The Flesh Sutra

by Tim W. Burke

Would you mutilate mankind for love? That is the question of “The Flesh Sutra.” In Fin de siècle Boston, the mystic healer Alecsandri Keresh lays in the passionate embrace of his lover Mrs. Olivia Spaulding, when he is shot dead. Enraged, he forces his way back to life through ghastly means. He becomes an abomination. All for love. Olivia is terrified of death. Alecsandri dreads abandonment. Seeing one another as soul mates, they resolve to atone for their sins by helping humanity. But their jealousies mar their works, often with hideous results. And a spirit stalks them. One that grows more powerful at every turn. Will the lovers succeed and transform mankind? Or will their weaknesses twist humanity into abominations? Therein lies the answer to “The Flesh Sutra.”

Genres: Horror

277 pages, Paperback

First published April 18, 2014

Reviews

[Gerhard · Rating 1 out of 5]

Truly disappointing. The cover blurb turns out to be far more exciting than the book itself, which singularly fails to live up to the potential of the premise.

The Flesh Sutra starts out promisingly enough: Olivia Spaulding and Alecsandri Keresh are caught in flagrante delicto by the former’s husband.

Alecsandri dies but is resurrected at the (rather horrible) expense of Thomas. The latter, however, continues to haunt the story, with disastrous consequences for all concerned.

Olivia becomes involved with the Society of the Radiant, using Alecsandri’s preternatural capabilities to her own ends and also to try and restore Alecsandri from the homunculus he is transformed into upon his resurrection.

The story hints at HP Lovecraft and Clive Barker, but never quite catches fire. There is some sloppy writing: the reader only learns that Thomas has a gun when he pulls the trigger on Alecsandri at the beginning; not to mention numerous typos and other errors.

[Audrey Bonfig · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love supporting indie horror authors, so I’m sad to rate this so low, but this novel just didn’t do it for me.

There were numerous spelling, grammar, and continuity errors, but I tend to be more lenient about that for indie authors because they usually don’t have a big editing team behind them. But there were other issues I just couldn’t ignore.

Alesci and Olivia had zero chemistry, and their love story was completely rushed. I would have liked to have seen the tension as they’re falling in love knowing Olivia’s already married and the push and pull as they deal with that. I wasn’t even sure why they were so obsessed with each other - Alesci continued to say it’s because she’s a brilliant student and believes what he believes, but that’s no basis for an epic love story.

I believe when you’re reading a novel, you shouldn’t have to ask Google to clarify what something is - it should be clear in the text. I had to research tantra because I wasn’t clear on what it was and the purpose it played in the story. That being said, I’m still not sure why it was included here and what the point was.

I ended up skimming large sections of this because there was so much in here that felt like filler and had no bearing on the plot. It’s not even clear after finishing this novel what the plot was. I know what the summary on the back said, but i didn’t get any of that from the book. The summary states Alesci and Olivia are trying to help humanity, but I got none of that - instead I saw them ruining others’ lives due to their own foibles and jealousy.

This book just felt very messy, and it seemed like the author lost the plot along the way. In my opinion, this would have worked better as a short story.

Thank you to the author, Tim Burke, for giving me a copy of this book to review!

[Foxglove · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ll begin by saying I did truly enjoy the story of ‘The Flesh Sutra’. The plot is engaging, dark, and somewhat disturbing for some audiences. I wouldn’t say I was particularly frightened, but I did find it creative and intriguing. I found myself interested enough to keep reading to see how things went. If you enjoy the thought of body horror and the blurb captures your attention, you might like this plot.

Unfortunately, I struggled a little with the writing style of this. The prose felt similar to purple prose at times, taking the reader out of the story unnecessarily. Some sentences did not flow well at all, which meant that I look longer than I would have liked to finish this book. It was quite disappointing to see because the plot was so interesting, and this book truly could have shone if written in a different way.

This also impacted the characters of the story. I struggled to connect with anyone, although I didn’t mind so much in this as I have in past books. There’s something about a macabre tale that makes the characters feel less real, and less important.

Overall, I did enjoy this, but I don’t think I would read it again. It was a decent experience and I might recommend it to someone who likes a fairly short horror book with big vocabulary (even if it is unnecessary at times).

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[ChanaReadsHorror · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish we could give half stars because I would rate this a 3.5
This book was a very dark and macabre story. It was fully of all things that I enjoy when it comes to mysticism. We follow a man named Alecsandri Keresh who is a mystical healer who while trying to help a man named Thomas overcome the brain cancer he is dying of, falls deeply in love with his wife Olivia. As he changes his treatment for Thomas, so he can pass on and Alecsandri and Olivia can be together, Thomas figures out what is going on. When Thomas takes his revenge out on Alecsandri it only pulls him and Olivia closer together.
She becomes a student of the Radiant and tries to use what she has learned to be able to restore Alecandri to his full self so they can live and be together for the rest of their lives. Yet they must face the truth of what they have done with Thomas haunting them and trying to see if their love and auras can transcend death itself.

I was asked to review the book in exchange for an honest review.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently finished “The Flesh Sutra” and I have to say I loved it. The premise was unique and engaging and I felt the pacing was strong. I don’t tend to be fast reader but once I started the book I couldn’t put it down.

This will be on my reread list and I look forward to reading more work by Tim W. Burke.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Flesh Sutra is a wonderfully macabre story. Some of the scenes are especially gruesome and chilling, but not excessively grotesque. The plot moves at a fast pace and is very well written. Although it is a bizarre world of mystics, spirits, and demons, there are universal themes throughout the story, such as love, freedom, and ambition. In addition to the main characters, Burke has created a wide array of of interesting supporting characters, whose involvement made me curious to learn more about their origins and the world he's created. I will never look at worms the same way again.

[Kyla Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inventive in its grotesqueries and stylish in its prose, this book tells the story of a couple who will remain together no matter what. And, in this theosophically-flavoured milieu of America between the wars, there's quite a lot of what.

[Eric Stephenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! Really enjoyed reading this ... dark, twisted and very well written! Would HIGHLY recommend if you enjoy a good macabre story!!