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All Things Lead to the End #4
Everything is Horrible Now: A Novel of Cosmic Horror
When a local boy witnesses Father George’s brutal death, Sheriff Harold “Hap” Carringer (Bay’s End) is tasked with crowd control. All the while, the citizens of Bay’s End are at war with their own inner demons. They put their trust in a man who wasn’t entirely trustworthy, and will suffer collectively, as well as individually.
After his parents are murdered, newly-orphaned Pete Blackwood returns to the town of his birth to become a ward of his grandmother Beulah. But, like Father George, Pete’s grandmother has skeletons in her closet. Big, nasty skeletons, hell-bent on revenge.
Over the course of three blood-soaked days, Bay’s End will come to terms with its terrifying history and suffer the consequences of its actions. Something will reawaken, something that will not sleep until its hunger for revenge is satiated, if it can be satiated at all, because…
EVERYTHING IS HORRIBLE NOW
After his parents are murdered, newly-orphaned Pete Blackwood returns to the town of his birth to become a ward of his grandmother Beulah. But, like Father George, Pete’s grandmother has skeletons in her closet. Big, nasty skeletons, hell-bent on revenge.
Over the course of three blood-soaked days, Bay’s End will come to terms with its terrifying history and suffer the consequences of its actions. Something will reawaken, something that will not sleep until its hunger for revenge is satiated, if it can be satiated at all, because…
EVERYTHING IS HORRIBLE NOW
- GenresHorror
380 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 5, 2019
About the author
Edward Lorn
63 books2,916 followersEdward Lorn (E. to most) is a reader, writer, and content creator. He's been writing for fun since the age of six, and writing professionally since 2011. He can be found haunting the halls of Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
E. lives in Alabama with his wife and two children. He is currently working on his next novel.
E. lives in Alabama with his wife and two children. He is currently working on his next novel.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
October 5, 2018
Decades ago, the people of Bay's End burned the town founder and his wife after she was accused of being a witch. When the pastor kills his family and them himself with a shotgun, things appear to be coming full circle...
I first encountered Edward Lorn on Booklikes. He's one of those insidious types that never pushes his books on you. Anyway, a little while ago, he asked if I wanted to take a look at Everything is Horrible Now. Of course I did! I read the first 20% during a rare lunch break where people left me alone and I was starving for more!
"Everything is Horrible Now" is repeated throughout the story, first by Pastor George before he blows his brains all over his front porch in front of Wesley Haversham, then by others. It's partly small town horror, shades of early Stephen King when no one was safe, part cosmic horror. Hell, most forms of horror appear between the two covers at some point.
There are several viewpoint characters: Sheriff Hap Carrigan, the lawnman that resembles Lou Ford of The Killer Inside Me more than the heroes of most detective stories, Wesley Haversham, the farm boy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, Kirby Johnson, the homosexual boy sent to Humble Hill to be "cured," and Pete Blackwood, an imaginative boy living with his hyper-religious grandmother Beulah. Beulah's also a viewpoint character, as is Gertie Fulgore, a woman from a family stricken with a blood curse that used to worship The Bastard.
I feel like I was missing a few things by not reading every Edward Lorn book in existence but I caught references to all of his books I've read up to this point. Easy E does a great job of juxtaposing cosmic horror with the everyday small town horrors of racism, fear, and ignorance. There is some extremely creep shit going on here, like the Coat Men, the people working at Humble Hill, and whatever the fuck the kid in the eyepatch is doing. The book feels like a Laird Barron book at times, what with the cosmic horror and talk about the nature of time and such.
There's a lot of small press horror out there and a lot of it is mediocre to average. What sets Ed apart from a lot of horror is his characters. They all rang true for me, from Hap's inner demons to the friendship between Pete and Wesley. He nicely captures what it was like to be an eleven year old boy. It also helps that Ed knows how to put the words in the right order. "Like an asshole full of concertina wire" was one of the early lines that jumped out at me and there were a hundred others.
Everything is Horrible Now turned out to be quite a wild ride with a lot of crazy bumps in the road. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
I first encountered Edward Lorn on Booklikes. He's one of those insidious types that never pushes his books on you. Anyway, a little while ago, he asked if I wanted to take a look at Everything is Horrible Now. Of course I did! I read the first 20% during a rare lunch break where people left me alone and I was starving for more!
"Everything is Horrible Now" is repeated throughout the story, first by Pastor George before he blows his brains all over his front porch in front of Wesley Haversham, then by others. It's partly small town horror, shades of early Stephen King when no one was safe, part cosmic horror. Hell, most forms of horror appear between the two covers at some point.
There are several viewpoint characters: Sheriff Hap Carrigan, the lawnman that resembles Lou Ford of The Killer Inside Me more than the heroes of most detective stories, Wesley Haversham, the farm boy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, Kirby Johnson, the homosexual boy sent to Humble Hill to be "cured," and Pete Blackwood, an imaginative boy living with his hyper-religious grandmother Beulah. Beulah's also a viewpoint character, as is Gertie Fulgore, a woman from a family stricken with a blood curse that used to worship The Bastard.
I feel like I was missing a few things by not reading every Edward Lorn book in existence but I caught references to all of his books I've read up to this point. Easy E does a great job of juxtaposing cosmic horror with the everyday small town horrors of racism, fear, and ignorance. There is some extremely creep shit going on here, like the Coat Men, the people working at Humble Hill, and whatever the fuck the kid in the eyepatch is doing. The book feels like a Laird Barron book at times, what with the cosmic horror and talk about the nature of time and such.
There's a lot of small press horror out there and a lot of it is mediocre to average. What sets Ed apart from a lot of horror is his characters. They all rang true for me, from Hap's inner demons to the friendship between Pete and Wesley. He nicely captures what it was like to be an eleven year old boy. It also helps that Ed knows how to put the words in the right order. "Like an asshole full of concertina wire" was one of the early lines that jumped out at me and there were a hundred others.
Everything is Horrible Now turned out to be quite a wild ride with a lot of crazy bumps in the road. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Want to Read
November 30, 2018This is Black Voltage Supercell series copy 14 of 44 signed limited numbered edition, signed by Edward Lorn.
November 30, 2018
After reading and naming Edward Lorn's The Sound of Broken Ribs my number one read of 2017, it was high time I got around to reading more of the dude's stuff, his Bay's End books in particular. Over the course of 2018, I've been able to catch up on this series, with the exclusion of Fog Warning, and one thing that's immediately noticeable is just how much Lorn has grown as an author since Bay's End.
Everything is Horrible Now, the penultimate chapter in this All Things Lead to the End cycle, is his most adeptly written, and most complicated, work to date. If, as one character explains here, time is like a pretzel, then traveling through Bay's End is like peeling an onion. There are layers and layers of complexity here, and the further you dig beneath the skin the more things start to sting (and yes, over the course of this series as a whole, sometimes there are plenty of tears).
Right from the opening paragraph, you can sense that Everything is Horrible Now is something of a departure from previous Bay's End books. Through a highly omniscient third-person perspective, we get a rough inkling that there's a grandiosity to Lorn's scope here. Even while the previous two books have dabbled in varying degrees with cosmic horror, it's immediately clear that this particular element will have a significantly larger role to play in these here narrative underpinnings. And, hot damn, does it ever.
It starts off simply enough, if such a thing can be said of the Bay's End bishop, Father George, murdering his family before taking his own life. What follows, though, is a densely plotted narrative that twists its way through a large contingent of well-developed characters (some familiar), meditations on the nature of god and religion and the irreligious and the evil that religious fundamentalism can foment, and the structure of time itself. It's a doozy, simply put.
There's a lot going on here, and Lorn navigates the highways and byways of Bay's End with aplomb. I good and truly dug the exploration of one homosexual character's relationships and forced conversion therapy treatments, which reminded me a bit of the old British TV series The Prisoner. As an added bonus, for all all the goofballs out there still complaining that a gay character's sexuality must somehow be integral to the plot (despite this never being an issue with straight character's sexuality), well, Lorn sees you, has heard your silly complaints, and will now proceed to make your head explode.
Lorn gets a metric ton of stuff right in Everything is Horrible Now, and the book maintains a steady pace, giving up a narrative that is impossible to shake loose and escape from. Not everything is perfect, though, and a few elements feel slightly half-baked, such as a rape survivor and a ghost baby that never quite mesh, particularly in light of how the overarching narrative resolves itself. The book's ending itself is both an intellectual curiosity and a point of contention, one that I'm not quite able to fully resolve at this time.
As with the finale to The Bedding of Boys, Lorn has constructed one hell of a lead-in to the 2019 series finale in No Home for Boys that has me itching to see how this all wraps up. It puts some particular pieces on the game board that will no doubt have an incredible impact on what comes next, and what has come before, and I'm damn excited to see how it shakes out. On the other hand, without spoiling the particulars, it's also the type of ending I don't typically enjoy on the surface. It's not emotionally satisfying, but it is intellectually and philosophically intriguing and has me chomping at the bit to see what comes next.
I feel like I might not be able to adequately square away the finale to Everything is Horrible Now until we've reached the end of Bay's End proper. It's also a bit of a monkey wrench of an ending, in that I have absolutely no friggin' idea where Lorn's taking all this. Literally anything can happen at this point, which is certainly exciting, and I'm damn well gonna be here for it.
[Note: Although I purchased the signed/limited edition Thunderstorm hardcover of Everything is Horrible Now, this review is based on an electronic ARC of the forthcoming retail edition provided by the author.]
Everything is Horrible Now, the penultimate chapter in this All Things Lead to the End cycle, is his most adeptly written, and most complicated, work to date. If, as one character explains here, time is like a pretzel, then traveling through Bay's End is like peeling an onion. There are layers and layers of complexity here, and the further you dig beneath the skin the more things start to sting (and yes, over the course of this series as a whole, sometimes there are plenty of tears).
Right from the opening paragraph, you can sense that Everything is Horrible Now is something of a departure from previous Bay's End books. Through a highly omniscient third-person perspective, we get a rough inkling that there's a grandiosity to Lorn's scope here. Even while the previous two books have dabbled in varying degrees with cosmic horror, it's immediately clear that this particular element will have a significantly larger role to play in these here narrative underpinnings. And, hot damn, does it ever.
It starts off simply enough, if such a thing can be said of the Bay's End bishop, Father George, murdering his family before taking his own life. What follows, though, is a densely plotted narrative that twists its way through a large contingent of well-developed characters (some familiar), meditations on the nature of god and religion and the irreligious and the evil that religious fundamentalism can foment, and the structure of time itself. It's a doozy, simply put.
There's a lot going on here, and Lorn navigates the highways and byways of Bay's End with aplomb. I good and truly dug the exploration of one homosexual character's relationships and forced conversion therapy treatments, which reminded me a bit of the old British TV series The Prisoner. As an added bonus, for all all the goofballs out there still complaining that a gay character's sexuality must somehow be integral to the plot (despite this never being an issue with straight character's sexuality), well, Lorn sees you, has heard your silly complaints, and will now proceed to make your head explode.
Lorn gets a metric ton of stuff right in Everything is Horrible Now, and the book maintains a steady pace, giving up a narrative that is impossible to shake loose and escape from. Not everything is perfect, though, and a few elements feel slightly half-baked, such as a rape survivor and a ghost baby that never quite mesh, particularly in light of how the overarching narrative resolves itself. The book's ending itself is both an intellectual curiosity and a point of contention, one that I'm not quite able to fully resolve at this time.
As with the finale to The Bedding of Boys, Lorn has constructed one hell of a lead-in to the 2019 series finale in No Home for Boys that has me itching to see how this all wraps up. It puts some particular pieces on the game board that will no doubt have an incredible impact on what comes next, and what has come before, and I'm damn excited to see how it shakes out. On the other hand, without spoiling the particulars, it's also the type of ending I don't typically enjoy on the surface. It's not emotionally satisfying, but it is intellectually and philosophically intriguing and has me chomping at the bit to see what comes next.
I feel like I might not be able to adequately square away the finale to Everything is Horrible Now until we've reached the end of Bay's End proper. It's also a bit of a monkey wrench of an ending, in that I have absolutely no friggin' idea where Lorn's taking all this. Literally anything can happen at this point, which is certainly exciting, and I'm damn well gonna be here for it.
[Note: Although I purchased the signed/limited edition Thunderstorm hardcover of Everything is Horrible Now, this review is based on an electronic ARC of the forthcoming retail edition provided by the author.]
October 22, 2018
“Everything is Horrible Now” is number four of five in E.’s All Things Lead to The End series revolving in or around the small town of Bay's End.
EiHN is a hard one for me to rate and review. I loved many things about it, but it got a bit muddy in the later chapters. As usual E. knows how to start off a story. Zero f’n around. Gets right to it. Brutal and sad and tragic and violent. Did I already say brutal? Toward the end, however, there was too much going on and it became confusing and disjointed for me. I (sort of) knew what was going on because I read the 3 previous tales in the series and it also helped that I have read about everything E. has written, but I still managed to get a little lost.
The ending did finally come around and there were some really nice Easter eggs for some of E.’s previous works scattered throughout. Overall, I liked it and really think that Edward has something special going on with All Things Lead to the End.
A blood turkey, Frank the Scaresparrow, empty springtime bear butthole, Wittle Wonnie wall Pollock, baby-doll cleaver fun and Father George’s blackberry preserves.
EiHN is a hard one for me to rate and review. I loved many things about it, but it got a bit muddy in the later chapters. As usual E. knows how to start off a story. Zero f’n around. Gets right to it. Brutal and sad and tragic and violent. Did I already say brutal? Toward the end, however, there was too much going on and it became confusing and disjointed for me. I (sort of) knew what was going on because I read the 3 previous tales in the series and it also helped that I have read about everything E. has written, but I still managed to get a little lost.
The ending did finally come around and there were some really nice Easter eggs for some of E.’s previous works scattered throughout. Overall, I liked it and really think that Edward has something special going on with All Things Lead to the End.
A blood turkey, Frank the Scaresparrow, empty springtime bear butthole, Wittle Wonnie wall Pollock, baby-doll cleaver fun and Father George’s blackberry preserves.
October 13, 2018
Hello. I received an ARC of this book for free, in exchange for my honest review.
First, the Con:
There's one line that gets repeated a fair bit that made me grimace each time, and not in a dirty fun McDonaldland way. I've been asked not to quote anything, so I won't, okay, I'll just say that I felt its use was strange and unfortunate, at least, and I hope Mr. Lorn isn't aware of its significance out in the world. If he is… damn, baby, but you do you. I don't make the rules.
And now!
Let me begin properly by saying I'm pretty recently Lorn-Again, okay, as of this writing I've read just a few of his books, and only one other in the Bay's End series, so I'm not approaching this from a position of great authority.
I did recognize elements from the other one I've read (The Bedding of Boys) but I'm sure to have missed a great deal more. This is not to say that you can't enjoy this book read on its lonesome, just, I'm sure you'd get a richer experience if you'd read the others as well.
I felt that this was an experimental sort of book. The story drifts from place to place, time to time, dimension to dimension, dreamlike but for its viciousness. It's not difficult to follow, but it's not something most people could read casually, or put aside and come back to easily, after a period of time. (I don't think most people would want to, anyway--it's beautifully written, and compellingly strange.)
It demands your attention even as it frigs you around, which meshes well with the characters and the various plots, since so many of them are ugly, or tragic, or cruel, but nearly everything that seems familiar--the puffed-up local sheriff, the Bible-thumping old lady, the Crazy One, the fat nerd, the creepy hillbillies, the mysterious pastor--all of it's approached in fresh, original, unexpected ways.
Even having read a few of the author's books, I was unprepared for a lot of what happens in this one. Certainly, I was unprepared for some of it to be so moving. It's a rare horror author who can scare and disgust as capably as showcase his characters with real compassion, real understanding. Too often, they're one-dimensional, interchangeable, or else a big ol' bag of tropes, included to serve a purpose rather than to live on the page.
It feels like a very personal book, as well. I don't know Mr. Lorn's faith (or lack of same) and it's none of my beeswax regardless, but much of the story is focused on Christianity and atheism--not quite Christianity versus atheism, but yeah--but then also Heaven and Hell, and the other gods or pretender gods invented by the author, other realms, other creatures.
For me, that side of it came off like an examination and a challenge. One God or no gods… but then how do you explain this, smuggo? How do you explain that? Hardly anybody manages it with any real dexterity, except maybe The Fat Nerd, who's an atheist, and a child, but also the smartest (human) character in the book.
Now you're maybe like "Nooooo, not The Unnaturally Precocious Kid!" but that can really work if it's done well, okay, like remember in 'salem's Lot, that kid who was smarter than everyone else, more knowledgeable, more resourceful, basically invincible? Ridiculous, sure, but he was the only thing I liked about that book.
I like quite a bit more about this one. One thing I do know about Mr. Lorn is that he's a Stephen King superfan, but I'll go ahead and say it--he's better than Stephen King. Maybe not every single time--like I say, I'm new to the Lorniverse--but unquestionably, here. He isn't patronizing, he isn't hollow, he doesn't fall back on gimmicks, he's better.
(I haven't read every Stephen King book either, but I've read quite a few.)
Anyway!
This book has it all, and a bugfuck mental interdimensional nuthouse where gay conversion therapy is somehow even more diabolical than it is in real life. You thought it couldn't be done, but Mr. Lorn was the man for the job.
I'll read the others in the series, for sure. Way out of order, sure, but I trust the author enough to feel I can get that sorted.
First, the Con:
There's one line that gets repeated a fair bit that made me grimace each time, and not in a dirty fun McDonaldland way. I've been asked not to quote anything, so I won't, okay, I'll just say that I felt its use was strange and unfortunate, at least, and I hope Mr. Lorn isn't aware of its significance out in the world. If he is… damn, baby, but you do you. I don't make the rules.
And now!
Let me begin properly by saying I'm pretty recently Lorn-Again, okay, as of this writing I've read just a few of his books, and only one other in the Bay's End series, so I'm not approaching this from a position of great authority.
I did recognize elements from the other one I've read (The Bedding of Boys) but I'm sure to have missed a great deal more. This is not to say that you can't enjoy this book read on its lonesome, just, I'm sure you'd get a richer experience if you'd read the others as well.
I felt that this was an experimental sort of book. The story drifts from place to place, time to time, dimension to dimension, dreamlike but for its viciousness. It's not difficult to follow, but it's not something most people could read casually, or put aside and come back to easily, after a period of time. (I don't think most people would want to, anyway--it's beautifully written, and compellingly strange.)
It demands your attention even as it frigs you around, which meshes well with the characters and the various plots, since so many of them are ugly, or tragic, or cruel, but nearly everything that seems familiar--the puffed-up local sheriff, the Bible-thumping old lady, the Crazy One, the fat nerd, the creepy hillbillies, the mysterious pastor--all of it's approached in fresh, original, unexpected ways.
Even having read a few of the author's books, I was unprepared for a lot of what happens in this one. Certainly, I was unprepared for some of it to be so moving. It's a rare horror author who can scare and disgust as capably as showcase his characters with real compassion, real understanding. Too often, they're one-dimensional, interchangeable, or else a big ol' bag of tropes, included to serve a purpose rather than to live on the page.
It feels like a very personal book, as well. I don't know Mr. Lorn's faith (or lack of same) and it's none of my beeswax regardless, but much of the story is focused on Christianity and atheism--not quite Christianity versus atheism, but yeah--but then also Heaven and Hell, and the other gods or pretender gods invented by the author, other realms, other creatures.
For me, that side of it came off like an examination and a challenge. One God or no gods… but then how do you explain this, smuggo? How do you explain that? Hardly anybody manages it with any real dexterity, except maybe The Fat Nerd, who's an atheist, and a child, but also the smartest (human) character in the book.
Now you're maybe like "Nooooo, not The Unnaturally Precocious Kid!" but that can really work if it's done well, okay, like remember in 'salem's Lot, that kid who was smarter than everyone else, more knowledgeable, more resourceful, basically invincible? Ridiculous, sure, but he was the only thing I liked about that book.
I like quite a bit more about this one. One thing I do know about Mr. Lorn is that he's a Stephen King superfan, but I'll go ahead and say it--he's better than Stephen King. Maybe not every single time--like I say, I'm new to the Lorniverse--but unquestionably, here. He isn't patronizing, he isn't hollow, he doesn't fall back on gimmicks, he's better.
(I haven't read every Stephen King book either, but I've read quite a few.)
Anyway!
This book has it all, and a bugfuck mental interdimensional nuthouse where gay conversion therapy is somehow even more diabolical than it is in real life. You thought it couldn't be done, but Mr. Lorn was the man for the job.
I'll read the others in the series, for sure. Way out of order, sure, but I trust the author enough to feel I can get that sorted.
June 2, 2019
The Goodreads iPhone app gobbled up the first version of my review like a coat man the head of an unsuspecting mom. Perhaps fitting, as this is the second version of the text I’m reading, being fortunate enough to read an earlier draft. Mind you, not much changed between the two, as Edward Lorn just like writes this damned well. Having finished this read just convinced me that the re-read of the whole series is due. It will have to wait though, as there’s no way I’d haul my nice collection in a suitcase or onto a sandy beach, which is where I’m heading right now.
I thought about it, and naming my favourite part of this story means naming all of them. From the small-town prejudiced violence and abuse to the oddly claustrophobic, vividly bewildering and cold (imagine “Lost” if “Lost” was scary) surroundings of the research/treatment centre “Humble Hill” and the full otherworldly horror of the Bastard, Joy and the significance of the Waverly Chasm.
All through the read, there are very good references and hints to the other books, characters and happenings - some of them explaining loads and others just balancing at the edge of comprehension, one moment you think your about to see something in perfect clarity, just for the image to dissolve and leave you trying to catch smoke with your hands. I love all of them and the feelings they invoke equally.
The characters are really good and alive before my inner eye, as I’ve come to expect. I would like to read a bit more about the manager at the Carringer Lumber company, I think that character had potential.
So what’s with the missing star then you ask? Well, in the case of Lorn’s writing it’s all down in the nitty gritty, because the full picture is so good and the read so flowing. The character Pete is overall great, but he grinds my nerves a bit with his precociousness and a couple of religion vs. science discussions slows down the pace a bit. It may be cultural, being from Sweden these discussions does not sound all the way authentic to me - to someone else, they may very well do.
In spite of what I said earlier on connections and references, I’m quite sure this is a great read also stand alone, though I would certainly recommend going on the full “Bay’s End” tour, as I will be doing again. Be sure to wave should we pass each other on the time pretzel or be part of the same reboot!
I thought about it, and naming my favourite part of this story means naming all of them. From the small-town prejudiced violence and abuse to the oddly claustrophobic, vividly bewildering and cold (imagine “Lost” if “Lost” was scary) surroundings of the research/treatment centre “Humble Hill” and the full otherworldly horror of the Bastard, Joy and the significance of the Waverly Chasm.
All through the read, there are very good references and hints to the other books, characters and happenings - some of them explaining loads and others just balancing at the edge of comprehension, one moment you think your about to see something in perfect clarity, just for the image to dissolve and leave you trying to catch smoke with your hands. I love all of them and the feelings they invoke equally.
The characters are really good and alive before my inner eye, as I’ve come to expect. I would like to read a bit more about the manager at the Carringer Lumber company, I think that character had potential.
So what’s with the missing star then you ask? Well, in the case of Lorn’s writing it’s all down in the nitty gritty, because the full picture is so good and the read so flowing. The character Pete is overall great, but he grinds my nerves a bit with his precociousness and a couple of religion vs. science discussions slows down the pace a bit. It may be cultural, being from Sweden these discussions does not sound all the way authentic to me - to someone else, they may very well do.
In spite of what I said earlier on connections and references, I’m quite sure this is a great read also stand alone, though I would certainly recommend going on the full “Bay’s End” tour, as I will be doing again. Be sure to wave should we pass each other on the time pretzel or be part of the same reboot!
December 19, 2018
Review coming to Cemetary Dance Online soonish. But in short, an expertly written tale of a town where the doo doo has most certainly hit the fan in unsettling, cosmicky fashion.
February 10, 2019
“Everything Is Horrible now”
It most certainly is.
Take everything that E has written before and multiply the craziness by ten because man did he outdo himself here. This is, I believe (if you count cruelty) the fifth book in the bay’s end novels, and the penultimate chapter in what is fast becoming one of my favourite series. Whilst his other stories featured just a few characters and were relatively simple horror stories to follow, this one ripped up that rule book and went all out.
Here, E has created a vast set of characters each given their own time to breathe, and a plot that, without me spoiling here, is batshit crazy. Imagine a cross between a complicated Dr Who episode, and merge that with all of the body horror and creatures from Hellraiser. Throw in a serial killer, a mysterious lab, multiple timelines and then you’ll be scratching the surface of the secrets that this novel has to offer.
I’m not gonna pretend I understood everything. I didn’t, and E has informed me that I won’t do until his final bay’s end novel, No Home For Boys is released later this year. I cannot wait to see how it all comes full circle.
It most certainly is.
Take everything that E has written before and multiply the craziness by ten because man did he outdo himself here. This is, I believe (if you count cruelty) the fifth book in the bay’s end novels, and the penultimate chapter in what is fast becoming one of my favourite series. Whilst his other stories featured just a few characters and were relatively simple horror stories to follow, this one ripped up that rule book and went all out.
Here, E has created a vast set of characters each given their own time to breathe, and a plot that, without me spoiling here, is batshit crazy. Imagine a cross between a complicated Dr Who episode, and merge that with all of the body horror and creatures from Hellraiser. Throw in a serial killer, a mysterious lab, multiple timelines and then you’ll be scratching the surface of the secrets that this novel has to offer.
I’m not gonna pretend I understood everything. I didn’t, and E has informed me that I won’t do until his final bay’s end novel, No Home For Boys is released later this year. I cannot wait to see how it all comes full circle.
March 2, 2019
I actually give this a 4.5. So far for 2019, EVERYTHING IS HORRIBLE NOW, is my favorite read. Edward Lorn did it again.
February 5, 2019
Amazing! Just from front start to finish Bay’s End makes Derry, ME like a great place to visit. Only today did I realize this book was the start of a Edward Lorn universe I’ve been dying to have more stories from. I’m back on track for this linear book experience. Terrifying, moving and 100% gory parts, enough to make you look away and read sideways. It’s the feeling that your grip on reality is not on target and questions religions and faith and family! Most of the characters are not redeemable but Lorn can perfectly enter a 12 year old child’s thought process and make the narrative believable no matter what terror they are facing! Read immediately and everything else you can get your hands on by this author. You won’t be disappointed!
October 18, 2018
This is easily in the top 3 books by Ed Lorn. Lots of reviews coming this weekend...
October 25, 2018
Everything is Horrible Now is a continuation of Ed Lorn’s Bay’s End series. If you read his work (and you should) you’ll recognize the cameo’s of certain characters. That being said, you don’t have to read his entire body of work in order to grasp the concept of this book.
Okay. Everything is Horrible Now. This is a phrase that is muttered, yelled and spoken over and over again and believe you me, it applies. We follow several characters here that struggle to make sense of just what is going on.
Now, I don’t want to give any spoilers here because this book has yet to be released (January 2019).
The pages of this book run thick with religious themes. Not every church goer is good by default and not every non-believer is waiting in the shadows to commit sins against humanity. When you read this book it also makes you consider the big questions: who or what is out there? Do we all just turn into maggot food when we’re put into the ground? What religion has it right? Any of them? None? Bits and pieces from them all? Or is there something else? Something we can’t wrap our little pea brains around?
I enjoyed this book immensely. The characters were so well developed, each having their own distinct voices. The interactions between the characters (Pete and Wesley being my favorite) are so believable, so well written that you feel like you’re there with them.
You know what the best part about this book coming out in January is? Now you all have time to grab Bay’s End and The Bedding of Boys. Read those and then get this one. If you’re a super fast reader, go out and read them all. I assure you, you won’t be disappointed.
Okay. Everything is Horrible Now. This is a phrase that is muttered, yelled and spoken over and over again and believe you me, it applies. We follow several characters here that struggle to make sense of just what is going on.
Now, I don’t want to give any spoilers here because this book has yet to be released (January 2019).
The pages of this book run thick with religious themes. Not every church goer is good by default and not every non-believer is waiting in the shadows to commit sins against humanity. When you read this book it also makes you consider the big questions: who or what is out there? Do we all just turn into maggot food when we’re put into the ground? What religion has it right? Any of them? None? Bits and pieces from them all? Or is there something else? Something we can’t wrap our little pea brains around?
I enjoyed this book immensely. The characters were so well developed, each having their own distinct voices. The interactions between the characters (Pete and Wesley being my favorite) are so believable, so well written that you feel like you’re there with them.
You know what the best part about this book coming out in January is? Now you all have time to grab Bay’s End and The Bedding of Boys. Read those and then get this one. If you’re a super fast reader, go out and read them all. I assure you, you won’t be disappointed.
Want to Read
December 13, 2018Michael Patrick Hicks is one of my most respected reviewers, I've made no secret of this fact. His review of Edward Lorn's upcoming Bay's End novel, Everything Is Horrible Now, is no exception. It's one his best so far, imo. Check it out:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
March 31, 2019
Absolutely giving this five stars.
Been reading this one for a while, but it was one of those books I wanted to take my time with.
I'd heard a few people say it was a bit preachy at times, and I can see why some might feel that way, but for me, I don't really think it was. It felt very natural with the story. It just worked.
Excellent writing.
Been reading this one for a while, but it was one of those books I wanted to take my time with.
I'd heard a few people say it was a bit preachy at times, and I can see why some might feel that way, but for me, I don't really think it was. It felt very natural with the story. It just worked.
Excellent writing.
December 19, 2018
I'll begin by stating the obvious for anyone who has read Lorn. The man is a solid writer. He knows how to turn a mean phrase, and he isn't afraid to take hefty risks when it comes telling a story, from characterization to structure to those moments of slap-you-in-the-face shock.
That said, breaking down what worked and what didn't work for me in EVERYTHING IS HORRIBLE NOW, I find that more ended up sitting in the latter column.
This book offers a pretty heavy criticism of evangelical Christianity (and any form of devout worship, for that matter). Religion is an especially tricky subject to tackle in a story--commentary almost always needs to be approached at an angle, or buffered/balanced by another plot element, rather than approached head on. A light touch can go a long way. Here, it's quite clear from early on the stance that is being taken on the subject, which leaves very little room for the reader to form their own opinion. While none of the material was offensive to me, or even contrary to my own beliefs, it struck me as a bit heavy handed and patronizing at times. Certain aspects of characterization, from country dialect to poor hygiene, reinforced the feeling that certain members of this cast were being looked down upon. Others may not feel the same way, but more than once I found myself with the impression that easy targets were being set up just to be batted down. One silver lining did emerge, however, in the form of two characters establishing a mutual understanding/respect despite their different beliefs. This was a big saving grace for me.
There were also a few times that the writing (while usually strong) removed me from the story. A cup of coffee producing so much steam that it not only made a visible cloud in the air but leaves moisture on the pages of a newspaper when blown struck me as a bit too much. In another instance, a gruesome death causes "gallons upon gallons" of blood to spill from someone in a matter of seconds (something that is impossible, as the average adult body contains less than two gallons of blood). I'd be willing to let this go as an instance of a character making a mistake instead of the author, but the book regularly slips into omniscience, both in general tone and perspective.
What challenged me most of all with this one was latter half, when the cosmic element comes into the foreground. I'm a big fan of horror that dishes out stuff beyond our imaginings, but it works best for me when there's a lot of space left between the lines, so that the imagination has a lot of room to stretch out and play. EVERYTHING IS HORRIBLE NOW suffers, I think, from a tendency to over explain things--while, at the same time, muddling those explanations to the point that it's hard to sort out what matters and what doesn't and make sense of it all.
The book itself even seems to acknowledge its own confounding details and occasional excess. At the conclusion of one chapter (which runs for fifty pages, doling out information in what's essentially a wild, extended sequence that sits somewhere between memory and dream and vision), the fourth wall is broken with the lines: "We've been here far too long, and the spectators are growing bored," and "I think it's finally time we end this chapter, don't you?" Then, a few pages later, we are told, "Sometimes important information is hidden in the banal."
The climax offers some moments of good juicy fun (I LOVED Lorn's reinvention of the scarecrow, and the set up for its big moment was simply brilliant) but it's backed into a corer by the same contradictory mix of exposition and ambiguity. I'm also ambivalent about the ending, which I can't discuss much without spoilers. A few of its revelations and reversals are really neat, but from a structural/storytelling perspective, the conclusion diminished the impact of what came before it. For me, anyway. Mileages will vary here--a lot, I suspect.
This is a bold, guns-blazing kind of book, and I've got a lot of respect for just how many risks that were taken, even if it didn't all come together for me perfectly in the end.
Thank you to Lorn, who sent me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.
That said, breaking down what worked and what didn't work for me in EVERYTHING IS HORRIBLE NOW, I find that more ended up sitting in the latter column.
This book offers a pretty heavy criticism of evangelical Christianity (and any form of devout worship, for that matter). Religion is an especially tricky subject to tackle in a story--commentary almost always needs to be approached at an angle, or buffered/balanced by another plot element, rather than approached head on. A light touch can go a long way. Here, it's quite clear from early on the stance that is being taken on the subject, which leaves very little room for the reader to form their own opinion. While none of the material was offensive to me, or even contrary to my own beliefs, it struck me as a bit heavy handed and patronizing at times. Certain aspects of characterization, from country dialect to poor hygiene, reinforced the feeling that certain members of this cast were being looked down upon. Others may not feel the same way, but more than once I found myself with the impression that easy targets were being set up just to be batted down. One silver lining did emerge, however, in the form of two characters establishing a mutual understanding/respect despite their different beliefs. This was a big saving grace for me.
There were also a few times that the writing (while usually strong) removed me from the story. A cup of coffee producing so much steam that it not only made a visible cloud in the air but leaves moisture on the pages of a newspaper when blown struck me as a bit too much. In another instance, a gruesome death causes "gallons upon gallons" of blood to spill from someone in a matter of seconds (something that is impossible, as the average adult body contains less than two gallons of blood). I'd be willing to let this go as an instance of a character making a mistake instead of the author, but the book regularly slips into omniscience, both in general tone and perspective.
What challenged me most of all with this one was latter half, when the cosmic element comes into the foreground. I'm a big fan of horror that dishes out stuff beyond our imaginings, but it works best for me when there's a lot of space left between the lines, so that the imagination has a lot of room to stretch out and play. EVERYTHING IS HORRIBLE NOW suffers, I think, from a tendency to over explain things--while, at the same time, muddling those explanations to the point that it's hard to sort out what matters and what doesn't and make sense of it all.
The book itself even seems to acknowledge its own confounding details and occasional excess. At the conclusion of one chapter (which runs for fifty pages, doling out information in what's essentially a wild, extended sequence that sits somewhere between memory and dream and vision), the fourth wall is broken with the lines: "We've been here far too long, and the spectators are growing bored," and "I think it's finally time we end this chapter, don't you?" Then, a few pages later, we are told, "Sometimes important information is hidden in the banal."
The climax offers some moments of good juicy fun (I LOVED Lorn's reinvention of the scarecrow, and the set up for its big moment was simply brilliant) but it's backed into a corer by the same contradictory mix of exposition and ambiguity. I'm also ambivalent about the ending, which I can't discuss much without spoilers. A few of its revelations and reversals are really neat, but from a structural/storytelling perspective, the conclusion diminished the impact of what came before it. For me, anyway. Mileages will vary here--a lot, I suspect.
This is a bold, guns-blazing kind of book, and I've got a lot of respect for just how many risks that were taken, even if it didn't all come together for me perfectly in the end.
Thank you to Lorn, who sent me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.
January 30, 2019
Everything is Horrible Now is the latest in the Bays End series from Edward Lorn. It’s his best and also it’s his ugliest. In the best way possible but it’s ugly and dark. There are themes and topics touched on that freaked me out and also depressed me. I won’t go into specifics but trust me that it’s handled well and not sugar coated at all. If you’re familiar with Loren’s work you’ll know that all of his books are connected and if you read his others you’ll see nods here and there. I love that, but you don’t need to read the previous books to enjoy this one. What I love most about Lorn’s writing is his ability to write a sentence that starts out seemingly normal and then it can turn to the ultra violent and you’re left there like “what the fuck?” It makes reading him exciting and scary at the same time. Edward Lorn is one of those authors that truly scares me. He is in good company with Kealan Patrick Burke and Jack Ketchum. Read this book and all of the others that you can find and you’ll see for yourself.
February 24, 2019
Torn
"Sometimes sad people take permanent steps to cure a temporary mood."
First off let me say that in all the books I've read I've only quoted one other book. I am not the type of reader who makes notes or highlights things and books. But right off the top there was two things said in this book that really got me in the feels.
I was immediately drawn into the story. I was so invested and then somewhere in the middle it just fell flat. I struggle to finish this book. It was just so much unnecessary information and repetitive information. There is so much religion talk in this book.
It was so off-putting how much of it there was. I felt lost and overwhelmed by all the information I was getting the back-and-forth bickering between the characters was too much. I really really wanted to love this because the first half of the book is simply amazing. Maybe it's meaning was just lost on me.
"Sometimes sad people take permanent steps to cure a temporary mood."
First off let me say that in all the books I've read I've only quoted one other book. I am not the type of reader who makes notes or highlights things and books. But right off the top there was two things said in this book that really got me in the feels.
I was immediately drawn into the story. I was so invested and then somewhere in the middle it just fell flat. I struggle to finish this book. It was just so much unnecessary information and repetitive information. There is so much religion talk in this book.
It was so off-putting how much of it there was. I felt lost and overwhelmed by all the information I was getting the back-and-forth bickering between the characters was too much. I really really wanted to love this because the first half of the book is simply amazing. Maybe it's meaning was just lost on me.
March 13, 2019
Usually as I read a book I have some kind of idea where it is going. I may not always be right, but I think I know where it is headed. This book was intriguing because I had no idea.
First - there were a few parts (discussions) that I felt were a bit repetitive and went on longer than needed. But honestly, other than trimming that down, I can't think of anything to complain about.
This story jumped back and forth in time but was easy to follow. Lorn's characters are written well. Too many books have conversations that are forced and unnatural. I was really happy to see the simplicity and ease in Lorn's character conversations that made them realistic. The originality of the novel was refreshing. I was still wondering up to the conclusion just where it was taking me. And let me add that the ending of this book was perfect. While I enjoyed the novel, I had some doubts throughout whether I was going to rate it as 3 or 4 stars. The ending settled that. I absolutely loved the concept behind it and definitely recommend reading it.
First - there were a few parts (discussions) that I felt were a bit repetitive and went on longer than needed. But honestly, other than trimming that down, I can't think of anything to complain about.
This story jumped back and forth in time but was easy to follow. Lorn's characters are written well. Too many books have conversations that are forced and unnatural. I was really happy to see the simplicity and ease in Lorn's character conversations that made them realistic. The originality of the novel was refreshing. I was still wondering up to the conclusion just where it was taking me. And let me add that the ending of this book was perfect. While I enjoyed the novel, I had some doubts throughout whether I was going to rate it as 3 or 4 stars. The ending settled that. I absolutely loved the concept behind it and definitely recommend reading it.
April 5, 2019
Ah a return to Bay's End, a sleepy little city that just feeds off the evil already dwelling within its inhabitants. This book gave me goosebumps so many times, it's shooting straight up for contender of best read for 2019. I could not put this one down, and the one time I had to I couldn't stop thinking about it.
As is typical with Lorn's books, this one starts quick, brutal and head-spinning. A scene that not only the book will flash back to from time to time, but so will your mind just trying to figure out why...And the punches just keep coming with each new introduction to the key characters in this round. No one is safe in Bay's End.
I don't like to give details away in a review, but the level of human evil alone in this book is simply mind blowing, and then add in demonic gods, cosmic spaces, and all around hell on earth it becomes downright terrifying at points. Also, the overlap of old and new town stories, and even future ones worked really well for me. The constant criss-cross of characters, and jumping through each point of view could be dizzying at times, but in a really delightful way. No character is ever left hanging, each is fully developed, each breathes its own life into the book and becomes an intricate part of the plot line(s). Everything is truly Horrible for everyone in Bay's End...until shortly before the end. The end of this book will leave you speechless and craving the last book (hurry up E)!
There are a few confusing parts, more so if you haven't read the series. But after reading the final book, I expect those will be cleared up as well. I couldn't give this book any less than 5 stars, it buried itself too far in and held on way past being put back on the shelf. Too few books hold that type of power for me.
One person found this helpful
As is typical with Lorn's books, this one starts quick, brutal and head-spinning. A scene that not only the book will flash back to from time to time, but so will your mind just trying to figure out why...And the punches just keep coming with each new introduction to the key characters in this round. No one is safe in Bay's End.
I don't like to give details away in a review, but the level of human evil alone in this book is simply mind blowing, and then add in demonic gods, cosmic spaces, and all around hell on earth it becomes downright terrifying at points. Also, the overlap of old and new town stories, and even future ones worked really well for me. The constant criss-cross of characters, and jumping through each point of view could be dizzying at times, but in a really delightful way. No character is ever left hanging, each is fully developed, each breathes its own life into the book and becomes an intricate part of the plot line(s). Everything is truly Horrible for everyone in Bay's End...until shortly before the end. The end of this book will leave you speechless and craving the last book (hurry up E)!
There are a few confusing parts, more so if you haven't read the series. But after reading the final book, I expect those will be cleared up as well. I couldn't give this book any less than 5 stars, it buried itself too far in and held on way past being put back on the shelf. Too few books hold that type of power for me.
One person found this helpful
January 22, 2020
I love Edward Lorn. The guy is hilarious. His YT channel is worth watching. I really enjoyed his earlier novels of bis 'Bay's End'-pentalogy, which are 'Bay's End', 'The Sound Of Broken Ribs' and 'The Bedding Of Boys', and find 'Ribs' to be especially unique. This fourth installment of the series - 'Everything Is Horrible Now' - unfortunately is a very mixed bag for me.
The first two thirds of the novel are, and I don't exaggerate, masterfully executed. Lorn gives every character their own individual tone, every plot and subplot its own feeling and sound. The stories he tells are interwoven in a way that almost every aspect (the ghost baby aside, maybe) at some point reveals its meaning for the overarching plot. And as always with Lorn, it's mostly fast-paced.
What touched me in particular and still resonates within me is the story of Kirby. I even recorded a part of his chapter (the ninth, it is) because I had to share it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIrMY... (beware of my German accent, I tried my best with the "th" ;-) ).
Unfortunately, alas, the third part of the novel, including the finale, falls flat for me. Had I speeded through the first two parts in just a few days, it took me more than a week to finish the third. The reason being - in my opinion, so this is highly subjective - that the whole cosmic horror part drags along for far too long.
I am not a friend of dream sequences, visions, magical realism and such, so it was very tiresome for me to read so much about the Roaming and the Bastard and all those otherworldly realms and constructs and so on. For me, it would have done, if Lorn had cut those parts in half, because I really don't think it was necessary to go into that much - sometimes even a bit repetetive - detail.
But that's just me. Lorn knows how to write a book. If you want it lean and mean, go to his Laughlin series, starting with 'Hope For The Wicked'. If you want a very realistic coming-of-age story, go to 'Bay's End'. If you want it a bit more cosmic, go to 'Ribs'. This book (at least its third part) is mostly for those who really dig page after page of descriptions of cosmic horror and what comes with it: symbolism, allusions, metaphors, metaphysics.
The first two thirds of the novel are, and I don't exaggerate, masterfully executed. Lorn gives every character their own individual tone, every plot and subplot its own feeling and sound. The stories he tells are interwoven in a way that almost every aspect (the ghost baby aside, maybe) at some point reveals its meaning for the overarching plot. And as always with Lorn, it's mostly fast-paced.
What touched me in particular and still resonates within me is the story of Kirby. I even recorded a part of his chapter (the ninth, it is) because I had to share it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIrMY... (beware of my German accent, I tried my best with the "th" ;-) ).
Unfortunately, alas, the third part of the novel, including the finale, falls flat for me. Had I speeded through the first two parts in just a few days, it took me more than a week to finish the third. The reason being - in my opinion, so this is highly subjective - that the whole cosmic horror part drags along for far too long.
I am not a friend of dream sequences, visions, magical realism and such, so it was very tiresome for me to read so much about the Roaming and the Bastard and all those otherworldly realms and constructs and so on. For me, it would have done, if Lorn had cut those parts in half, because I really don't think it was necessary to go into that much - sometimes even a bit repetetive - detail.
But that's just me. Lorn knows how to write a book. If you want it lean and mean, go to his Laughlin series, starting with 'Hope For The Wicked'. If you want a very realistic coming-of-age story, go to 'Bay's End'. If you want it a bit more cosmic, go to 'Ribs'. This book (at least its third part) is mostly for those who really dig page after page of descriptions of cosmic horror and what comes with it: symbolism, allusions, metaphors, metaphysics.
April 3, 2019
Ah, fuck.
Literally just read the ending and fuck.
Edward Lorn knows how to write an ending. Without those last three chapters this novel is a three star read in my opinion, but Edward Lorn connects this all together and perfectly trusts his audience to understand what has happened.
Okay, so JOY had been set up since his master piece CRUELTY and I've been excited to meet her. I thought she'd be a good character who'd come in the end of NO HOME FOR BOYS and help save whatever threat, however...she made things worse... right?
If I'm not wrong, JOY re-writes the whole timeline of the book in the last chapter, but she made characters in this book have better lives. Although, the imence feeling of this is the end if on me.
That last chapter felt very much like the ending for AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR. Bleak and hopeless.
Anyway, thank you EDWARD LORN for sharing the wonderfully meta and well crafted story.
4/5
Literally just read the ending and fuck.
Edward Lorn knows how to write an ending. Without those last three chapters this novel is a three star read in my opinion, but Edward Lorn connects this all together and perfectly trusts his audience to understand what has happened.
Okay, so JOY had been set up since his master piece CRUELTY and I've been excited to meet her. I thought she'd be a good character who'd come in the end of NO HOME FOR BOYS and help save whatever threat, however...she made things worse... right?
If I'm not wrong, JOY re-writes the whole timeline of the book in the last chapter, but she made characters in this book have better lives. Although, the imence feeling of this is the end if on me.
That last chapter felt very much like the ending for AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR. Bleak and hopeless.
Anyway, thank you EDWARD LORN for sharing the wonderfully meta and well crafted story.
4/5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 23, 2019
Gonna have to process this one for a while because the ending was fuckin weird
April 13, 2020
I really enjoyed this book was lost in some parts. Really enjoyed the ending.
September 26, 2019
Review to follow.
July 23, 2021
In Edward Lorn’s Everything is Horrible Now: A Novel of Cosmic Horror, Father George kills his wife and child, sits muttering on his porch, then, when a neighbor child (Wesley) arrives, shoots himself in the head. Before he does, he tells the boy “everything is horrible now.” Thus begins a series of events that will rip this small town wide open–and change it forever.
The characters are amazing. Kirby Johnson sees “the Coat Men” in his room at night, and because everyone knows of his “unnatural desires” (he’s gay), it’s assumed he killed his mother when she dies violently. He has a hell of a tale to tell, and is somehow central to the inexplicable things happening at this time. And as he says, “everything is horrible now.” Sheriff Harold “Hap” Carringer is a psychopath–he once killed two people because the girl refused to dance with him, and someone unknown covered it up. He’s also a bully, but not entirely in the usual and expected ways. He stops to talk to 11-year-old Petey, who keeps slipping out of his grandmother’s house to walk around town, and despite Petey being fat and a bit weird, doesn’t bully him at all. Beulah Blackwood, Petey’s grandmother, has custody of him because his parents were murdered in front of him. She thinks she means well, and she kind of does, but her zealous version of Christianity sometimes leads her to be cruel as well.
At the start, when Petey is talking to Hap, he comes across as neurodivergent. He doesn’t really read social cues and doesn’t seem to understand abstract language. But later, when he befriends Wesley, he seems to have a better handle on abstract language, so I was a little confused there. He’s still a very interesting character who’s a little bit different from your average 11-year-old.
There’s a family in town that seems to have leprosy, or perhaps it’s something called “the Blood Curse.” They have some interesting family history, and Gertrude, the mother, has had some very strange experiences in her lifetime. It’s thanks to her family that the Bays, Marietta and Francis, died when the town crucified and burned Marietta for witchcraft. Yes, they burned a woman for witchcraft in the not so distant past.
There’s a place called Humble Hill that seems devoted to trying out “Conversion Therapy,” or a treatment for homosexuality. Unfortunately for everyone, things go awry when Kirby Johnson is brought to the center.
Things get weirder and weirder as the story progresses. There are gods, and manifestations of human emotions and memories, there’s a place called the Roaming and another place called the Someplace. There are creepy dreams and visions, and some very creepy reality as well. This is a very messed-up town, and it’s hurtling toward some sort of conclusion.
I absolutely recommend this book. There were one or two things that confused me, or that I think didn’t actually get answered, and the story gets more and more surreal as it goes, but I held on by my fingernails and the whole thing was a serious trip!
Content note: suicide, homicide, child death, rape, racism (including slurs), domestic violence, homophobia (note that homophobia and what a horrible thing it is is a major theme of the book, so it shows up a lot).
Original review posted on my blog: https://www.errantdreams.com/2021/07/...
The characters are amazing. Kirby Johnson sees “the Coat Men” in his room at night, and because everyone knows of his “unnatural desires” (he’s gay), it’s assumed he killed his mother when she dies violently. He has a hell of a tale to tell, and is somehow central to the inexplicable things happening at this time. And as he says, “everything is horrible now.” Sheriff Harold “Hap” Carringer is a psychopath–he once killed two people because the girl refused to dance with him, and someone unknown covered it up. He’s also a bully, but not entirely in the usual and expected ways. He stops to talk to 11-year-old Petey, who keeps slipping out of his grandmother’s house to walk around town, and despite Petey being fat and a bit weird, doesn’t bully him at all. Beulah Blackwood, Petey’s grandmother, has custody of him because his parents were murdered in front of him. She thinks she means well, and she kind of does, but her zealous version of Christianity sometimes leads her to be cruel as well.
At the start, when Petey is talking to Hap, he comes across as neurodivergent. He doesn’t really read social cues and doesn’t seem to understand abstract language. But later, when he befriends Wesley, he seems to have a better handle on abstract language, so I was a little confused there. He’s still a very interesting character who’s a little bit different from your average 11-year-old.
There’s a family in town that seems to have leprosy, or perhaps it’s something called “the Blood Curse.” They have some interesting family history, and Gertrude, the mother, has had some very strange experiences in her lifetime. It’s thanks to her family that the Bays, Marietta and Francis, died when the town crucified and burned Marietta for witchcraft. Yes, they burned a woman for witchcraft in the not so distant past.
There’s a place called Humble Hill that seems devoted to trying out “Conversion Therapy,” or a treatment for homosexuality. Unfortunately for everyone, things go awry when Kirby Johnson is brought to the center.
Things get weirder and weirder as the story progresses. There are gods, and manifestations of human emotions and memories, there’s a place called the Roaming and another place called the Someplace. There are creepy dreams and visions, and some very creepy reality as well. This is a very messed-up town, and it’s hurtling toward some sort of conclusion.
I absolutely recommend this book. There were one or two things that confused me, or that I think didn’t actually get answered, and the story gets more and more surreal as it goes, but I held on by my fingernails and the whole thing was a serious trip!
Content note: suicide, homicide, child death, rape, racism (including slurs), domestic violence, homophobia (note that homophobia and what a horrible thing it is is a major theme of the book, so it shows up a lot).
Original review posted on my blog: https://www.errantdreams.com/2021/07/...
September 14, 2021
Although this took longer for some reason, this still was really good. Love the twist ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
December 31, 2018Review Pending - I would like to read Books 1 - 3 in this series before writing my review for 'Everything Is Horrible Now' (Book 4). Though this novel can read as a stand-alone, I want a better understanding of the world Lorn has created, and what I've read so far, I like.
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