The Sinner

The Sinner #1

by K. Trap Jones

[Kindle Edition]

First Place Winner of the 2010 Royal Palm Literary Award - Horror/Dark Fantasy Unpublished Novel

Wrath - Greed - Sloth - Gluttony - Lust - Envy - Pride

A lone farmer is chosen by God to test the boundaries of sin. Isolated in a cave with only a candle, quill and parchment, the farmer is burdened by awakening each day within a predetermined encounter with one of the seven deadly sins and their associated demons. This chilling novel is the translation of those encounters written in a classical narrative format, and the ending will leave you shocked!

Reviews:

"Mr. Jones knows his evil, and every page drips with darkness and despair. THIS is the new breed and the old all in one. Goddamn this was a dark book. THIS is the true future of Horror Fiction. Accept no weak substitutes."
− Buried.com

"Jones' writings will stimulate imagination and present sobering food for thought. I got a lot out of The Sinner. I think you will get a lot out of it also."
− Bookideas.com

"Read as though Poe had taken Dante and penned it with the longwinded pace of a Longfellowian epic, albeit much, much darker. This is horror fiction for the patient reader. It won't race you along like, say, Rice, but it will hold your interest right up until the last surprising proclamation of the last page."
− Examiner.com

"A great read for fans who like the lyric style of epic poems like The Inferno and those who are big on biblical demons."
− Hellnotes.com

"This novel in verse shares an illustrious history, tapping not into the stream of Dante and his influence but into the later, more popular Medieval Dream Visions."
− Michael Collings

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Fantasy

306 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 24, 2012

About the author

K. Trap Jones is a 3-time Splatterpunk Award nominated author / editor of horror novels / anthologies and a decade's worth of short stories. His novel, The Sinner won the 2010 Royal Palm Literary Award.

Other novels include: The Drunken Exorcist, The Big Bad, The Charm Hunter, The Harvester, The King's Ox, One Bad Fur Day and the upcoming splatter western, The Bounty on Jed and Nugget.

He is the owner of The Evil Cookie Publishing and is the Co-Founder of The Splatter Club. As a product of the '80s, he likes his movies bloody and his music heavy. Trap can be found lurking around Tampa, FL

"There's a new generation of horror writers bursting onto the scene, and Jones is one of the leaders of the pack." -- EDWARD LEE, author of City Infernal, Header, and The Bighead
________________________________
Website: http://www.theevilcookie.com
Facebook: K Trap Jones
Twitter: @ktrapjones

Reviews

[Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by this one. As a fan of the classical period of horror and the narrative style that seems to be lost within an influx of mainstream horror stories, I found the flashback to the classical era very refreshing.

Don't get me wrong, this is a very dark book and so it should be. There's a feeling of sorrow and despair that I felt throughout the book regarding the protagonist and then the end hits like a rusty shovel to the back of the head.

The pages brought me back to when I first picked up Dante's Inferno. It may seem clumsy at first, but then the format really adds to the sadness and creepiness of the overall tale.

The main character is a farmer chosen by God to test the boundaries of sin. He's confused and trapped in a cave with the task to transcribe his encounters with each of the seven deadly sins and the demons.

In closing, I admire the challenge of writing such a book in today's industry filled with romantic vampires and hunky werewolves. In the author's bio, it says that he "wants to bring back the classical era of horror"...I believe he has accomplished just that in his debut novel.

[DA · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're looking for a book that is full of action and gore, then this book is not for you.

This book is an epic journey of one man's encounters with the seven sins and their associated demons. Written in the narrative prose style, similar to The Devine Comedy by Dante, you're engulfed sadness and despair as the main character lives through each encounter. Each sinner is given the opportunity to choose a different path, but each of them can not withstand the temptation they are presented with.

Beautifully written.

[Mark Scioneaux · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible first novel:

As a writer, I am not jealous of others. I craft my own tales and don't begrudge others and their works. THE SINNER is the first book I've read where I am truly jealous I didn't get the idea to write it.

Told in a poetic style (though it is not poetry), The Sinner focuses on a farmer called into a cave by God, where each day he confronts a demon that represent one of the seven deadly sins. The stories are told through a first-person narrative, and the journey Jones takes you on is an incredible one. I smiled, I gasped, I went through many emotions as I read the narratives Jones so expertly crafted. There were a few slow moments, but Jones quickly slammed his foot on the gas pedal and took me for a literary ride. The last sentence had me place the book down, and just say "wow."

Awesome job by this writer, and I will eagerly await K Trap Jones' next novel.

[Tolerance Pain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh snap! The last sentence kicks ass!

"My name is ____________"

I was blindsided by those four words. Kudos!

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great classically written story with a narrative prose format. The reviews that I read were correct, this greatly reminds me of Dante's Inferno. Just like Dante's tale, you feel great sadness for the main character.

I also wasn't expecting the ending. A nice twist of fate that really was pretty powerful. What I mean is that the ending had me questioning my emotions that I gave to the narrator. I won't go into any more details than that as I don't want to provide any spoilers. Yes, some parts are wordy, but a narrative prose is supposed to be. It adds to the overall confusion that the narrator has and to live within his situation, I don't blame him for being confused and afraid. And the stanza formatting fits the time era nicely.

Also, I did notice another cool aspect, not sure how many got this, but the various demon characters and the alteration of them was quite nice. Not to mention about half of them were females, which historically speaking they were envisioned as males. Very nice touch.

Overall, it's a great book for those into horror classics and non-mainstreamed novels.

[Greg Leaping · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won a free copy of this book through Goodreads Giveaways.

As I first started reading this book The Sinner by author K. Trap Jones I didn't know quite what to think. Its unlike any book I've read before. Its written in a narrative style in poetical form. With a mixture of Dante's Inferno, Edgar Allen Poe, and O' Henry's short stories with a suprise twisted ending, this book is a strong and true following to their legacy in both complexity and prose

Relying heavily on the seven deadly sins each one has their own chapter dedicated to it. The main protaginist is not named at the beginning which left me wondering and frustrated, but I was finally satiated. Evil and sin are a part of our lives as is God. We all have choices to make in our lives and this book sums it up perfectly!

I rated it 4.25 stars

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very dark and classically written horror story. Everything is reminiscent of the old world style of narrative verse formatting. The author weaves a tale through the seven deadly sins and really transforms the seven demons. Through the entries, I felt a range of emotions regarding the narrator. Certain times, I felt pity for him, other times I hated the choices that he made. When I found out at the end, who he was....it made me reflect back on the whole book.

Not only did the author create the origin of sin, reinvent the seven deadly sins and the demons, but also renvisioned something much more deeper and darker in the character of the farmer.

An excellent book for anyone who likes the old school style of literary horror.

[Christopher Randis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoa! The ending of this one had me questioning my sanity. A rollercoaster ride of emotions and then the WTF moment happens at the end. A little difficult to read at the beginning due to the format (verse style), but you quickly adapt and don't even notice it anymore.

Long live old school horror!

[Distantgreyghost · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great, dark narrative story with a surprising end.

[Benjamin Ethridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written epic poem with a engaging, violent narrative that builds with every sin. Highly recommended.

[Bean · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the concept and uniqueness of this book. My only dislike is the way it's written, narrative prose format. This has nothing to do with the quality of the story, just my own personal preference. This is a dark story and the ending will throw a curveball at you. I do recommend this novel if you are looking for something different and original.

[Maurice Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an unusual novel. It is classified as a horror story. The Florida Writer’s Association has awarded this book first prize. K. Trap Jones has previously written about one-hundred short stories that are published in anthologies of horror stories; but this is his first full-length book. He claims to be influenced by Dante Alighieri, Edgar Allen Poe, Bram Stoker, and H.P. Lovecraft. His book follows the same macabre tradition as used by those authors.

“The Sinner” starts out with the protagonist dying in a cave. He knows that God has imprisoned him so he can learn to recognize the seven deadly sins that devils tempt him to commit. There is wrath presented by Amon, greed presented by Mammon, sloth presented by Belphegor, gluttony presented by Beelzebub, lust presented by Asmodeus, envy presented by Leviathan, and pride presented by Lucifer. Jones develops these encounters in interesting circumstances, showing the protagonist starting off as a more or less upright person, but becoming gradually influenced by each demon until, finally, the protagonist is wicked enough to consider committing a serious sin.
This story looks to me like a morality story, and it touches on real moral maladies that ruin life for all of us. God, of course, is real. We all have to deal with God. The demons Amon, Mammon, Belphegor, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, Leviathan, and Lucifer are also real. All of them are named in Biblical Tradition. And all seven of those capital vices have influenced humans for thousands of years.

The protagonist is first tempted through wrath. In this encounter, he is a beggar on the streets, but he once owned a cottage on his own land. Two adjacent kingdoms got into a power struggle and tried to extend their kingdoms. His cottage was in the middle. One king seized his land, burned his cottage, and severely beat him, causing him to become a beggar on the streets. He is assisted by a kind woman named Amon, who gives him two daggers for self-defense. Amon anger that was burning inside of him suddenly turns into rage as he realizes he has two daggers to rectify the wrongs done to him.

The protagonist is next tempted through greed. Here he is a carpenter in a village. Gypsies warn of a plague. Later, the protagonist sees a man who seems to be lost. He approaches the man and sees he has the plague. The man is Mammon, and he has an important task - to spread the plague, but he has a cure: one vial of antidote sufficient for one person. The protagonist has a choice: he can try to save everybody by giving the vial to city elders so they can try to mass produce it, or he can save all of it for himself.

Then next temptation is sloth. The protagonist owns a farm and thinks an irrigation system will increase the farm's production. He meets Belphegor who says he can build an irrigation system for the protagonist, but he wants to use lumber from a sacred stand of oaks in a distant valley. Rather than spend the time to build it himself, the protagonist is tempted to accept the offer, even though it violates the preservation of the sacred oaks.

The next temptation is through gluttony. The protagonist now imagines he owns a grocery store. Prophets on street corners warn of a coming devastation. The protagonist plans to store up groceries so he can sell them when the devastation arrives. He doesn't handle meat and felt storing meat would be advantageous. He meets a butcher named Beelzebub who wants to team up with him to provide both meat and groceries during the coming devastation. That way the protagonist can profit from the devastation.

The next temptation is through lust. The protagonist is a tailor. His shop is across the street from a palace in which lives a beautiful princess. He falls in love with her even though he has never spoken to her and she is not even aware that he exists. Every day he stops his work to watch her leave the palace and watch her return. He is obsessed with her. One day he meets an elderly lady named Asmodeus who works in the palace. She sees the protagonist’s love for the princess and asks if he would like to meet her. You will be shocked how this turns out.

The next temptation is through envy. The protagonist is a blacksmith. He makes weapons and armor out of iron. He is concerned to obtain quality ore so his workmanship can be improved. He has employed a striker to mine the ore for him. One day he finds his striker dead in his mine and another striker present in the mine. The other striker, by the name of Leviathan, offers to work for him and does a better job than the previous striker. Eventually the mine runs out of quality ore. The striker offers to steal higher quality ore from the mine of the blacksmith the protagonist previously worked for. The protagonist is jealous of the success of his previous employer. Leviathan offers him the opportunity to triumph over his previous employer.

The next temptation is through pride. The protagonist is a street corner prophet. On a pilgrimage to a mountain shrine dedicated to God, he meets Lucifer, who tells the protagonist that it is time to make his final choice in the eyes of God. The stakes here are very high. All of these encounters are written in a unique writing style that I think was developed by James Frey in his “A Million Little Promises.” This style is probably unfamiliar to most readers, but it is effective to convey a stream of consciousness viewpoint of the protagonist and to show the disturbed state of the protagonist. The paragraphs are all arranged similar to free verse. All subsequent lines in each paragraph are indented to right of the first line. This style takes a little getting used to, but it soon becomes easy to read. If Jones intended to show what is likely to happen if humans do not resist temptation. I think his story did a good job doing it.

“The Sinner” presents a believable portrayal of how easily humans can be influenced to pursue their passions to an extreme and wind up committing very serious sins. Looking around at trends in society today, one can see a very strong presence of the seven deadly sins operating in all phases of human activity: Murders are committed, even by young people. Rapes are perpetrated, even against young girls some of whom are forced into prostitution. Thefts are rampant. Lust and all kinds of sexual pursuits permeate society. Pride is everywhere, especially pride exhibited by some heads of government, by some celebrities, even in movies and literature by some super heroes and super villains who act as though they were god when they pursue their own objectives. Indeed, all seven deadly sins are very evident everywhere in society. Jones presents food for thought on how this is possible.

Jones paints a grim picture when the protagonist encounters Lucifer, who tempts him with pride. I know God pitted humans against demons when God cursed Satan in the Garden: "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, between thy seed and her seed, and it shall bruise your head and thou shall bruise its heel." “The Sinner” is marketed as a horror story, and if humans are destined to be succumbed by devils and be abandoned by God, it would be a horror story indeed.

But there is another side to this story that draws on real traditions that are already ingrained into human expectations. It is true that God allows humans to be tempted, but it was not to trip humans up; it was that God wanted humans to confront evil at its source. In this struggle between good and evil, God lets all of us be presented with basically two choices: choose God or choose Satan.
I think, in our culture where very little Biblical revelation is still believed, it is good to remind people of this. I think Jones' writings will stimulate imagination and present sobering food for thought. I got a lot out of “The Sinner.” I think you will get a lot out of it also.

[Brian Matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Sinner is the kind of book you read only once in so many years. Written in the old gothic style of stanzas, the story follows the travails of a farmer and his torment at the hands of God.

I must admit, it took me a brief time to become reacquainted with the older literature style; I had to retrain my eye to read through the formatting. However, once that was accomplished, the prose flowed smoothly and enjoyably.

Mr. Jones' story is wholly unique and wholly enjoyable. Cursed by God to write--and relive--his experiences with the seven deadly sins of man, his protagonist struggles with his internal drive to be good and the external pressures to gratify his needs. Similar to a chess match, the farmer is manipulated mercilessly to abandon his ethics in favor of his baser instincts. One cannot help but feel sorry for the man; each of us has at one time, to a lesser extent, been tempted by each of the sins listed in this novel. At points, I found myself squirming in my seat, or looking over my shoulder. The ride was delightful. And the reveal at the end is masterful.

In a time where we have to read about the lives of sexy werewolves and sexy vampires, it was refreshing to read about a solitary man and his struggles with his inner-demons...or is it outer-demons?

The Sinner has been placed on the Recommended Reading list for a Bram Stoker Award. Obviously I do not know how it will fair in the end, I can certainly understand why it has garnered such attention.

I hear the farmer will return in another novel. I look forward to reading it.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this as a part of a Goodreads Firstreads giveaway.

This is different than the typical books I read. It is written in prose as opposed to your typical story. Each of the seven deadly sins is given about equal story length (around 30ish pages). There are very morbid details to the stories but the sin is artfully displayed while rarely mentioning it in the detail of the story (other than the headline). There did seem to be a format to them all and after reading a few, you could kind of guess how the farmer would be "tricked" into falling for the sin. The ending is definitely not what you expect (don't want to give it away) and was actually pretty cool.

[Kenneth Cain · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up a copy of this book via the Horror Writer's Association Bram Stoker Award® 2012 recommendation list. While it did take some time to get accustomed to the formatting and there were periods where the story seemed to slow, Sinner has a real classical feel to its prose. Each detailing of the seven deadly sins had distinct imagery I was fully able to immerse myself in, becoming very much part of that world. The ending was also very well done. This is a great read for anyone who is a fan of classic horror.

[Che'rei Holley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been thinking about what I wanted to say. I see the individual stories of the seven deadly sins as good demonstrations. But the repetition of the pattern of the stories became predictable very quickly. I do not want to spoil the ending, but I cannot abide by the thinking of the one serving the other.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have given more stars but I am not a fan of books written in a free verse poetic style. I did my best to ignore the stanzas and just read. I enjoyed the story, even though it was a bit predictable, of course if you are familiar at all with the seven deadly sins it will be a bit predictable. I would still recommend it as it was an enjoyable book.

[Tyson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book. Its premise is outstanding. The read, however, was a slog. That was in part due to it being written in verse; but the pace was too ponderous for me and the narrator tends to linger. I think it would have been more powerful as a short story.

[Deathmetalfan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a perfect cocktail of sins and demons. Dark and disturbing, the way classic literary horror should be.

[Chaos Bound · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding!

[El Bandito · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read. Reminded me alot of Dante's Inferno.

[Thomas Brownley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read if you like classical horror stories.

[J.J. Tuite · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stories will/should make everybody who reads them think deeply abouth themselves!

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

My god this was a dark book. Every little word dripped with darkness and the ending...oh the ending. That is a jaw dropper.

[Ngulfed · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great classically written horror story filled with sins, demons and temptations.

[Lisa Kincaid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story with a dark ending

[Cari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely MUST have a hard copy of this book. It is a necessity for any library that also has Dante's Comedy. This is the only novel that has ever held a candle to Dante Alighieri. I didn't expect prose, but I got it, and I loved it. This is a book I will come back to again and again. I immediately downloaded and read the sequel after this. If you like prose (that isn't nearly as inaccessible as Dante) and you love a good fable steeped in religious stories and lore, you'll love this series.

[John Hanscom · Rating 2 out of 5]

He is trying to be Dante; he is not.