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The Nameless Saga #1
Hell's Muse
In the beginning was the Word – and the word Was a lie.
A struggling writer dives into the dark pits of madness to create his most perfect work – a parallel of his own life, only twisted into a malignant hatred. When the written word opens a gateway to Hell, every truth the writer believes is challenged, every lie made truth.
As a trail of death and sorrow spills from the words, the writer is drawn into an unholy abyss to become Hell's Muse.
A struggling writer dives into the dark pits of madness to create his most perfect work – a parallel of his own life, only twisted into a malignant hatred. When the written word opens a gateway to Hell, every truth the writer believes is challenged, every lie made truth.
As a trail of death and sorrow spills from the words, the writer is drawn into an unholy abyss to become Hell's Muse.
- GenresHorror
372 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 14, 2013
2 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
About the author
Jack Wallen
114 books117 followersJack Wallen is what happens when a Gen Xer mind-melds with present day snark. Jack is a seeker of truth and a writer of words with a quantum mechanical pencil and a disjointed beat of sound and soul. Although he resides in the unlikely city of Louisville, Kentucky, Jack likes to think of himself more as an interplanetary traveler, on the lookout for the Satellite of Love and a perpetual movie sign...or so he tells the reflection in the mirror (some times in 3rd person). Jack is the author of numerous tales of dark, twisty fiction including the I Zombie series, the Klockwerk Movement, the Fringe Killer series, Shero, The Nameless Saga, and much more.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 12, 2014
A Review of Hell’s Muse by Jack Wallen [The Zombie King, The Kingdom]
FIVE highly deserved STARS … for making me think and NOT putting me to sleep in the process.
Fantastically convoluted storyline that should be read by aspiring authors and seasoned professionals in the literary community. The joy, frustration, highs, lows, all the good and bad things about being an ‘author’ are infused into Wallen’s lovingly crafted book (everything from pen names to true feelings towards media). Lovingly. That might give the wrong impression. The main character is anything but lovely or dealt with ‘lovingly’. He is gritty, raw, unedited, and a bit of a depressed, anti-social, coffee addict. But there is love in this storyline (and you can tell that the author views authorship, with all its pitfalls, lovingly too), a cathartic expelling of all the things that make the authorship journey worth it, but never forgetting the nuances that make it difficult and bloody.
The intro to the book… that was the hardest section for me to read. It’s really infused with a primitive, brutal hatred that’s difficult to move past. Bob… oh… hmmm. I mean Shakespeare… I mean… (Please, don’t ever call a writer Shakespeare). Okay, Mr. Coulter. I like that, the pen name, inside this novel, inside this novel.
Learning about the MC and delving ever further into the storyline is like a spiraling downward into madness that somehow comes off as a transcendence upwards. Readers, looking inward at the life of the MC in the roach-infested sardine tin of an apartment, go to a place of psychological madness when Coulter begins to dream inspiration, hear a disembodied voice urging him ever forward to complete a work that will be, undoubtedly, life-altering (and his brilliant undoing).
Spiraling. Downward. Downward. (Upward). Readers will begin to see that psychology is only part of the issue… there is something real, tangible, fear-inducing about the voice and inspiration.
Something from Hell.
Looking for a Muse.
The ending hit me in the gut, taking the brutal beginning to a brutal climax that begs for continuation. Pens for fingers… That image alone was enough to have me picturing bright blood ink and a forever of writing. Which is wildly disturbing when one thinks that most authors aspire to do just that- write… forever.
A highly recommended piece of ‘fiction’. Jack Wallen, a work of brilliance.
FIVE highly deserved STARS … for making me think and NOT putting me to sleep in the process.
Fantastically convoluted storyline that should be read by aspiring authors and seasoned professionals in the literary community. The joy, frustration, highs, lows, all the good and bad things about being an ‘author’ are infused into Wallen’s lovingly crafted book (everything from pen names to true feelings towards media). Lovingly. That might give the wrong impression. The main character is anything but lovely or dealt with ‘lovingly’. He is gritty, raw, unedited, and a bit of a depressed, anti-social, coffee addict. But there is love in this storyline (and you can tell that the author views authorship, with all its pitfalls, lovingly too), a cathartic expelling of all the things that make the authorship journey worth it, but never forgetting the nuances that make it difficult and bloody.
