant classic. Through its many endearing, laugh-out-loud moments surrounding the protagonist’s furious (and unwittingly hilarious) frustrations, it evokes shades of The Catcher in the Rye and Seventeen: funny, yet also heartfelt and intensely moving. The writing is smooth and layered, poetic and beautiful, genuine and shrewd to such a degree that the reader repeatedly pauses to admire the skill and perfection, as well as the precision and care that clearly went into crafting each sentence.
This is an introspective, character-driven slow-burn that immerses the reader in its reality: mundanity that rockets into chaos and horror. It’s bleak and unsettling, captivating and mystifying; there’s so much to appreciate and enjoy, from the fully-fleshed characters and fantastic dialogue to the complex plot and cinematic supernatural elements, as well as a delightful Double Vision crossover. In just over 200 pages, the storyline explores a range of topics and themes, including love, friendship, and mortality; addiction, obsession, and self-destruction; music, magic, and madness; Hell, evil, and the transcendental; and time, choice, and truth. It’s a bright spot of a novel and a brilliant exploration of life’s dark side.
Thank you to Hamelin Bird for gifting me a copy of this truly special coming-of-age tale.
📚
It’s 1987, and Weston Mercer has a familiar routine: days passed in a drug-induced, TV-consumed haze; evenings spent at the local bar; and late nights whiled away watching his cousin’s notorious band. He’s depressed, the usual haunts and typical habits losing their sparkle, the people around him changing, and not for the better. And when a stranger comes into his life, Wes’s world alters irreparably, exposing him to grim possibilities that toe the line into insanity. Can he separate fact from fiction, or is he actually going insane?
Wayward Suns crafts a rich, singular atmosphere that makes it feel like an instant classic. Through its many endearing, laugh-out-loud moments surrounding the protagonist’s furious (and unwittingly hilarious) frustrations, it evokes shades of The Catcher in the Rye and Seventeen: funny, yet also heartfelt and intensely moving. The writing is smooth and layered, poetic and beautiful, genuine and shrewd to such a degree that the reader repeatedly pauses to admire the skill and perfection, as well as the precision and care that clearly went into crafting each sentence.
This is an introspective, character-driven slow-burn that immerses the reader in its reality: mundanity that rockets into chaos and horror. It’s bleak and unsettling, captivating and mystifying; there’s so much to appreciate and enjoy, from the fully-fleshed characters and fantastic dialogue to the complex plot and cinematic supernatural elements, as well as a delightful Double Vision crossover. In just over 200 pages, the storyline explores a range of topics and themes, including love, friendship, and mortality; addiction, obsession, and self-destruction; music, magic, and madness; Hell, evil, and the transcendental; and time, choice, and truth. It’s a bright spot of a novel and a brilliant exploration of life’s dark side.
Thank you to Hamelin Bird for gifting me a copy of this truly special coming-of-age tale.
August 23, 2022
What a trip, man. Talk about some absolutely killer writing. There were so many pages I bookmarked with quotes that just kicked me in the gut or beautiful prose that begged a second glance. I went in expecting a horror novel, and it definitely delivered in that aspect, but also as a deeply reflective story of family, friendship, and wasted youth. It’s my one and only five star read of August so safe to say I highly recommend this one!
January 25, 2023
🎸𝐌𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
I read a quote from Stephen King recently that said "A successful novel should interrupt the reader's life, make him or her miss appointments, skip meals, forget to walk the dog." (taken from the introduction to an anniversary edition of Lord of the Flies)
True story: I was only a few pages into the climatic ending of this book while I was sitting in a waiting room. When my name was called my first instinct was to say "hold on one second, let me just finish this book real quick". 😳
So I'd say it's pretty successful. 🙌🏼
🎸𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲:
This book is so well written that it's impossible not to picture the characters and the small southern town in which the story takes place.
Wes is on a journey of self discovery. He's trying to find out who he is outside of "mist filled memories" and his relationship with his cousin Prentice who just seems like he's getting pulled under by far more than drugs and alcohol. Prentice is a musician who plays at local bars across the area where they grew up.
When things start to spiral out of control, Wes must face some of life's toughest battles with the help of a few friends. Together they must defend themselves and Prentice against something truly sinister.
What they discover along the way is nothing short of terrifying.
By the end of it all I felt like I was out of breath despite the fact that I was sitting still.
I originally described the ending in more detail, but redacted it because you just have to read the story to appreciate the heaviness of the ending( think Revival by Stephen King). It's a slow burn, but once you realize what's happening it jumps up and bites you.
Once again, Bird found a way to break all the genre rules in this slice of life tale of friendship, family, and the hold our past can have on us, if we let it.
🎸𝐅𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬:
"The moment was overwhelming, and all at a once it seemed I'd spent my entire life trying to laugh down a heavy conscience; a conscience plagued by its own army of ghosts and things that go bump in the night."
"Without wanting to, I realized the dark path my own life had taken. Saw the glowing of its artificial lights, powered by pleasure and pride."
"I've learned, for instance, that sometimes life has a way of putting your face in the mud, of sticking it there and then holding it, and in those times you have either one of two options: breathe in the brown stuff or stop breathing at all."
I read a quote from Stephen King recently that said "A successful novel should interrupt the reader's life, make him or her miss appointments, skip meals, forget to walk the dog." (taken from the introduction to an anniversary edition of Lord of the Flies)
True story: I was only a few pages into the climatic ending of this book while I was sitting in a waiting room. When my name was called my first instinct was to say "hold on one second, let me just finish this book real quick". 😳
So I'd say it's pretty successful. 🙌🏼
🎸𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲:
This book is so well written that it's impossible not to picture the characters and the small southern town in which the story takes place.
Wes is on a journey of self discovery. He's trying to find out who he is outside of "mist filled memories" and his relationship with his cousin Prentice who just seems like he's getting pulled under by far more than drugs and alcohol. Prentice is a musician who plays at local bars across the area where they grew up.
When things start to spiral out of control, Wes must face some of life's toughest battles with the help of a few friends. Together they must defend themselves and Prentice against something truly sinister.
What they discover along the way is nothing short of terrifying.
By the end of it all I felt like I was out of breath despite the fact that I was sitting still.
I originally described the ending in more detail, but redacted it because you just have to read the story to appreciate the heaviness of the ending( think Revival by Stephen King). It's a slow burn, but once you realize what's happening it jumps up and bites you.
Once again, Bird found a way to break all the genre rules in this slice of life tale of friendship, family, and the hold our past can have on us, if we let it.
🎸𝐅𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬:
"The moment was overwhelming, and all at a once it seemed I'd spent my entire life trying to laugh down a heavy conscience; a conscience plagued by its own army of ghosts and things that go bump in the night."
"Without wanting to, I realized the dark path my own life had taken. Saw the glowing of its artificial lights, powered by pleasure and pride."
"I've learned, for instance, that sometimes life has a way of putting your face in the mud, of sticking it there and then holding it, and in those times you have either one of two options: breathe in the brown stuff or stop breathing at all."
July 16, 2022
It’s very rare that I read a book that makes me miss the stupidity of 23. It’s even rarer when that book isn’t even about the stupidity I was doing at 23. Wayward Suns hovers right in that spot that most people my age who played in crummy local music scenes can relate to. That weird feeling of needing something, anything, out of the ordinary to happen. Then when it does you’re just left with trying to figure how in the wide world of sports to get away from it. I wish Hamelin Bird had written my 23 because it would have flowed a lot smoother and sounded a million times better. That’s the thing I have to mention here, Wayward Suns is filled with some downright beautiful prose. Sentences that just roll into one another like a cozy blanket. Don’t wait until you need a DeLorean to read this one. K thx.
September 4, 2023
Who needs to go to the bar when you can get drunk on the written word, thats how Hamelins writing feels, he sucks you into his rich worlds in an amalgamation of lovable characters and visceral horror that leaves you feeling intoxicated, I do not believe that Hamelin is human, I refuse to believe that a human is capable of writing such beautiful prose sentence after sentence, turn to any page in this book and you will find an almost poetic piece of writing that is just stunning, his writing is handsome AF, this was a coming of age story that in true Hamelin style descends into absolute horror and chaos, it was slow burn at first and felt very much character driven, we know I love a rock star so I was particularly fond of Prentice, vivid descriptions that leap off the page painting the most gruesome images, horror with heart(a bloody one) highly recommend to horror fans!
June 1, 2022
This is a beautiful little book. I love the chapter start pages and titles. Would you trade your heart for your heart's desire? Soulful, dirty, poignant, and terrifying. Bird's prose is stunning; the kind that makes you read parts twice to appreciate just how special it is. My favourite character was not the protagonist but a secondary character who stole my heart and every scene he was in. Ray was the standout for me. I loved this story.
March 25, 2023
the descriptive language goes so hard that it is poetic. def planning on reading more of his work!
December 7, 2022
When my lovely friend Heidi sent me this book I had no idea what I was getting into. I expected to enjoy it, sure. I enjoy almost everything I read.
But Mary, Mother of Jesus this was GOOD! I can confidently say this is in my top five of 2022. It’s in my all-time favorites (short) list as well.
Hamelin Bird doesn’t walk gently, tugging at your heartstrings and allowing the story to caress your soul, no! His writing is full of grit, emotion, and beauty in a way that slaps you silly, shakes your spirit, and has you begging for more.
I am head-over-heels for this story and will read it time and again. I found true inspiration here. Nothing beats inspiration!
Do yourself a favor: read this. Don’t wait. You’re welcome. 😘
But Mary, Mother of Jesus this was GOOD! I can confidently say this is in my top five of 2022. It’s in my all-time favorites (short) list as well.
Hamelin Bird doesn’t walk gently, tugging at your heartstrings and allowing the story to caress your soul, no! His writing is full of grit, emotion, and beauty in a way that slaps you silly, shakes your spirit, and has you begging for more.
I am head-over-heels for this story and will read it time and again. I found true inspiration here. Nothing beats inspiration!
Do yourself a favor: read this. Don’t wait. You’re welcome. 😘
May 3, 2022
Another great book! Bird’s writing is captivating and his characters are well thought out, flawed (in all the right ways!), and relatable. Do yourself a favor, BUY this one, then sit back and enjoy the ride! While you’re at it go ahead and get his book Double Vision, you won’t regret it.
July 13, 2023
Wes Mercer is a lost and wounded young man, living alone and severely depressed, he is the roadie?/groupie?/hanger on? of his cousins band. Wes and Prentice are close and together they drink, use copious amounts of drugs and make bad choices, fighting back the darkness and obsession with death that haunts them both.
But then Prentice begins to change and Wes becomes desperate and a stranger tells an amazing story about a dark deal and second chances.
This book will remain in my heart for a long time. Hamelin Bird builds Wes’s life so perfectly, so succinctly that the reader becomes incredibly invested in him. I loved Wes, I know Wes, Wes broke my heart. Bird manages to take the reader to such an emotionally invested place in the first 70 pages that took 600 pages in Yanagihara’s A Little Life. Impressively skillful writing.
But then Wes gets a glimpse of Hell and Wayward Suns becomes a horror novel and it is truly horrifying. And that shocking epilogue I reread it THREE TIMES.
A very different horror novel. Very human, very real. About the choices we make, the help we refuse to take, our love and responsibility for others.
But then Prentice begins to change and Wes becomes desperate and a stranger tells an amazing story about a dark deal and second chances.
This book will remain in my heart for a long time. Hamelin Bird builds Wes’s life so perfectly, so succinctly that the reader becomes incredibly invested in him. I loved Wes, I know Wes, Wes broke my heart. Bird manages to take the reader to such an emotionally invested place in the first 70 pages that took 600 pages in Yanagihara’s A Little Life. Impressively skillful writing.
But then Wes gets a glimpse of Hell and Wayward Suns becomes a horror novel and it is truly horrifying. And that shocking epilogue I reread it THREE TIMES.
A very different horror novel. Very human, very real. About the choices we make, the help we refuse to take, our love and responsibility for others.
June 16, 2022
"If it was real-- if there really was any scar-- and if it had anything to do with what was happening to Prentice, I wanted to know."
💥Filled with sequences that are written with a surreal dream-like quality, you'll wander along with sometimes drug addled Weston from one place to the next, not know how you got there, but in the best way. Trust me...go along for the ride on this one. The horror element arrives a little over halfway in, but when it does it takes root!
💥Weston worries about Prentice, his cousin who is also the hometown rock God who can do no wrong...until he does do wrong...what is going on? Read and find out!
🤘This is a fast paced book that's easily readable in one sitting. Grab a copy for yourself, I really don't want to say any more, just make sure you bump this up your reading list!
June 24, 2023
What an awesome story! I went into this one pretty blind, only knowing the bare minimum like 80s, coming of age, etc. But I could not have been more impressed with the writing, the characters, the dialogue, and how smoothly this story read. We have some incredible characterizations and development going on in a way that makes me wonder why more people are not talking about it! And the character speak in raw, truthful way that I can actually imagine. The whole book read as if a movie was being unfolded right in front of me. The flow of everything made it difficult to put the book down. Each scenario was so captivating. Each conversation just had me wanting to know more about the lives of everyone and more about the town and its local haunts. The story makes bleak look beautiful.
I loved it!
I loved it!
January 7, 2023
When I think of the title of this book, of course I’m going to think of the song “Carry On Wayward Son” by Kansas. It’s hard not to 😅.
The gorgeous words of Hamelin Bird just flow through the pages. Example:
“His dark Ibanez Destroyer slung low at his waist, Prentice sang and screamed the drunken woes of the world, no longer an artist but a pained scribe of human sorrow”.
And another:
“Everything was different back then- witnessed through a brighter lens, let’s say, a kaleidoscope of colors that are no longer around- and sitting up nights, occasionally I wonder what I wouldn’t do for that one-way ticket back to glory”.
Ok, so those are long ass sentences, but they are beautiful. And Bird had me wanting to read more. The year is 1987 and Wes is quickly seeing his small town rockstar cousin falling down a spiral of drugs and alcohol. Soon, he realizes what spiral his cousin Preston is going down. A surreal, chaotic world.
Filled with beautiful writing, I could not put the book down. However, I didn’t feel completely invested in Preston. Because he was a jerk straight from the beginning, and there wasn’t too much of a background story to really get to know him. But maybe that’s just me.
The atmosphere had a Kathe Koja feel from The Cipher book. Full of Rock n Rollness, 80’s style, eclectic characters that woe in their spilled miso soup.
The gorgeous words of Hamelin Bird just flow through the pages. Example:
“His dark Ibanez Destroyer slung low at his waist, Prentice sang and screamed the drunken woes of the world, no longer an artist but a pained scribe of human sorrow”.
And another:
“Everything was different back then- witnessed through a brighter lens, let’s say, a kaleidoscope of colors that are no longer around- and sitting up nights, occasionally I wonder what I wouldn’t do for that one-way ticket back to glory”.
Ok, so those are long ass sentences, but they are beautiful. And Bird had me wanting to read more. The year is 1987 and Wes is quickly seeing his small town rockstar cousin falling down a spiral of drugs and alcohol. Soon, he realizes what spiral his cousin Preston is going down. A surreal, chaotic world.
Filled with beautiful writing, I could not put the book down. However, I didn’t feel completely invested in Preston. Because he was a jerk straight from the beginning, and there wasn’t too much of a background story to really get to know him. But maybe that’s just me.
The atmosphere had a Kathe Koja feel from The Cipher book. Full of Rock n Rollness, 80’s style, eclectic characters that woe in their spilled miso soup.
December 9, 2023
I thought the author was descriptive and I could visualize the scenes in the book but it was too surreal for me and now that I've finished it I'm still not sure what was going on. It was like some Pabst-Blue-Ribbon-fueled nightmare.
January 21, 2024
"A wise person once told me: time stops for no man. No man, not even death himself."
It is 1987 and Weston Mercer is indulging himself in sex, drugs, and music. He is worried about his rock star cousin, Prentice, who seems to be spiraling out of control. He must find a way to help him before it's too late.
I won't lie. I was initially confused when I first started reading this because I couldn't tell reality from the drug induced hazes, but as I kept going, it all slowly fell in to place. The characters were well written and it was interesting to follow their self-destructive behaviours as it all felt real with raw emotions.
I wasn't expecting the supernatural elements because well, I didn't know where the story was going 😅 But the writing was immersive and done well so I was captivated nonetheless.
This was a bleak, yet beautiful coming of age story.
It is 1987 and Weston Mercer is indulging himself in sex, drugs, and music. He is worried about his rock star cousin, Prentice, who seems to be spiraling out of control. He must find a way to help him before it's too late.
I won't lie. I was initially confused when I first started reading this because I couldn't tell reality from the drug induced hazes, but as I kept going, it all slowly fell in to place. The characters were well written and it was interesting to follow their self-destructive behaviours as it all felt real with raw emotions.
I wasn't expecting the supernatural elements because well, I didn't know where the story was going 😅 But the writing was immersive and done well so I was captivated nonetheless.
This was a bleak, yet beautiful coming of age story.
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