What do you think?
Rate this book
God Machine
In a hotel room on Cape Cod, a troubled young prostitute brutally takes her own life, leaving cryptic clues as to why written in blood on the walls. When head of hotel security and former cop Chris Tallo finds her savaged body, he sets out to discover why the woman committed suicide in such a vicious manner. Saddled with a drinking problem, and already emotionally destroyed and grieving the loss of his daughter, killed in Iraq five years earlier, his search lures him into a disturbing underworld populated by those who trade in black magic, pain and death.
The closer Chris gets to the truth, and its ties to a secret occult ritual that took place more than 100 years ago that ended in madness and rumors of demonic possession, the more he struggles with his own history and sanity. And as the forces haunting and manipulating not only him, but reality as he knows it, rise in a tempest of blood and fire, a horrific evil awakens…
The Machine lives.
The closer Chris gets to the truth, and its ties to a secret occult ritual that took place more than 100 years ago that ended in madness and rumors of demonic possession, the more he struggles with his own history and sanity. And as the forces haunting and manipulating not only him, but reality as he knows it, rise in a tempest of blood and fire, a horrific evil awakens…
The Machine lives.
- GenresHorror
235 pages, Paperback
First published December 16, 2020
2 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Greg F. Gifune
81 books353 followersCalled "One of the best writers of his generation" by both the Roswell Literary Review and author Brian Keene, Greg F. Gifune is the author of numerous short stories, several novels and two short story collections. His work has been published in a wide range of magazines and anthologies all over the world, and has recently garnered interest from Hollywood. His novels include The Bleeding Season, Deep Night, Saying Uncle, A View From The Lake, Night Work, Drago Descending, Blood In Electric Blue and Dominion.
Along with his short story collections, Down To Sleep and Heretics, his work has been nominated for numerous awards and is consistently praised by readers and critics alike across the globe. For seven years he was Editor-in-Chief of Thievin' Kitty Publications, publishers of the acclaimed fiction magazines The Edge: Tales of Suspense (1998-2004) and Burning Sky: Adventures in Science Fiction Terror (1998-2003), and currently serves as Associate Editor at Delirium Books.
The son of teachers, Greg F. Gifune was educated in Boston and has lived in various places, including New York City and Peru. A trained actor and broadcaster, he has appeared in various stage productions and has worked in radio and television as both an on-air talent and a producer. Earlier in life he held a wide range of jobs, encompassing everything from journalism to promotions.
The author of numerous novels, screenplays and two short story collections, his work has been consistently praised by critics and readers alike, and has been translated into several languages and published all over the world. Greg and his wife Carol live in Massachusetts with a bevy of cats.
Discover more about his writing at GregFGifune.com and UninvitedBooks.com.
Along with his short story collections, Down To Sleep and Heretics, his work has been nominated for numerous awards and is consistently praised by readers and critics alike across the globe. For seven years he was Editor-in-Chief of Thievin' Kitty Publications, publishers of the acclaimed fiction magazines The Edge: Tales of Suspense (1998-2004) and Burning Sky: Adventures in Science Fiction Terror (1998-2003), and currently serves as Associate Editor at Delirium Books.
The son of teachers, Greg F. Gifune was educated in Boston and has lived in various places, including New York City and Peru. A trained actor and broadcaster, he has appeared in various stage productions and has worked in radio and television as both an on-air talent and a producer. Earlier in life he held a wide range of jobs, encompassing everything from journalism to promotions.
The author of numerous novels, screenplays and two short story collections, his work has been consistently praised by critics and readers alike, and has been translated into several languages and published all over the world. Greg and his wife Carol live in Massachusetts with a bevy of cats.
Discover more about his writing at GregFGifune.com and UninvitedBooks.com.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 3, 2021
Destroyer meets Rosemary’s Baby
A new novel by Greg F. Gifune is always an event for the horror community. The multiple award-winning, prolific author of over thirty books in the horror and crime genres has consistently delivered raw and suspenseful stories over a career spanning almost twenty years. His new novel, ‘God Machine’, is a further reminder, as if one were needed, as to why he is considered one of the finest horror writers working today.
Chris is a former police officer and current hotel security guard working the graveyard shift. Five years ago, he lost his daughter to the war in Iraq and has been unable to pull himself out of the alcohol-fuelled spiral of grief since that day.
When a young runaway comes into the hotel one night, distraught and looking for a place to hide, Chris takes pity on her. When she is found dead the following morning, he is the first to find a gruesome scene of a violent suicide with seemingly occult symbols drawn on the walls in blood. While the police quickly close the case, Chris is unable to let the case go, and he soon finds himself digging deeper into the lives of a dangerous group looking to finish an occult ritual 100 years in the making. Will solving this mystery help him move on with his life, or will it only bring more death, pain and misery, or perhaps something far worse?
God Machine is a tough novel to read at times. It is a story about grief and loss, albeit one wrapped in a supernatural horror package. The main character is a functioning alcoholic so consumed with anguish over the loss of his only child that it completely dominates his life. He is a fascinating protagonist because he is not in control of his feelings and, because of his constant drinking, often his actions. It makes him an unreliable and unpredictable narrator and gives the whole book an unsettlingly surreal vibe. The hints of supernatural horror, black magic and arcane rituals start subtly and build gradually as we get closer to answers, but we are never quite sure what is real, and what is a symptom of Chris’ quickly declining mental state.
The book works well on a lot of different levels. As a story about a man dealing with an unfathomable loss, it is heart-breaking. As a horror novel, it is effortlessly unsettling. The build-up is a slow burn, and there is a constant, foreboding sense of inevitability about the events that ultimately transpire and this only serves to ratchet up the tension to almost unbearable degrees at times.
A surreal, dark and gritty tale of obsession, ‘God Machine’ is a dizzying, dreamlike book where the lines between reality and nightmares are not only blurred but often irrelevant. Fans of Gifune will be delighted that he has delivered another winner, while new readers have an excellent starting point to discover his work.
You can read more reviews of new and upcoming horror releases at https://www.myindiemuse.com/category/...
A new novel by Greg F. Gifune is always an event for the horror community. The multiple award-winning, prolific author of over thirty books in the horror and crime genres has consistently delivered raw and suspenseful stories over a career spanning almost twenty years. His new novel, ‘God Machine’, is a further reminder, as if one were needed, as to why he is considered one of the finest horror writers working today.
Chris is a former police officer and current hotel security guard working the graveyard shift. Five years ago, he lost his daughter to the war in Iraq and has been unable to pull himself out of the alcohol-fuelled spiral of grief since that day.
When a young runaway comes into the hotel one night, distraught and looking for a place to hide, Chris takes pity on her. When she is found dead the following morning, he is the first to find a gruesome scene of a violent suicide with seemingly occult symbols drawn on the walls in blood. While the police quickly close the case, Chris is unable to let the case go, and he soon finds himself digging deeper into the lives of a dangerous group looking to finish an occult ritual 100 years in the making. Will solving this mystery help him move on with his life, or will it only bring more death, pain and misery, or perhaps something far worse?
God Machine is a tough novel to read at times. It is a story about grief and loss, albeit one wrapped in a supernatural horror package. The main character is a functioning alcoholic so consumed with anguish over the loss of his only child that it completely dominates his life. He is a fascinating protagonist because he is not in control of his feelings and, because of his constant drinking, often his actions. It makes him an unreliable and unpredictable narrator and gives the whole book an unsettlingly surreal vibe. The hints of supernatural horror, black magic and arcane rituals start subtly and build gradually as we get closer to answers, but we are never quite sure what is real, and what is a symptom of Chris’ quickly declining mental state.
The book works well on a lot of different levels. As a story about a man dealing with an unfathomable loss, it is heart-breaking. As a horror novel, it is effortlessly unsettling. The build-up is a slow burn, and there is a constant, foreboding sense of inevitability about the events that ultimately transpire and this only serves to ratchet up the tension to almost unbearable degrees at times.
A surreal, dark and gritty tale of obsession, ‘God Machine’ is a dizzying, dreamlike book where the lines between reality and nightmares are not only blurred but often irrelevant. Fans of Gifune will be delighted that he has delivered another winner, while new readers have an excellent starting point to discover his work.
You can read more reviews of new and upcoming horror releases at https://www.myindiemuse.com/category/...
