God Machine

by Greg F. Gifune

In a hotel room on Cape Cod, a troubled young prostitute brutally takes her own life, leaving cryptic clues as to why written in blood on the walls. When head of hotel security and former cop Chris Tallo finds her savaged body, he sets out to discover why the woman committed suicide in such a vicious manner. Saddled with a drinking problem, and already emotionally destroyed and grieving the loss of his daughter, killed in Iraq five years earlier, his search lures him into a disturbing underworld populated by those who trade in black magic, pain and death.

The closer Chris gets to the truth, and its ties to a secret occult ritual that took place more than 100 years ago that ended in madness and rumors of demonic possession, the more he struggles with his own history and sanity. And as the forces haunting and manipulating not only him, but reality as he knows it, rise in a tempest of blood and fire, a horrific evil awakens…The Machine lives.

266 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 9, 2023

About the author

Called "One of the best writers of his generation" by both the Roswell Literary Review and author Brian Keene, Greg F. Gifune is the author of numerous short stories, several novels and two short story collections. His work has been published in a wide range of magazines and anthologies all over the world, and has recently garnered interest from Hollywood. His novels include The Bleeding Season, Deep Night, Saying Uncle, A View From The Lake, Night Work, Drago Descending, Blood In Electric Blue and Dominion.

Along with his short story collections, Down To Sleep and Heretics, his work has been nominated for numerous awards and is consistently praised by readers and critics alike across the globe. For seven years he was Editor-in-Chief of Thievin' Kitty Publications, publishers of the acclaimed fiction magazines The Edge: Tales of Suspense (1998-2004) and Burning Sky: Adventures in Science Fiction Terror (1998-2003), and currently serves as Associate Editor at Delirium Books. 

The son of teachers, Greg F. Gifune was educated in Boston and has lived in various places, including New York City and Peru. A trained actor and broadcaster, he has appeared in various stage productions and has worked in radio and television as both an on-air talent and a producer.  Earlier in life he held a wide range of jobs, encompassing everything from journalism to promotions.

The author of numerous novels, screenplays and two short story collections, his work has been consistently praised by critics and readers alike, and has been translated into several languages and published all over the world. Greg and his wife Carol live in Massachusetts with a bevy of cats. 

Discover more about his writing at GregFGifune.com and UninvitedBooks.com.

Reviews

[Joel Lindenberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

This is super dark. The author evokes a pervasive sense of dread and foreboding that permeates the entire book. Haven’t enjoyed a horror this much for a long time. A violent yet profound meditation on grief and evil and the horrors regular people inflict on each other. This is heavy but super well done.

[Darren McGowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raw

Wow, this one really ripped my heart out. Having an only child myself ( daughter), the author presented a living nightmare for me. I've read a few of his books so far and this certainly is the darkest, realistic story he's written . great relatable and deeply flawed characters along with a host of personal demons made this story an experience like no other. Well done.

[Karla]

Total letdown

This story starts out so very interesting but fails miserably in the end. Think Seven meets The DaVinci Code meets the Ateam. Only nowhere near as cool as that'd be. The ending sucked

[Jules_withtheaxe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A novel about grief.

Five years ago Chris Tallo and his wife lost everything when their daughter was killed fighting in Iraq. After a stint in the psych ward Chris, an ex cop, now works for security in a rundown hotel. One night he decides to let a young, terrified woman stay for free in one of the rooms. But the next day he discovers her mutilated body. Suicide. He is haunted by this girl, who reminds him of his daughter, and the brutal way in which she dies. He can't let it go and as he delves deeper into the girls life, he discovers an evil waiting to be born.

I found that the process of grief that the main character goes through is all encompassing. The horror aspects are secondary to it.
Personally ,I don't think the two things came together very well. They felt like two different stories being forced together to make one.

3 stars.