The intro to the book… that was the hardest section for me to read. It’s really infused with a primitive, brutal hatred that’s difficult to move past. Bob… oh… hmmm. I mean Shakespeare… I mean… (Please, don’t ever call a writer Shakespeare). Okay, Mr. Coulter. I like that, the pen name, inside this novel, inside this novel.
Learning about the MC and delving ever further into the storyline is like a spiraling downward into madness that somehow comes off as a transcendence upwards. Readers, looking inward at the life of the MC in the roach-infested sardine tin of an apartment, go to a place of psychological madness when Coulter begins to dream inspiration, hear a disembodied voice urging him ever forward to complete a work that will be, undoubtedly, life-altering (and his brilliant undoing).
Spiraling. Downward. Downward. (Upward). Readers will begin to see that psychology is only part of the issue… there is something real, tangible, fear-inducing about the voice and inspiration.
Something from Hell.
Looking for a Muse.
The ending hit me in the gut, taking the brutal beginning to a brutal climax that begs for continuation. Pens for fingers… That image alone was enough to have me picturing bright blood ink and a forever of writing. Which is wildly disturbing when one thinks that most authors aspire to do just that- write… forever.
A highly recommended piece of ‘fiction’. Jack Wallen, a work of brilliance.
May 22, 2014
The only thing that popped into my head when I finished this book was, "Holy Crap!" The imagery in this book is soooo intense, but at the same time NOT overwhelming. This book is so so so good!! I can't say anything but good things. The way Jack Wallen describes the scenes makes you feel like you can see, hear, and smell all of the gory details. That is what makes him such an incredible and believable writer is that he can transport you into his world, and his head. And I have to say, it's better then Disneyland!!
November 13, 2014
This book is dark and deep and layered. it actualy makes you think.It makes you ask yourself so manny questios, go in the deep dark and hidden places of your own mind and soul
It is someow hard to discrive it without taking some of this books glow. Well, some of the oldest questions of man search for a ansewr. There are questions about faith, the Faustian Pact, pain, love, the means that we are capable to use to obtain whatever we desire or what we think that we desire and wish.
And another question, can the Fantasy world that you create become your world, is it capabel to swallow your very own Soul.. Make you one with it, part of a world of pain and torture that somehow always lived in your mind but now has the abilithy to take over, to control you.
You can see this book as a Horror work of fction, or as a methaphor for a writher that looses his very own mind.
The Story of Bob, the writher that looses all his fame and glory. And the lost is more painful that the desire for something that he never had, because he already bitt into the fruit of knowledge, he knows how it taste , how it is to be on the fluffy top, this is why the bottom, the very hard rock bottom tastes even more while with all his gore , dread and dispair.
You can choose to believe that The Nameless is real, or you can think that he is only a demon that is Born from the writhers mind, but something that is real in ones Fantasy can become real, in the so called real world if you do believe in ist existence, and the fear is real, oh so very real.
Do read it, ist worth your time and energy because it is one of the most inteligent books that i ever had the privilege to discover.
It is someow hard to discrive it without taking some of this books glow. Well, some of the oldest questions of man search for a ansewr. There are questions about faith, the Faustian Pact, pain, love, the means that we are capable to use to obtain whatever we desire or what we think that we desire and wish.
And another question, can the Fantasy world that you create become your world, is it capabel to swallow your very own Soul.. Make you one with it, part of a world of pain and torture that somehow always lived in your mind but now has the abilithy to take over, to control you.
You can see this book as a Horror work of fction, or as a methaphor for a writher that looses his very own mind.
The Story of Bob, the writher that looses all his fame and glory. And the lost is more painful that the desire for something that he never had, because he already bitt into the fruit of knowledge, he knows how it taste , how it is to be on the fluffy top, this is why the bottom, the very hard rock bottom tastes even more while with all his gore , dread and dispair.
You can choose to believe that The Nameless is real, or you can think that he is only a demon that is Born from the writhers mind, but something that is real in ones Fantasy can become real, in the so called real world if you do believe in ist existence, and the fear is real, oh so very real.
Do read it, ist worth your time and energy because it is one of the most inteligent books that i ever had the privilege to discover.
September 5, 2014
Interesting book that starts out with a struggling author writing about a struggling author who in turn is writing a horror novel. Eventually the stories merge into one. The book was not really all that scary but did hold my interest and kept me wondering up until the end.
December 20, 2023
What a tortured tale of a writer who craves fame and fortune but who hates all the people who can give it to him. As his mind descends into madness, he unknowingly opens a gateway to Hell.
September 23, 2014
An okay idea for a story, but in need of a rewrite, or at least some professional editing.
It's essentially about an author, writing about another author who is writing about a demon called The Nameless, and ends up summoning that creature to earth. It's not so much masturbatory as the author traveling back in time, locating his past self and then engaging in a furious circle-jerk (a la The Astronaut's Wife (whoops, self-circle-jerk spoiler)). It gets especially bad when the main "real" author starts submitting his story, a few pages at a time, to his agent and his agent constantly gushes about how it's an incredible work of genius. I can easily suspend my disbelief for a murderous book-demon, but an agent (or any human being really) gushing about this made me think the book took place in Bizarroverse.
Partway through this book, I actually flipped to the beginning to see if it was issued by a publisher or self-published because the typos, re-used words, continuity errors and just plain terrible metaphors were piling up faster than the story's corpses.
This happened at chapter 4, which has the subheading: "1:23 am Leggit & Sampsonn Publishing". A hate-filled publishing executive (two-thirds of the characters in this book are filled with hate, gushing with hate or excreting hate at all times) is at her desk when her phone rings. Naturally, the exec tells the phone out loud that she hates it, because none of the characters have internal thoughts, they just talk to themselves like schizophrenic hobos. Turns out it's her assistant, calling to tell her that the "president of the board" is outside her office. First, doesn't it seem a little odd that both this exec and her assistant are still at the office at 1:23 in the morning? And that her boss has just shown up? Is this a publishing house of vampires? And what's a "president of the board"? You're either a board member, an officer on that board or the president of the company. Luckily, I was saved from confusion a couple of paragraphs later when the author refers to the "chairman of the board", and reveals that the scene actually took place at 1:23 pm.
There's another scene where a character gets punched in the face to the point of his eyes starting to swell shut, and then a bit later being completely fine. It feels like the editor, if there was one, just stopped reading a third of the way through, unplugged the extension cord from his lamp and the wall and then hanged himself.
I'm going to skip calling out the cliches and typos, but one especially glorious metaphor cries out for attention. Here's a line that actually appears in a published book:
"Alicia's smile melted the butter on my heart's pancake."
Let the sink in. Wallow in it. Feel it on your skin. Someone wrote that line and at least one other person read it and thought, "Ya, that only makes me vomit in my mouth a little. To the printers with this masterpiece!"
It's essentially about an author, writing about another author who is writing about a demon called The Nameless, and ends up summoning that creature to earth. It's not so much masturbatory as the author traveling back in time, locating his past self and then engaging in a furious circle-jerk (a la The Astronaut's Wife (whoops, self-circle-jerk spoiler)). It gets especially bad when the main "real" author starts submitting his story, a few pages at a time, to his agent and his agent constantly gushes about how it's an incredible work of genius. I can easily suspend my disbelief for a murderous book-demon, but an agent (or any human being really) gushing about this made me think the book took place in Bizarroverse.
Partway through this book, I actually flipped to the beginning to see if it was issued by a publisher or self-published because the typos, re-used words, continuity errors and just plain terrible metaphors were piling up faster than the story's corpses.
This happened at chapter 4, which has the subheading: "1:23 am Leggit & Sampsonn Publishing". A hate-filled publishing executive (two-thirds of the characters in this book are filled with hate, gushing with hate or excreting hate at all times) is at her desk when her phone rings. Naturally, the exec tells the phone out loud that she hates it, because none of the characters have internal thoughts, they just talk to themselves like schizophrenic hobos. Turns out it's her assistant, calling to tell her that the "president of the board" is outside her office. First, doesn't it seem a little odd that both this exec and her assistant are still at the office at 1:23 in the morning? And that her boss has just shown up? Is this a publishing house of vampires? And what's a "president of the board"? You're either a board member, an officer on that board or the president of the company. Luckily, I was saved from confusion a couple of paragraphs later when the author refers to the "chairman of the board", and reveals that the scene actually took place at 1:23 pm.
There's another scene where a character gets punched in the face to the point of his eyes starting to swell shut, and then a bit later being completely fine. It feels like the editor, if there was one, just stopped reading a third of the way through, unplugged the extension cord from his lamp and the wall and then hanged himself.
I'm going to skip calling out the cliches and typos, but one especially glorious metaphor cries out for attention. Here's a line that actually appears in a published book:
"Alicia's smile melted the butter on my heart's pancake."
Let the sink in. Wallow in it. Feel it on your skin. Someone wrote that line and at least one other person read it and thought, "Ya, that only makes me vomit in my mouth a little. To the printers with this masterpiece!"
December 13, 2014
I'll be honest, i struggled a little with this book, it took me a while to work out why and the simple answer is it's much more complex than my normal fare, there are layers and layers of plot, wrapped with some of the most fantastic visceral descriptions of the bowels of hell and the torments that reside within the darkest of universes.
I pushed onwards through this book actually having to think about what i was reading to find an excellent story from the most twisted of minds.
This book has layers like inception, the lead character is an author writing a book about an author who is writing a book. Along the ride the Nameless demon is unleashed from hell through the power of the pen, but into who's reality?
The layers are not just in the story/plot they are also within the commentary on modern society and the hideous beast that is the publishing industry in the digital age.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, once i had my brain turned on... but i will warn you now In this book Jack Wallen is a master of horror, and new depths of despair, depravity and disgust are plumbed throughout. It is not for the faint of heart!
I pushed onwards through this book actually having to think about what i was reading to find an excellent story from the most twisted of minds.
This book has layers like inception, the lead character is an author writing a book about an author who is writing a book. Along the ride the Nameless demon is unleashed from hell through the power of the pen, but into who's reality?
The layers are not just in the story/plot they are also within the commentary on modern society and the hideous beast that is the publishing industry in the digital age.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, once i had my brain turned on... but i will warn you now In this book Jack Wallen is a master of horror, and new depths of despair, depravity and disgust are plumbed throughout. It is not for the faint of heart!
May 28, 2015
I've read quite a few novels by Jack Wallen, but NONE of them hit me quite like Hell's Muse.
It's dark. It's twisted. It's flat-out disgusting in parts. It is very reminiscent of Clive Barker's early horror; a definite throwback to a time when horror wasn't sugar-coated to make it easier for the masses to swallow. This novel is not for the faint of heart, but if you're up to it, I encourage you to pick it up and dive into the pits of Hell.
Hell's Muse is a multi-layered nightmare, beautifully detailed and extremely vivid. Jack has this magical way with words, making them sing and dance and show you exactly what you're reading. You can see it in your mind's eye, if you have the guts to look. Hell's Muse is complex and visceral. It challenges you, makes you think.
Hell's Muse is the first in the Nameless Saga, and is available in Kindle and paperback form from Amazon.
It's dark. It's twisted. It's flat-out disgusting in parts. It is very reminiscent of Clive Barker's early horror; a definite throwback to a time when horror wasn't sugar-coated to make it easier for the masses to swallow. This novel is not for the faint of heart, but if you're up to it, I encourage you to pick it up and dive into the pits of Hell.
Hell's Muse is a multi-layered nightmare, beautifully detailed and extremely vivid. Jack has this magical way with words, making them sing and dance and show you exactly what you're reading. You can see it in your mind's eye, if you have the guts to look. Hell's Muse is complex and visceral. It challenges you, makes you think.
Hell's Muse is the first in the Nameless Saga, and is available in Kindle and paperback form from Amazon.
July 26, 2014
this is a book about a guy...writing a book about a guy...writing a book. kind of confusing and not really my speed. it wasn't bad though. I liked the main story the best.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews