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The Malcontents
Granton, NC is like most other small, aging towns across the Bible Belt. The people are friendly. Community is important. God is everywhere. So, when a group of destructive, teenage Satanists enters the fray, it’s bound to cause problems.
The Malcontents commit petty offenses against the church and surrounding community. But when the club votes for greater violence, things begin spiraling out of control. The group draws new police scrutiny when one of their members is killed during a failed human sacrifice. This leads one detective to seek out a “weak link” in the group and inspires another towards vigilante justice. The citizens of Granton begin taking matters into their own hands as well. Faced with a myriad of challenges, the Malcontents respond by ratcheting up the pressure and eliminating threats. Chaos ensues as the police watch their every move.
The Malcontents commit petty offenses against the church and surrounding community. But when the club votes for greater violence, things begin spiraling out of control. The group draws new police scrutiny when one of their members is killed during a failed human sacrifice. This leads one detective to seek out a “weak link” in the group and inspires another towards vigilante justice. The citizens of Granton begin taking matters into their own hands as well. Faced with a myriad of challenges, the Malcontents respond by ratcheting up the pressure and eliminating threats. Chaos ensues as the police watch their every move.
240 pages, Hardcover
Published December 16, 2022
2 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
About the author
Mason Marks
3 books48 followersMason Marks lives in South Carolina. He is an attorney, combat veteran, horror fanatic, and metal enthusiast. If you enjoyed his work, please rate/review on Amazon and Goodreads. You can also follow him on Facebook and Instagram.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 31, 2023
A lethal cocktail of satanic acts and heavy metal.
The Malcontents follows a group of young adults bonded by dark beliefs.
The author sets the stage nicely with well developed backgrounds for each of the players.
On a quest to take action and make a difference for their satanic cause, The Malcontents perform increasingly risky acts.
The tension runs high, buzzing consistently throughout, and moving into overdrive at the end. The action is gripping. The members of The Malcontents are well portrayed. Despite their dark intentions, the reader left wanting them to win.
The Malcontents is a high paced, action packed, gripping story of satanic acts sprinkled with heavy metal.
The Malcontents follows a group of young adults bonded by dark beliefs.
The author sets the stage nicely with well developed backgrounds for each of the players.
On a quest to take action and make a difference for their satanic cause, The Malcontents perform increasingly risky acts.
The tension runs high, buzzing consistently throughout, and moving into overdrive at the end. The action is gripping. The members of The Malcontents are well portrayed. Despite their dark intentions, the reader left wanting them to win.
The Malcontents is a high paced, action packed, gripping story of satanic acts sprinkled with heavy metal.
March 22, 2023
Loved this book! Fast-paced and brutally violent, the novel grabs you from the first page and never lets go. The frantic escalation to pure barbarism reminded me of one of my favorite movies, Romper Stomper. I have a soft spot for fanatical and extreme MCs, people who would stop at nothing and put it all on the line for their beliefs. The fact that Benton, the leader of the Malcontents, is both a Satanist and a metalhead, really hits the sweet spot for me. However, this is not a niche book that only readers from the metal sub-culture could enjoy; it is an accurate psychological portrait of gang violence, extreme group dynamics, and the dirty tactics of law enforcement. The book shows that the defenders of “law and order” can be just as evil as the “terrorists.”
I’ve read Mason Mark’s first novel, The Militant, and I feel that The Malcontents is a vast improvement. The writing is crisp, tight and confident. The Militant, while showing a lot of talent, had a lot of philosophical interludes that disrupted the pacing. That being said, I think maybe The Malcontents moves too much towards the area of breakneck action and leaves the philosophical content behind. I’d have wanted to know more about the motivations of the Malcontents or of Benton in specific. I think it’s fitting that the author doesn’t offer a background story for the main characters, but lets the reader figure things out from dialogue. However, I think the scarcity of physical details regarding the characters, and the unconvincing effort to make them distinct takes away a bit from the vividness of the story. On this note, I’ve recently read again Nick Cutter’s The Troop, and I think Cutter does an exquisite job of depicting each character so accurately that the reader knows who’s speaking at any point in the book without even checking the name. Another point about realism: while Mark’s military background infuses the action scenes with amazing authenticity, there are some moments where the events seem hard to believe. For instance, when, in ritual, the Satanists each cut their forearms from elbow to wrist as a blood sacrifice. I’m not a doctor, but I think that would require a prompt visit to the ER. The story continues as if nothing terrible happened. That being said, no book is perfect, and Mason Marks has the skills to take his writing to the highest level. I highly recommend both of his novels as thought-provoking, brutal, and thrilling stories. Mason Marks is an author with something to say. I look forward to his future books!
I’ve read Mason Mark’s first novel, The Militant, and I feel that The Malcontents is a vast improvement. The writing is crisp, tight and confident. The Militant, while showing a lot of talent, had a lot of philosophical interludes that disrupted the pacing. That being said, I think maybe The Malcontents moves too much towards the area of breakneck action and leaves the philosophical content behind. I’d have wanted to know more about the motivations of the Malcontents or of Benton in specific. I think it’s fitting that the author doesn’t offer a background story for the main characters, but lets the reader figure things out from dialogue. However, I think the scarcity of physical details regarding the characters, and the unconvincing effort to make them distinct takes away a bit from the vividness of the story. On this note, I’ve recently read again Nick Cutter’s The Troop, and I think Cutter does an exquisite job of depicting each character so accurately that the reader knows who’s speaking at any point in the book without even checking the name. Another point about realism: while Mark’s military background infuses the action scenes with amazing authenticity, there are some moments where the events seem hard to believe. For instance, when, in ritual, the Satanists each cut their forearms from elbow to wrist as a blood sacrifice. I’m not a doctor, but I think that would require a prompt visit to the ER. The story continues as if nothing terrible happened. That being said, no book is perfect, and Mason Marks has the skills to take his writing to the highest level. I highly recommend both of his novels as thought-provoking, brutal, and thrilling stories. Mason Marks is an author with something to say. I look forward to his future books!
April 9, 2023
The Malcontents by @masonmarks.author
A Clockwork Orange goes black metal.
As a long time metal fanatic myself, I was incredibly excited to read this book once I heard about it around Instagram. Knowing it was written by someone who is also a black metal fan and wouldn't bastardize the subject matter with stereotypical oversimplification also helped.
The Malcontents details the group which the book is named after, set in the early 90s to coincide with the infamous 2nd wave of black metal. We follow the inner workings of the members as they wreak havoc on their traditional southern town, bringing chaos with them wherever they go.
The book moves quickly and I enjoyed the format of sections within chapters to maximize action and cut all filler. We bounce between the Malcontents and police points of view, which keeps the pace moving throughout.
Regretfully, I do not read as much as I would like to these days, but I will always do my best to help support other indie authors when time allows. I highly recommend The Malcontents for fellow metalheads or those who like their horror a bit less traditional.
A Clockwork Orange goes black metal.
As a long time metal fanatic myself, I was incredibly excited to read this book once I heard about it around Instagram. Knowing it was written by someone who is also a black metal fan and wouldn't bastardize the subject matter with stereotypical oversimplification also helped.
The Malcontents details the group which the book is named after, set in the early 90s to coincide with the infamous 2nd wave of black metal. We follow the inner workings of the members as they wreak havoc on their traditional southern town, bringing chaos with them wherever they go.
The book moves quickly and I enjoyed the format of sections within chapters to maximize action and cut all filler. We bounce between the Malcontents and police points of view, which keeps the pace moving throughout.
Regretfully, I do not read as much as I would like to these days, but I will always do my best to help support other indie authors when time allows. I highly recommend The Malcontents for fellow metalheads or those who like their horror a bit less traditional.
April 11, 2023
Like an urban legend come to life
During the Satanic Panic schools and parents were warned about gangs of Satanists roaming the country side terrorizing communities, kidnapping children, and offering up human sacrifices. It was mass hysteria but Marks takes those stories and forges them into The Malcontents. A gang of Satanists engage in petty crimes and bully locals in a small town. When things get out of hand the local police hit back hard.
During the Satanic Panic schools and parents were warned about gangs of Satanists roaming the country side terrorizing communities, kidnapping children, and offering up human sacrifices. It was mass hysteria but Marks takes those stories and forges them into The Malcontents. A gang of Satanists engage in petty crimes and bully locals in a small town. When things get out of hand the local police hit back hard.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews