Holy Terror: A Novel

by Wayne Allen Sallee

Serial killer Frank Haid, dubbed the Painkiller by Chicago police and media, murders 18 people--all paralytics. Commanded by an unseen presence that he calls ''Father'' and that speaks in the voice of an uncle whose rotting corpse he keeps in the living room, Haid destroys his victims (what's left of them) and evidence in a way that puzzles police. Hardest hit are residents of Marclinn, a home for the handicapped, where survivors decide they must track down the madman themselves. Their efforts bring them into contact with Chicago's weird underworld--including junkie/murderers and a deformed prostitute whose head grows out her chest--and their own true selves. Crippled physically and emotionally, Marclinn inhabitants must overcome their limitations before taking on their nemesis. Their unlikely front man is Evan Shustak, who is the novel's centerpiece. About a hundred pages into the novel, he dons his superhero outfit - wrist braces, a "utility belt" from which hang bags of vitamins and aspirin, and a plaid heating pad for a cape then "Crippled and insane, I am the American Dream!"

Praise for The Holy Terror

"Sallee's characters in "The Holy Terror" are like nothing we've seen since Flannery O'Conner sent Hazel Motes into the big city in her seminal novel "Wise Blood". Like O'Conner, Sallee has the talent to make his repulsive denizens of the street readable with an absurd sense of humor. Of course, he also has the talent to make them extremely terrifying, and in the first part of the novel, he spends a good deal of time doing just that. Still, Francis Haid is one of the most sympathetic serial killers we've seen since Hannibal Lecter, but not because he's witty. Sallee has created an unusual supernatural power, one that the reader will not forget, one that might make Haid as much of a savior as a murderer." --- Rick Kleffel - Agony Column Reviews

Genres: Horror, Paranormal

300 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1992

Reviews

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superheroes and serial killers on the streets of Chicago. The Painkiller is stalking the city’s homeless and disabled. Destroying the bodies and leaving quite the puzzling mess behind for the police. Acid, chainsaw, sword? There seems to be no method to the killers’ madness. But there is.

Enter a ragtag group of residents from the Marclinn home for the handicapped who have had enough of the butchery and police inaction, who set out to catch Painkiller themselves. Thankfully, they have “The American Dream”, Evan Shustak on their side. "Crippled and insane, I am the American Dream! I will leave skid marks in your shorts!” How could they lose?

There is some serious comedic genius here amongst the blood and body parts. Truly twisted characters that will stay with me for a long time. Both Painkiller and The American Dream were extremely well drawn and thought out and the back-up cast was just as interesting.

The narrator, Jeffrey Kafer, really did a freaking great job with this one. His intonations were always right on the mark. The pacing was quick when it needed to be and I never felt like I was lost to which character was interacting with the another. Very solid work and Jeffrey’s voice fit the story perfectly.

Overall, I dug everything about this one. I am not sure why I have never read this guy before, since I believe this was first published in 1992. As a matter of fact, I have the signed HC of this one somewhere in my piles and that really is the only reason I picked it up…well, that and I received the audiobook from Crossroad Press in exchange for an honest review. Thanks, CP! Well done.

I am going with 4.5 Stars for this one and am bumping it up to 5, because I finished this a few days ago and am still thinking about some of the characters and getting either a chuckle or a retch.

[Klaus Kinion · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really want to shine a spotlight on this book, as I believe it demands a place alongside well-known titles like Poppy Z. Brite's Exquisite Corpse in contemporary discussions of extreme and transgressive classics. First published in 1992, it reads like some kind of cultural milestone between the original splatterpunks of the 80’s and the hardcore horror movement of the late 90’s (Edward Lee, et al.).

THE HOLY TERROR is gritty and chaotic, unfolding in stunning, dark prose interspersed with sterile police reports and the absurd testimony of its atypical characters: “Crippled and insane, I am the American Dream!”

Wayne Allen Sallee (himself living with cerebral palsy, and dictating parts of this book when injuries prevented him from writing) explores the lives and disabilities of his characters with empathy and authenticity, unflinching both in social commentary and in scenes of the grotesque.

When a serial murderer known as the Painkiller targets the homeless and disabled, removing them from the streets like some kind of brutal rapture, THE HOLY TERROR asks us directly: “Will society approve of the Painkiller?”

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wayne Allen Sallee is my favorite horror writer. Some horror writers are good at showing us the seedier side of human existence. Sallee shows us that the people who live on that seedier side have the same humanity as anyone else, and perhaps a purer sort of humanity, tempered by the things they endure. The Holy Terror is Sallee’s first novel. It’s set in Chicago, a city the author knows well, and features a serial killer who is preying on those who are physically crippled. With the police unable to make any headway on the case, the victims must become their own protectors. One man in particular, Evan Shustak, dons the roll of The American Dream, a superhero with no powers other than his ability to endure. This book is the story of those, like Evan, who endure the unendurable. It’s not a “comfortable” read. But it can be touching as well as brutal. It won’t leave you unmarked, and I highly recommend it.

[Regina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Writing was good...but I didn't get it. The writing was excellent and the narration even better. It kept me interested, I wanted to know how it ended. But it didn't go anywhere, there was no conclusion. I was intrigued by the characters and wanted to know more about them. These people who live with pain and deformities and mutilations as part of their daily life. I am eternally grateful to have been allowed into their lives and to see things from their point of view and understand a bit of the pain they endure, both mental and physical. In the end, though, there was no progression. The killer was twisted, there is no doubt about that. The reasoning behind the murders is not clear, though, and there is no real explanation as to how he does what he does. There is no end to the madness and the few survivors seem to simply go on...or sink deeper into their real or perceived maladies.

Jeffrey Kafer's narration was spot on. He had the right tone, cadence, and even though he didn't try for the female voices there was never any mistaking who was speaking. I enjoyed listening to him tell the story.

I received this audiobook for free from Audiobook Boom! in exchange for an honest review.

[Martin Mundt · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I like -- what I've always liked -- about Wayne Allen Sallee's writing is that he is a quintessentially Chicago writer, in the way I have always seen Nelson Algren. He writes stories like "In the Shank of the Night", from the collection "Fiends by Torchlight", with Chicago policeman Frank St. Cyr, that, to me at least, capture the sound and feel of the city, along with being just a great and brutal story. And the peak of this arc of story-telling is "The Holy Terror", Wayne Allen Sallee's debut novel. How can I describe the impact "The Holy Terror" had on me when I first read it? How's this: Many years ago, Wayne was hit by a car and got knocked half a football field through the air before hitting the earth again. He's described it, and the aftermath, in a book called "Proactive Contrition". You want to see a little of what it's like to get hit by a book and knocked half a football field by it? Read "The Holy Terror". I can't speak for your aftermath, but I still think about Francis Haid and The American Dream and Wayne Allen Sallee's dark Chicago alleyways almost 20 years after I first read this book. I think that's a literary aftermath and a half.

[Wally Cwik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wayne Allen Sallee is the Damon Runyon of Chicago horror. The city becomes a primary character in the story.

[timj26 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and original supernatural horror
Excellent narration from Jeffrey he’s one of the best
Great characters and setting make this well worth your time
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review

[Ch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book in English and in German! Wayne is a brilliant author and creator of characters. The City of Chicago comes across as a central character in this masterwork. Buy this Book!

[Brett · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea. Couldn't get into this book at all.