Prelude to the Massacre

by Stan Miller

Lee Williams is an angry ex-con released in the midst of the Great Recession. His cousin Jeff is a deranged and disfigured Iraq War veteran, militia member, and Neo-Nazi prophet. When these two meet in a funhouse vision of Tea Party Arizona, the results are explosive. Stan Miller's vicious debut novel is All Due Respect's most intense book yet.

332 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 15, 2016

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I apologize in advance for bringing up politics in this review. But recently a number of supporters of U.S. Presidential candidate Donald Trump were referred to as a "basket of deplorables." Many people had an issue with that. The thing is, it's not much of a stretch to imagine the two main characters in this novel voting for him, and they are the very definition of deplorable. Publisher All Due Respect has truly lived up to their mission statement of delivering 'low-life fiction," by showing us some of the lowest of the low here.

Lee Williams is a bitter, damaged, directionless man who has just been released from prison and thrown into America's Great Recession. He is haunted and broken not only by his years as a sex toy for various gangs on the inside, but also by his abuse from his mother, and his fantasies of tying her up and torturing her. But it's not until he moves in with his cousin Jeff, a Neo Nazi Iraq vet with a blown-up face gearing up for a race war, that he's really able to express himself and let loose all of the urges that have been building in him all along.

Lee swore he would never smoke crack again yet kept looking at the floor as though expecting to see some there.

My emotions toward this story ran the whole gamut. There were times where I was totally disgusted, where it felt like sloppy crime porn and the author was just trying to see how much he could shock the reader. There were a few times where I thought I'd made a mistake purchasing this and I was going to put it down. Lee and Jeff are truly pieces of shit, and it's a real challenge to be so entrenched in their point of view. Miller's writing is so uncompromising and direct that it's hard to take at times. But it's also these things that make it difficult to put down, and ultimately makes it a must read for people who might deny this dark side of America. Miller is showing us how it's possible that the bigoted sickness that simmers below the surface of our country can come bubbling to the surface and how certain people can latch onto that and make it fester. As I watch the news everyday, I can't think of a better year for this book to have been released.

There are only the barest of plots here, instead it's more of a character study of a man taking a drug-addled, violent exploration of his own hatred. It hurts to read but it's something that I ultimately couldn't turn away from. It's hard to really describe what this book really is. Many might not be able to handle it but you probably haven't read anything like this. Check out the passage below from a scene where Lee gets crack-high and you'll know what to expect from this crazed, rabid hyena of a novel. I struggled a bit between giving this book 4 or 5 stars. But, even if this turns out not to be my favorite read this year, I can't think of a book that will prove to be more important.

Problems?

What fucking problems?

The only "problems" he had were monetary and these could be fixed the next day.

He'd go back out and sign spin. He'd go out with the Mexicans and do day labor. He'd rob banks! He'd get that money, one way or the other, then he'd get wheels, he'd get that chromed out black Dually. He'd get tools, he'd do renovations. He'd be an independent contractor. He'd have business cards. He'd make some money, put that into a house, he'd fix that house up, then he'd sell that house. Profit. He'd take that money and buy two more houses, fix them up. Sell them. Profit. He'd buy some rental units. Income stream! Profit!! He'd give out money to everyone he knew. To everyone who deserved it. He'd buy Jeff his face back. That's why he was so fucking crazy, of course! He'd buy Gary his house and his wife and his daughter and his other kids and his life back. Then he'd kill all of them. He'd kill at random. He'd fuck all the pussies of all the women in the world. He'd tie Gary up and fuck his dead wife in front of him! He'd decorate the inside of a church with the bones of thousands! He would never be stopped because no one could stop him. His powers would spread outwards forever and ever and ever until they encircled the entire universe, then Lee would begin squeezing...

But for now Lee needed music and more crack.

[Derrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prelude to theMassacre by Stan Miller is one dark, disturbing trip. The itinerary of depravity featured within this novel are rape, murder, robbery, drug use, white supremacy, prison bitches, kidnapping, assault, and genocide. With a list that deep, there was little chance I wasn’t going to love this book. Indeed, it was one of the best books I have read this year.

The long and short of this book is it follows Lee, who is mistakenly released from prison years early, as he tries to stay off the police’s radar while still satisfying his darkest yearnings. He hooks up with his cousin Jeff, a disfigured war veteran with dreams of racial and religious purity for the world, and they murder, rape, and pillage their community. Both characters have psychotic impulses and they feed off of each other. Their taste for crime intensifies as they progress to murder and finally they begin to plan a genocide of the Jewish people who attend a local church.

There is so much more going on in this novel than what meets the eye. It has a timely feel to it due to the fact it seems to feed off the resentment some groups have towards other; a sentiment we have been witnessing in the US news as of late. I am not sure if it’s a horror novel, a crime novel, or a warning about what many be simmering just below in the society we all spend our time within on a daily basis, but I do know that it's a prophesy on the incredible writing career that Miller has in front of him. He has penned a novel that is timely and begs to be read and dissected.

This is the type of novel that you find you lose hours to while you read it and you rue the moment you have completed it. This book is everything I look for in dark noir and Stan Miller has my full attention. All Due Respect has published a book that fits beautifully into their catalog of dark fiction. Very rarely do you find a debut book that is a must-read, but you have one here. Grab a copy and enjoy.

[Todd Morr · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is raw gritty dark fiction at its best. An authentic feeling look at life just below the surface of society seen through the eyes of an angry desperate young man. No heros in this one, just real people doing real messed up things, written in a way that is impossible to put down. This one is wild ride through some ugly dark parts of America, but it is well worth the trip.

[ABC Group · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miller's debut novel sets itself apart from the rest of ADR releases. This novel is not for the faint of heart. The brutality and complexity of subject matters are well executed in Prelude to the Massacre. There are a variety terrifying realities addressed in this book and it would have been well suited to be an early New Pulp Press release. I would have expected this to be something Jon Bassoff would publish if this came out 3-4 years ago. Overall, if you dig ADR books you're gonna like this as well.

[David Bridges · Rating 4 out of 5]

All Due Respect says this book is its most vicious book yet. As someone who has read his fair share of ADR books, I am inclined to agree. Stan Miller, who I have never read before, holds nothing back in this novel. While it is definitely a noir/crime novel and fits well with ADR's catalog I feel like Prelude To The Massacre could make some rounds among horror circles as well. The horror in this book is not supernatural but focuses more on the horrors of real life. Prison, rape, prison rape, war, racism, guns, serial killers, drugs, capitalism etc...

The story opens up as Lee is released from prison after doing seven years for an arson charge. We get background on Lee which is a total shit show of pre and prison rape resulting in the man being a psychopath. Lee is still young upon his release and is trying to figure out what to do with his life. He tries staying with his abusive and disabled mother but it is not working out. Lee catches a break when his Aunt calls him and invites him to Pheonix to stay with his cousin who has just returned from multiple tours with the Marines. Jeff is Lee's cousin and is facially disfigured after taking a blast to the face. He is totally insane and an unrepentant nazi. He is such an extreme nazi that he believes in a white supremacist God named Wotan. He even believes Christians are in the bag with Jewish people. The two of them go on a drug and alcohol fueled raping and killing spree. Their rampage is incredibly violent and nihilistic and gives this book the extra bite others in this category don't have the guts to do. Despite how dark that sounds the book still manages to squeeze out some humor and satire I would put on par with Quentin Tarintino. There are a couple of scenes that were really funny. One in which our absurdly violent racist duo meet Steven Segal who is filming a reality cop show in Pheonix. My only complaint is with the ending. The whole story is just a rip-roaring pill popping whirlwind of violence and debauchery the end kind of fizzled out for me a little. I don't know what I was expecting, but not what happened, and maybe Miller intentionally did it that way.

I definitely suggest you check this book out if you are a fan of All Due Respect's other releases. I also would recommend this to fans of writers like Jon Bassoff who are great at straddling that noir/horror line with stories about characters that have no redeeming qualities at all. Nothing about this book will make you feel good about society but due to Miller's writing the story pulls you in and it's over before you know it. I will definitely check out the authors next book.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably should have come with a few warning labels attached. Not for the faint hearted. Not for anyone looking for moonbeams and rainbows and puppy dogs.

This novel captures despair and ennui like few other novels ever have. From prison horror stories to childhood nightmares, it is a journey through cracks in the American Dream. It is a journey through the eyes of an ex-con with nowhere really to go except down sun-baked alleys with hopeless drug addicts and homeless wrecks.

It is a journey down desperate places filled with call center clerks, people whose
disability checks are like Nirvana they've been dreaming of for more years than they can count, and neo-Nazi ex-Marines with half their faces missing. Anger, frustration, madness, and a desperate need to drown the pain fill this novel.

[bill johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Read

It bothers not a little that, I know people like those Stan Miller writes about. He has their mind set down pat. I am looking forward to reading more of his books