June 9, 2021
While being grim and dark this book was more slow burning mystery than horror until the last 50 pages. The reader is then exposed to violence, sexual perversion and torturous rape meant to shock and disgust the reader. Woven throughout the story is the main character’s fever dreams or psychotic visions; that is never really made clear. Although it had potential it fell flat on horror and long on sadness. This book really evokes sadness like I’ve never felt reading a book.
March 18, 2024
Greg Gifune's 'God Machine' is a masterfully plotted and superbly written blend of occult and cult horror, deeply embedded in an atmosphere of grief, regret, and loss. The story is seemingly plain and undemanding: a former cop decides to investigate the mysterious (and gory) suicide of a woman whom he trusted enough to give her a room in the hotel premises where he works. Reminiscent of the '80s movie "Angel Heart," the novel has his main character slowly losing himself in a web of lies, menace, and deceit, though the plot never really goes fully into a neo-noir direction. Grief does not allow it; and this, I believe, is what distinguishes this novel from many similar others out there: Gifune's detailed depiction of trauma and regret over the loss of a loved one, described almost obsessively every couple of pages, the blurring of reality and fantasy, family drama and mental issues, turn this apparently straighforward affair into a brilliant surreal hard-boiled narrative of tremendous power and unsettling imagery. For me, Gifune's writing turns everything into gold, and this story is no exception. 'God Machine,' though a slow-burn, was a page-turner for me, frighteningly honest and brutally horrific. A must-read!
November 26, 2023
Thank you to Cemetery Dance for providing a review copy.
God Machine ticks so many boxes for me. Crime horror, grief horror, the occult. I read Smoke, In Crimson by the same author a couple of weeks ago. I enjoyed it and the writing impressed me. God Machine, however, blew me away. There were passages so beautiful that I had to reread them to appreciate them all over again. Greg F. Gifune has just made my "must-read" list.
God Machine ticks so many boxes for me. Crime horror, grief horror, the occult. I read Smoke, In Crimson by the same author a couple of weeks ago. I enjoyed it and the writing impressed me. God Machine, however, blew me away. There were passages so beautiful that I had to reread them to appreciate them all over again. Greg F. Gifune has just made my "must-read" list.
March 23, 2024
Greg F. Gifune has written some mean shit here.
For horror fans familiar with his work, that’s not a surprise. If you aren’t familiar with his work, you should be.
God Machine, Gifune’s latest, is out from Macabre Ink. It’s a grim journey through a disturbing world full of darkness and uncertainties. The novel tells the story of Chris Tallo, a former cop turned hotel security guard who becomes obsessed with the suicide of one of the hotel’s guests. Is it the unusual brutality of the young woman’s death that draws him? Or is it that she reminds him of his own daughter, killed five years earlier while serving in Iraq? Or is there some other, more elusive force tying Chris to the girl’s death?
The book does not provide easy answers to these questions, nor does Gifune shrink from examining the heavy toll that grief, loss, pain, and violence take on Tallo’s life. From what I’ve been able to determine over the years, Gifune doesn’t shrink from much of anything. He looks evil in the face, then pulls it close so he can smell its breath. It isn’t pretty, but it makes for a dynamite read, both chilling and thought-provoking.
From the beginning, it’s clear Tallo’s life has been in a downward spiral since his daughter’s death. His career is on the skids, therapy hasn't helped, and his relationship with his wife isn't, understandably, the same. At times, the only thing that seems offer any comfort--other than the bottle--is the unconditional love of the family dog. He discovers the dead woman had been involved with a cult determined to recreate a nineteenth-century ritual to designed bring God--or some other, darker, entity--to earth. Unfortunately, her death did not put an end to their plans.
A lot of the book’s horror comes from Gifune’s knack for tying the known and unknown together in knots. Alone in his home, Tallo knows something is there in the dark watching him but does not know what it is or why it has come. At times, the book feels like a surreal nightmare where levels of (un)reality intertwine and time frames shift unexpectedly. Tallo is an alcoholic who climbs further into the bottle the worse things get; he is, obviously, an unreliable narrator. But it’s more than that: reality itself becomes a contested concept. Drunken dream states are spiked with what may be memories, or hallucinations, or visions. Tallo cannot—and Gifune, thankfully, does not—try to sum up what’s what. In these extreme circumstances, life is mysterious and inexplicable. It’s notable that, in the end, the effort to explain events and shape them into an easily-digested narrative is made by government agents bent on concealing the truth. Beware of easy answers.
That preceding description may make the novel sound like a meandering acid trip. It’s not. Tallo’s subjective experience creates dissonance and layers of uncertainty, but Gifune’s plot keeps rolling full force. I think it’s his ability to dive deep into the unknowable while keeping one foot firmly rooted in his crime-writing experience that makes Gifune such a powerful horror writer: you get the nightmares, but you also get tight plotting and solid action. God Machine certainly does not disappoint in this regard. It all comes to a bang-up climax, complete with a hand-to-hand combat sequence that might make John Skipp himself a bit jealous.
How does it all end? Read it and find out.
For horror fans familiar with his work, that’s not a surprise. If you aren’t familiar with his work, you should be.
God Machine, Gifune’s latest, is out from Macabre Ink. It’s a grim journey through a disturbing world full of darkness and uncertainties. The novel tells the story of Chris Tallo, a former cop turned hotel security guard who becomes obsessed with the suicide of one of the hotel’s guests. Is it the unusual brutality of the young woman’s death that draws him? Or is it that she reminds him of his own daughter, killed five years earlier while serving in Iraq? Or is there some other, more elusive force tying Chris to the girl’s death?
The book does not provide easy answers to these questions, nor does Gifune shrink from examining the heavy toll that grief, loss, pain, and violence take on Tallo’s life. From what I’ve been able to determine over the years, Gifune doesn’t shrink from much of anything. He looks evil in the face, then pulls it close so he can smell its breath. It isn’t pretty, but it makes for a dynamite read, both chilling and thought-provoking.
From the beginning, it’s clear Tallo’s life has been in a downward spiral since his daughter’s death. His career is on the skids, therapy hasn't helped, and his relationship with his wife isn't, understandably, the same. At times, the only thing that seems offer any comfort--other than the bottle--is the unconditional love of the family dog. He discovers the dead woman had been involved with a cult determined to recreate a nineteenth-century ritual to designed bring God--or some other, darker, entity--to earth. Unfortunately, her death did not put an end to their plans.
A lot of the book’s horror comes from Gifune’s knack for tying the known and unknown together in knots. Alone in his home, Tallo knows something is there in the dark watching him but does not know what it is or why it has come. At times, the book feels like a surreal nightmare where levels of (un)reality intertwine and time frames shift unexpectedly. Tallo is an alcoholic who climbs further into the bottle the worse things get; he is, obviously, an unreliable narrator. But it’s more than that: reality itself becomes a contested concept. Drunken dream states are spiked with what may be memories, or hallucinations, or visions. Tallo cannot—and Gifune, thankfully, does not—try to sum up what’s what. In these extreme circumstances, life is mysterious and inexplicable. It’s notable that, in the end, the effort to explain events and shape them into an easily-digested narrative is made by government agents bent on concealing the truth. Beware of easy answers.
That preceding description may make the novel sound like a meandering acid trip. It’s not. Tallo’s subjective experience creates dissonance and layers of uncertainty, but Gifune’s plot keeps rolling full force. I think it’s his ability to dive deep into the unknowable while keeping one foot firmly rooted in his crime-writing experience that makes Gifune such a powerful horror writer: you get the nightmares, but you also get tight plotting and solid action. God Machine certainly does not disappoint in this regard. It all comes to a bang-up climax, complete with a hand-to-hand combat sequence that might make John Skipp himself a bit jealous.
How does it all end? Read it and find out.
September 18, 2025
Very dark and moody, the story brings about a pervasive sense of dread and foreboding that runs through the entire book. Haven’t enjoyed a horror story this much for a long time. A violent yet profound meditation on grief and evil and the horrors regular people inflict on each other. This is pretty heavy but quite well done. Some of the descriptions may not be suitable for more delicate sensibilities but goes hand in hand with profound loss and how it's handled.
July 16, 2023
Beautifully unsettling prose, in a class with very few writers in his ability to write ennui.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews