A Wretched Place

by Wayne Goodchild

The world is in the grip of monstrous gods.

A woman tracks an unspeakable horror birthed from her father's corpse.

A husband crosses a temporal barrier to try and save his estranged wife.

A self-styled preacher is on a mission to kill rival belief systems.

Their realities will converge, start and end, in:

A WRETCHED PLACE

340 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 31, 2023

About the author

I write horrible stories and music. Former astronaut. Constant dad. Video game journalist. Sentient meat currently based in Slovenia.

Reviews

[Jayme · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you BookSirens and Wayne Goodchild for the ARC. I happily leave this review.

This is a truly visceral piece of art that explores several themes, including grief, religious/spiritual beliefs, afterlife, etc. Goodchild's prose easily transports you to a dystopian hellscape where you face an almost normalized evil. I did find the story challenging to follow in the beginning, but I think that's all part of world building.

I enjoyed this read, and would recommend to fans of existential thought process, monsters, and visceral horror.

[Gyalten Lekden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story does what the best genre fiction does, forcing you to evaluate the mess of humanity through the lens of the fantastic, while simultaneously giving a straight-forward story that doesn’t rely on any deeper metaphorical analysis to be exciting and fun. What monsters are born from grief and trauma, and how many worlds do they devour? Whose face do they wear? This is a story that circles around numerous interesting characters, all of whom feel unique and grounded. The story itself twists and turns, leaving you scratching your head the whole time, but in the best possible ways. And, to that end, the writing was crisp and propulsive, descriptive when necessary, not shying from the grotesque but also appreciating that some eldritch horror exists beyond the scope of human language, and not making unnecessarily purple prose to try and bridge that gap. This recursive unknowability is something the story really dwells in, and the more bits and pieces of the story we get don’t add up to something neat and tidy.

This is true across the board. For example, while I thought the characters were all interesting and had compelling backstories, they had more unspoken in their histories than explained. That’s part of the point in this genre, and I appreciated the authorial restraint, but I feel like we could have had a little more chum thrown to us here and there. That is what holds this back from being a five-star read, that I felt the balance was just a little off, like there was more story and more personality that could have been told without sacrificing the ambiance or the mystery, the unknowability. I don’t want clean answers, I really enjoyed the constant feeling like I am missing something, like there are explanations that will only appear in my periphery vision and will force their way out of my awareness when I try to face them dead on. I had a blast with every part of this book, from characters to plot to story-telling, and I especially liked the way of actually approaching the eldritch/new gods and how their appearance would devastate and factionalize humanity, it just felt like there was a little more needed to be a full meal.

The novel lives in ambiguity and unknowing, but I didn’t find it complicated or confusing. Sure, things don’t exist in straight lines, but the writing shepherds you through, holding your hand as you pass through unknowable maws. There action is convincing and exciting, the dialogue feels genuine, the story well-paced, the vision of humanity’s futures bleak, and I was totally drawn in the whole time, devouring the story. I definitely recommend it, especially if you like your horror to be indirect and thought-provoking.

I want to thank the author and BookSirens, who provided a complimentary eARC for review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Milt Theo · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded to 3. I admit I was thoroughly confused. It was quite hard going, the writing does not really help, though the style may be appreciated by others as different and unique. My stars are not so much about the plot or the dialogue, as much as the settings and the imagery.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This story was completely unexpected. I was completely drawn in by the blurb and was excited to read this however the first half of the book was extremely difficult for me to stay focused on.

The concept was extremely convoluted and too trippy for me at first. The descriptions were amazing but every time there was even a hint of setting,I was thrown out of the story.

Having finished this story now I can say I absolutely loved the second half of the book. The character progression and the explanation of how things were unfolding was more natural. Easier to follow. The descriptions and the writing itself flowed better than the beginning half.

The only issue I had with the second half was with the repeated use of a particular nickname that felt like it was used every other sentence.

The characters are well rounded, written in a way that you really get a feel for all of them and described in a way that you see them clearly while reading.

I'm super surprised with my rating in the end because I was struggling to decide if I was going to give a two star (which didn't seem at all fair considering the descriptive skills of the author), three star (same issue as above because the theme of the story, in my opinion, had a unique dystopian nature also) and finally decided on the 4 stars. Why? Because I think that this book is not ready for its time. The concept is brilliant. But it would be hard to write and despite the beginning hurdles I had when reading this, once finishing it, it falls into place. I was even thinking it would have been better to write from a further forward point and then show the beginning points again but ultimately in the end, the whole thing works.

Overall I went from really not enjoying this book to loving it. This is something I'll probably read again in the future.

[Kate Victoria RescueandReading · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Cultists are lying on the ground or slumped over with smoking craters for eyes; others are stood in place shaking like epileptics as their bodies elongate and contort.”

Well, if you like cosmic/eldritch god-like horrors, you’ll enjoy this story for sure.

A man, Else, walks between mountains of bones and through a river of blood to a town on the edge of The Threshold. He’s on a mission, and nothing will stand in his way.

Sam, a woman with a purpose, hunts for a lost town. She joins up with a power hungry reverend who smites as much as he saves. Her journey is leading to the monster that burst from her father’s corpse.

The imagination of the author is fantastic, and you see the skill and thought put into the pages as you read. The characters were driven, each with their own personalities and demons. It’s an epic tale of adventure and horror.

I will say, the beginning was a bit confusing at first. Just keep going, stick with it, and more things will start to connect together. I do wish there was more info on Sam’s dad- how did Gravlax come to be? How the world actually collapse into this reality bending chaos of New Gods?

Thank you to BookSirens & the author for a copy!

[Mountainhombre · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a difficult review to write.

On one hand, the book is different, very different. So five stars for trying something unique.

On the other hand, I found the book confusing at times, and the horror aspects didn't really frighten me (not too unusual for me with horror novels).

The main characters were interesting and the two male protagonists were almost superheroes. The two women we intriguing characters in their own right.

The ending was good. As I was reading the novel, I kept wondering how it could possibly end. Given how many threads had to be combined, it worked quite well.

What I didn't like was being confused at times about why some things were done, such as the need to kill Veronica. And, while there was a vague connection to the works of H.P. Lovecraft, I wouldn't use his name in conjunction with this work.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Mike Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an unexpected treat. The representation and prose is very good. As the characters and story develop, things remain interesting. It never lets up but gives the characters time to breathe while on their journey. The characters are well written and relatable, and it does pose some interesting thoughts and ideas to the reader. I am sometimes hesitant to read anything Lovecraftian or cosmic horror in nature, if that is the correct genre of course, because they tend to be a little boring sometimes. This was the opposite. I recommend this book to anyone curious enough to venture into unknown territory.

Wayne, you've gained a fan!

[Ally Mctash · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read other short stories by this author, so l was interested to read his book. Finding the 1st chapter rather confusing l found perseverance is a virtue which paid off in spades. The characters were both believable, & interesting, in their own stories, & how they were expertly portrayed in the descriptive writing.Travelling through the story kept your interest piqued. There were lots of facets to the story, including religion, grief, love, all of which were described & dealt with brilliantly. Going along the road to the end was unexpected. Reading is one of my hobbies l give this a well earned 5/5 congratulations to the author for a complusive read.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks BookSirens for this ARC - I had no idea what half of this book was about and I really enjoyed it anyway. There was a great mix of storytellers and supporting characters, and the world was a balance between familiarity and nonsense, which was lots of fun. I liked the way the author wrote, especially including the switching between UK and US English - so clever. I didn't quite find it unputdownable but I did enjoy the story.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast paced, edge of your seat horror thriller which begs the question: "When we lose someone, do they ever truly die or are they reformed into something unearthly??".

This was an interesting read and it had me invested from start to finish with its array of unique characters, immersive plotline and a twist that kept me guessing until the very end.

[Jeffrey S. Kuehn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got as an ARC. It’s got everything dystopia, cults, old gods, new gods, radicals, unanswered questions of a father’s dying ramblings, lots of retaliation, retribution, dimensional/ time travel in an altered world, and no sappy hollywood bs!
I am looking forward to more from Wayne Goodchild!

[Emma Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked that it changed between BR English and American English, it's unusual and interesting. I did think that some parts could have been explained more and some a little less. But an enjoyable read to get your mind off the day to day! :)