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THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK IS BACK
In New Jersey in 1957 a little boy named Joshua Ian Hodder drowned in the waters of Diamond Lake while the camp counselors charged with watching him made love.
His distraught mother slaughtered nine young people in revenge before she was herself slain.
Then, somehow, Joshua returned.
Driven to kill by a seemingly unending and unreasoning rage, Joshua has spilled enough blood to lap the shores of Diamond Lake. His savage crimes are legendary and span two decades.
Twelve times he has been stopped, only to return. Now he is hunting down those few who have managed to defeat him, and with each new kill, he is growing stronger.
Joshua’s long estranged father steps out of the past to stand against his son with the last survivors; a pair of FBI agents tasked with hunting him down, a young telekinetic just coming into her own power, an FX artist who had thought all that bloodshed was behind him, an ex-heroin addict who last saw the face of evil in the sewers under Manhattan, a woman whose first encounter with Joshua in the woods at sixteen left her mind shattered, and Joshua’s own niece, trained as a human weapon by an obsessive bounty hunter whose clash with the killer left him wheelchair-bound, for according to legend, only by a Hodder may he die….
In New Jersey in 1957 a little boy named Joshua Ian Hodder drowned in the waters of Diamond Lake while the camp counselors charged with watching him made love.
His distraught mother slaughtered nine young people in revenge before she was herself slain.
Then, somehow, Joshua returned.
Driven to kill by a seemingly unending and unreasoning rage, Joshua has spilled enough blood to lap the shores of Diamond Lake. His savage crimes are legendary and span two decades.
Twelve times he has been stopped, only to return. Now he is hunting down those few who have managed to defeat him, and with each new kill, he is growing stronger.
Joshua’s long estranged father steps out of the past to stand against his son with the last survivors; a pair of FBI agents tasked with hunting him down, a young telekinetic just coming into her own power, an FX artist who had thought all that bloodshed was behind him, an ex-heroin addict who last saw the face of evil in the sewers under Manhattan, a woman whose first encounter with Joshua in the woods at sixteen left her mind shattered, and Joshua’s own niece, trained as a human weapon by an obsessive bounty hunter whose clash with the killer left him wheelchair-bound, for according to legend, only by a Hodder may he die….
220 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 12, 2024
2 people are currently reading
6 people want to read
About the author
Edward M. Erdelac
80 books114 followersEdward M. Erdelac is the author of thirteen novels including the acclaimed Judeocentric/Lovecraftian weird western series Merkabah Rider, Rainbringer: Zora Neale Hurston Against The Lovecraftian Mythos, Conquer, Monstrumfuhrer from Comet Press, Terovolas from JournalStone Publishing, and Andersonville from Random House/Hydra.
Born in Indiana, educated in Chicago, he lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife and a bona fide slew of kids and cats.
Born in Indiana, educated in Chicago, he lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife and a bona fide slew of kids and cats.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 17, 2024
I'm not a huge Friday the 13th fan but I am a huge Edward Erdelac fan so I picked this up, his Friday the 13th homage/love letter/fanfic.
Other than Freddy vs. Jason, I think I've only watched the other Friday the 13th movies in chunks and out of order when nothing else was on TV but I'm familiar with the highlights of the series. This is more than Friday the 13th with the serial numbers filed off. Erdelac explores and expands Jason, I mean, Joshua Hodder's origins, giving him motivations beyond wanting to please his mommy by killing horny teenagers. It ties together the incongruent parts of the series and even ties in the seemingly unrelated Friday the 13th TV series after a fashion.
The story is a gorefest at times. The people who have killed Joshua Hodder and ended his rampage in the past team up to try to stop him permanently. Meanwhile, Joshua does what most masked undead killers do - kill people in mass quantities in extremely bloody ways.
Things come together at the end with some twists. No one is safe. The ending was both satisfying and true to the Friday the 13th franchise.
4 out of 5 machetes.
Other than Freddy vs. Jason, I think I've only watched the other Friday the 13th movies in chunks and out of order when nothing else was on TV but I'm familiar with the highlights of the series. This is more than Friday the 13th with the serial numbers filed off. Erdelac explores and expands Jason, I mean, Joshua Hodder's origins, giving him motivations beyond wanting to please his mommy by killing horny teenagers. It ties together the incongruent parts of the series and even ties in the seemingly unrelated Friday the 13th TV series after a fashion.
The story is a gorefest at times. The people who have killed Joshua Hodder and ended his rampage in the past team up to try to stop him permanently. Meanwhile, Joshua does what most masked undead killers do - kill people in mass quantities in extremely bloody ways.
Things come together at the end with some twists. No one is safe. The ending was both satisfying and true to the Friday the 13th franchise.
4 out of 5 machetes.
September 13, 2024
Another great read from the highly underrated and unique voice of Edward M. Erdelac (really, it's almost criminal he isn't more well-known).
If you're a fan of old slasher movies you owe it to yourself to check this one out.
You can tell by the cover, and the title, this may be just a bit…well, heavily influenced by a certain franchise, and you'd be right. The story is unabashedly inspired by that, (and the author happily admits it) but it's also its own thing. I feel the influence is more of a starting point: Ed sets the groundwork with the inspirations, but then creates a great story with a supernatural twist, a sequence of events that keeps things rolling from one gory, blood-spattered over-the-top kill-shot to another.
I especially enjoyed characters being introduced, complete with backstories, only to be "slashed" within the next page -- you never know who, if anyone, is safe.
And just when you're rooting for the big guy to be taken down Ed switches it up and dives into the origin and psyche of the slasher, making him human, leading the reader to forget for just a moment you want this monster destroyed, not someone you could possibly connect with.
Again, if you're a slasher fan, please please please pick this up. You won't regret it.
If you're a fan of old slasher movies you owe it to yourself to check this one out.
You can tell by the cover, and the title, this may be just a bit…well, heavily influenced by a certain franchise, and you'd be right. The story is unabashedly inspired by that, (and the author happily admits it) but it's also its own thing. I feel the influence is more of a starting point: Ed sets the groundwork with the inspirations, but then creates a great story with a supernatural twist, a sequence of events that keeps things rolling from one gory, blood-spattered over-the-top kill-shot to another.
I especially enjoyed characters being introduced, complete with backstories, only to be "slashed" within the next page -- you never know who, if anyone, is safe.
And just when you're rooting for the big guy to be taken down Ed switches it up and dives into the origin and psyche of the slasher, making him human, leading the reader to forget for just a moment you want this monster destroyed, not someone you could possibly connect with.
Again, if you're a slasher fan, please please please pick this up. You won't regret it.
October 4, 2025
A Bloody Good Tribute
The first thing you need to know about this homage/pastiche/whatever you want to call it is that it was made with love and care. The second thing you need to know is that it is a great fit with a certain slasher's modern rehabilitation. Erdelac's author note says this one's for the fans and he wasn't kidding. It's all fanon, of course, but the canon of the original series is woven tight in there, expanded on and with effort to make things a little more coherent. There are a few choices I wish would have leaned a little bit harder in a specific direction, but that's a me thing. The book is just plain fun and a great way to kick off the Halloween season.
Now, if only we'll get the space sequel...
The first thing you need to know about this homage/pastiche/whatever you want to call it is that it was made with love and care. The second thing you need to know is that it is a great fit with a certain slasher's modern rehabilitation. Erdelac's author note says this one's for the fans and he wasn't kidding. It's all fanon, of course, but the canon of the original series is woven tight in there, expanded on and with effort to make things a little more coherent. There are a few choices I wish would have leaned a little bit harder in a specific direction, but that's a me thing. The book is just plain fun and a great way to kick off the Halloween season.
Now, if only we'll get the space sequel...
August 15, 2025
I really wanted to like this book. I really really did, the premise is great. And somehow he was able to make logical sense of the nonsense that is the Friday the 13th franchise. However, that is where the great things end, this book suffers from a serious pacing problem. Also, it has a serious problem with switching scenes without so much as a warning, and you don't even realize the scene has changed until several paragraphs later. So confusing.
Put this one on my did not finish pile 85% complete. After a week of struggling I just could not suffer any longer with the lack of a decent pace.
Put this one on my did not finish pile 85% complete. After a week of struggling I just could not suffer any longer with the lack of a decent pace.
September 21, 2024
I am a big Friday the 13th fan, heard of this from another fan, and decided to give this a try. Needless to say, this impressed me! Edward M. Erdelac managed to somehow to interweave every piece of lore from throughout the franchise and make it all make sense. Now, none of the names are correct, due to the ongoing legal issues (I assume), but I was able to overcome this and automatically filling in the correct names.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews