Pariah

by Thomas Emson

JACK THE RIPPER'S BACK - AND HELL'S COMING WITH HIM.In 1888, five women are brutally murdered in the East End of London. The killer is never caught.In 1996, four women die in similar circumstances, their corpses mutilated. Again, the murderer escapes justice.In 2011, Charlie Faultless returns to the East End after 15 years in exile. His mother and girlfriend were victims of the 1996 killings and he has returned to confront his dark past.But his homecoming coincides with further atrocities, and the reappearance of history's most terrifying serial JACK THE RIPPER.With old hatreds simmering, Charlie faces violent ordeals at the hands of men fuelled by revenge and demons raised from hell.And as Jack The Ripper's identity is revealed, the truth about Charlie's past also comes to light - and it is equally shocking.19th Century London... a savage killer flees from a mob and plunges into the Thames, where he drowns. His soul departs his body, but even Hell rejects him - he is a Pariah, bound forever by curses in the place he died... Unless someone sheds blood in his name.

Genres: Horror, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Fiction

350 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2011

About the author

Thomas Emson is a British horror author. He has written eight novels, all published by Snowbooks in the UK. They include Maneater, Skarlet, and Zombie Brittanica. His Jack The Ripper novel Pariah was published by Tantor Media in the U.S.
His collection of stories The Trees And Other Stories was published on Kindle and CreateSpace. He has also written How To Write A Novel In 6 Months, a how-to guide for would-be novelists, which is available on Amazon.
He is represented by Mariam Keen at the Whispering Buffalo Literary Agency.

Reviews

[Ashleigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up having previously read and enjoyed "Zombie Britannica" by the same author. This book is very different to that one although the short quick paced chapters were the same. The story starts explaining about the Jack the ripper murders that occured in London in the 18oo's, I was and am already interested in these unsolved murders so the book initially peaked my interest because of this. The rest of the story is quite strange, biblical and very paranormal. If you aren't into that kind of thing I suggest giving this one a miss. It seems more ripper-esque murders have been commited and a lot of people want to find the culprit, however it isn't a straight down the line detective hunt. The story was interesting, well researched and extremely quick paced. Emson creates short snippet like chapters that give you bursts of information about a certain character and then moves onto another. A couple of the names were a bit similar and towards the end I did get a tad confused about who was who but aside from that this was a nice exciting and different read. I would never normally go for something like this but I am glad I did. I don't want to go into detail too much and ruin the story as the questions in my mind were a huge part of me carrying on reading this one. Definitely worth a read!

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so disappointed in this book.

It was so promising to start with- the intrigue, the idea of the devil on earth, the reformed character trying to get closure, and the jumping between time frames- I thought was handled very well.

Even the red herring of the upstairs neighbour who was obviously some kind of threat regardless of whether he was responsible or not for a string of murder- loved it, it kept you guessing.

HOWEVER, at the end. The END- where the gates of "hell" opened up and we find out about the first and second evil- you know what that was brilliant. Brilliant for the END OF ANOTHER BOOK.

It didn't make sense- all this supernatural, even slightly realistic evil was going on, and then all of a sudden the main character's the second evil. He can't love anymore (shit that was going well as well), he can't stay on Earth any more- and a pound to a piece of crap this was because Mr Emson got BORED.

It was rushed, it was nonsensical and it just pushed things a tad too far.

I'd recommend giving it a read, but you'll just be disappointed by the ending. It was anticlimactic- make up your own ending. I did. It made me happier.

[tinalouisereadsbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

19th Century London...a savage killer flees from a mob and plunges into the Thames, where he drowns. His soul departs his body, but even Hell rejects him - he is a Pariah, bound forever by curses in the place he died...Unless someone sheds blood in his name...21st Century London...an innocent boy flees from a mob, and escapes into the undiscovered underground tunnels beneath his tower-block home. Down in the darkness, a voice calls to him. The voice is mesmerizing, hypnotic, and urges the boy to spill blood in his name...And a fabled killer is unleashed again. But this time he's stronger and far more terrifying than when he coated the East End in blood in the 1880s, and gained the name Jack the Ripper...

My Thoughts:

I have met Thomas Emson at an author event/vampire night and he really is a nice guy. I have also read his werewolf novels which were brilliant. This book I felt had not quite got that same edge. I had high expectations with this book and felt let down.

It features the crimes of Jack the Ripper but with a supernatural element. Anybody who is a ‘Ripper’ fan will be dissapointed. The story actually turns out to be a battle between angels and demons, not the Dan Brown type but more like Sam and Dean Winchester in an episode from Supernatural. I mean this in a positive way.

The book has plenty of gore and lots of bad language including plenty use of the ‘C’ word so be warned if you don’t like very course language.

Don’t be put of though as the book is a good horror read and Thomas Emson is a brilliant writer I just felt that this book was not his best.

[Tahieuba Chaudhry · Rating 3 out of 5]

WARNING. CONTAINS SPOILERS.

I made one mistake. I judged a book by its cover. And now I have very mixed emotions about this whole book; I really can’t wrap my head around it.

Two things attracted me to this book. The first was the book cover, and I know I shouldn’t really do that but I’m sure we are all guilty of it. If the cover is atheistically pleasing then readers would most likely read the back and dive straight in. That’s what I did. The haunting green eyes are a focal point with a manly hand covering her mouth made me think ‘wow I have to read it.’

Second is the topic. The Ripper murders of 1888 have intrigued me in a way that I can’t explain. No one till this day can explain who was Jack the Ripper, why did he kill these women and to what purpose. There are many fictionalised versions of this mysterious case. This fictional story focuses on the Ripper’s rebirth and some fallen angels seemed like an interesting concept. Emson has taken a real-life case and thrown in some supernatural essence.

So as I began to read Pariah, I preferred his style of writing. Emson is a fast-paced writer and the chapters were pretty short so it was easy for me to get through the book. Some books have really long chapters and to me, it puts me off (but that is a personal preference).

The start of the book was promising. The main protagonists Charlie Faultless has come back to his home town and his writing a book about the murders that happened 15 years ago; the victims include his mother and his girlfriend. He meets some characters after a long time: Tash Hanbury, his dead girlfriend’s sister, and her daughter Jasmine who recently have been having terrible nightmares, her grandfather Roy Hanbury, an ex-gang leader and newly found Christian, a scrawny teenager Spencer Drake, the red herring living above Tash’s flat Hallum Buck and a dirty detective Don Wilks. But then the murders happen again.

Throughout the book there are certain messages, in particular, the one I liked is how there is evil in all of us, no matter how many times we try to reform ourselves, evil and sin will find a way into our hearts. I know it’s very religious if you think about it. I also liked how the story jumped between time frames which after all have a significant purpose to it. Although some authors really muck up the time frame and confuse the reader I think Emson handled it really well.

But there were some things that Emson really did not handle well.

For example, what in seven hells happened in the end? The beginning got me hooked, then the middle was a bit slow and then the climax was so rushed, I felt like slamming the book onto the floor in frustration. Some parts were a bit rushed or lacked explanation and I was left feeling like some parts were not justified. Like why did it have to end the way it did. I wish there is a sequel, where we’ll meet Faultless and I guess all those unanswered questions will be answered.

Not only was the climax rushed but it also didn’t tie in with the book. Emson took you on this journey about the creation of life (from a Christian point of view) and then chucked in a fight scene that seemed to just fly around in the sky (you’ll know what I mean when you’ll read it). The ending with the gates of hell opening up and the fight between the first and second evil just did not fit in with this book at all. It could have worked for another book. Yes, he did add a supernatural essence but it was all jumbled.

Plus the last chapter really annoyed me, not because it wasn’t a happy ending, but Charlie (who by now is revealed to be the second evil and a fallen angel) can’t love anymore (because some character who I can’t even understand rips out his heart) and he just flies away, leaving Earth. His purpose, in the beginning, was to find the person (or the thing) that killed his mother and girlfriend and then take his revenge. And after all that is done, he simply just leaves. Doesn’t Charlie deserve to live his life properly? There is more to life than revenge.

For some bizarre reason, I didn’t really like some of the characters as I felt that they just seemed to be there to fill in the gaps. I actually preferred the antagonists, like Jack, Hallam and Don because they were described so well and it’s from them the story moves onwards. However, the good characters like Tash and Jasmine seemed so bland. They may have a definitive role in the storyline but other than that their traits are so tasteless. Of course, they had a purpose but did they have to be so boring?

In all honesty, I can’t imagine myself reading this book ever again. Although the concept of the infamous Jack the Ripper coming back to claim his fifth prize in this century would make an exceptional read, the ending really bugged me. However, if Emson did make a sequel, where we see Charlie again then maybe I’ll give that a read.

Rating 3/5
Publishers: Tantor Media Inc
Publication Date: 19 July 2013
Genre: Mystery/Horror

[Rea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review can be found here.

At the start of the book, I was sold. As I suspect is the case with many people, I find Jack the Ripper to be a fascinating case. He did, after all, go down in infamy. Due to the fact that we know so little about him, this allows authors to let their imagination go wild with ideas for what could have happened, both fantasy- and reality-based. To begin with, I got the impression that the evil entity that has taken on the name Jack was caught in some form of limbo existence. This idea for a plot could have gone so many different ways – for example, he could have been a spirit cursed by witches, or the seers of the book – but it soon became obvious to me that the book was going to go down the religious route.

Originally, I thought that it would be revealed that Jack is an embodiment of Satan, but then the snake in the Garden of Eden comes into play so I knew it couldn’t be that (Satan is a Christian concept, not Jewish, and I know that Christians imply that the snake in the Garden of Eden is Satan, but as Satan is a much more recent concept, this cannot be the case.) Jack’s actual role in everything is actually quite complicated yet at the same time simple enough, and it’s really very well-imagined. This is a different take on religion and the spin on it all is very interesting. Sometimes the plot seemed to take a few liberties, though, that some religious people may not appreciate. I really liked how God was portrayed. When he was first introduced, I just completely overlooked the character as this book does seem to suffer from too-many-character-syndrome (ie, a significant number of characters / names are introduced that do not serve a role) and I found this rather ingenious!

Talking about character introductions, the chapters are very short and jump between PoVs. Some characters only get a grand total of one chapter from their PoV, and they usually have some back story given that then becomes moot when it’s not brought up again. I think that this could have been addressed better to make the story more concise. I firmly believe that a shorter story with a tighter plot is far better than a longer one that’s full of waffling. This particular book learns towards camp-waffle.

There’s a colourful cast of pretty unsavoury characters, with the exception of Tash and Jasmin. The focus is on life in the lowest social class, in the worst slums in London and the story reflects this. It is in many ways a social commentary. In my opinion, the author did a good job of this, portraying most of his cast as unlikeable individuals who are more than happy to call each other names (both to their faces and behind their backs). The narrative is positively rife with bad language, which leads me to wonder just who this book is aimed at. Personally, I’m sceptical when it comes to stories with a religiously influenced plot but at the same time I can’t imagine many religious people really appreciating this. Some of the religious explanations did fall short for me and once the religious element had been fully introduced, I felt the story lost some of its power. The said, I did really enjoy the concept of just what a ripper is.

The narrative bounces about between years, especially towards the start of the book. The passages set in 1888 were quite possibly my favourites as they dealt with the actual events of Jack the Ripper’s spree. Other periods range from pre-history to the present day. An eternal wars seems to have raged between Jack and the people he hunts but he cannot touch them himself so he has to recruit a ripper to take what he needs from the victims. I liked this idea because it affected their interactions and had Jack been able to hunt his own victims, there wouldn’t have been much of a story to tell.

The story leaves off on a point where it hints at some form of continuation in future books, but I think that I’m happy to leave it at that. I still have one question, though: what is this significance behind Charlie having one blue eye and one brown eye? This is never addressed.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 1888 murders of 5 east end Londoners was never solved, though the cases became famous for the nick name given to the never-identified murderer: Jack the Ripper. East End suffers another murder spree in 1996, and again, the cases go unsolved. The bulk of the story takes place 2011, when Charlie Faultless returns to East End and the murders start again. There are foes at every turn and a deeper, darker mystery that he must get to the bottom of if he hopes to prevent the murders of people he cares about.

This was a dark and creepy mystery and I really enjoyed it. While it had a few shortcomings, I found that I didn’t want to put it down. The main hero, if you can call him a hero, is not exactly a good guy, though he is trying to do right by his dead mother and dead girlfriend, both of whom died in the 1996 murder spree. Charlie grew up involved in crime and that was his way of life until he was banished from England in 1996. In 2011, as a well known investigative writer, he returns to London to delve into the 1996 murders. He reconnects with some past criminal associates and a few old friends, and not a few enemies bent on revenge. I really enjoyed this character because he isn’t going about these activities out of some new found idea of right and wrong but out of duty to what was his. Charlie’s character grows a bit with the book, as he connects with those now threatened, and as he learns about his true nature (which happens at the very end, so I can’t say too much about that without dropping spoilers).

Meanwhile, we get to spend time in the heads of other people. There are a few women in the story (the little sister (Tash) to the dead girlfriend, her daughter (Jasmin), and a handful of other minor characters). There is a deeper mystery to the story and the women are at the center of that mystery. Jack the Ripper is a recurring evil that is unleashed every so many decades. He hunts certain humans because he requires something from them, something hidden deep in each one; hence, all the cutting up of the bodies. These special humans can sense him and have a kind of prescience allowing them to somewhat predict events. Over the ages, these special humans have often banded together to hunt Jack and seal him away.

And that is where my little criticism came in. The male hunters (while minor characters) had very active roles in hunting down and sealing away Jack. We get several flashbacks throughout the story showing us how this was done. However, the women of the past and of the present are pretty much useless. Only towards the end, and only in a spotty way, do we see the ladies put up some sort of struggle or take an active role in hunting Jack. Mostly, they huddle around in tears talking about their horrid dreams of a man hunting them and slicing them apart. Oh, and the adult ladies have sex with various male characters. Yep, the ladies are written pretty shallowly in this book.

And despite that, I was riveted. The plot wove bits of the past with lots of the modern mess of criminal activity. Charlie’s character fascinated me because he didn’t consider himself a hero, but just a guy who had set his mind to accomplish this one thing (bring down the murderer of his mum and girlfriend). Then there are all these fascinating bad guys who do pretty gruesome things (such as the dead girlfriend’s father, a crooked cop, and handiman, etc.). In each of their minds, they were their own hero and justified their actions.

The ending was terribly exciting and brutal. I really didn’t know how the outcome would go – Jack defeated or charlie broken? There is a very nice twist at the end and makes me deeply hope there will be a sequel to this tale.

Narration: Simon Vance did a great job, as always. He is one of my favorite authors and I will pick up a book by an author I have never heard of just because he is doing the narration. He had a very creepy voice for Jack and dark, intense voice for Charlie. Excellent performance!

[Kerri Selby · Rating 5 out of 5]

'In the 19th Century, a sinister killer ripped four souls from this world. But he needs a fifth and he's back to find it...
A fabled monster is unleashed again
Jack's back and he has unfinished business'

Having previously read and enjoyed Emson's Pandemonium Road, I was really looking forward to reading this and I wasn't disappointed.
I love his writing style and he delivers on the detail, guts & gore, a true horror writer.

Who doesn't have a bit of a fascination with Jack the Ripper & the mystery of who he actually was!
Emson's interpretation of this has been done cleverly & emphasised the evil that the killer was.

The story starts with a chapter that is from 3/4 of the way through without being confusing, it's intriguing. I really liked the way the story flashed back to previous years and gives the POV's of the 'dead' characters and entwines them with the 'main' characters.

I really did enjoy this book & think it would make a good film.

[B.E.L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pariah wasn't a bad book.It wasn't your typical Jack the Ripper kind of novel.

I really liked the storyline. I thought that was good. Very imaginative and dark. The twists in the book kept me guessing and the little red herrings was another pleasant surprise.

I must admit I got a little bored here and there because I felt some things were a bit rushed or lack explanation - mostly the ending - I feel there could have been more to it and a more in depth explanation as to why it had to end the way it did. But saying that it could be said that there may be a sequel and we'll meet Faultless again, some day and find all those unanswered questions answered.

I enjoyed Pariah. It was a good read in the end and didn't leave me unhappy after closing the book.

[Bec · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like all of Emson's novels so far, Pariah demanded to be devoured in one sitting. Emson has proven himself a formidable horror author. He manages to evoke the darkness in everybody through real, fleshed-out characters. Pariah takes a surprising turn towards the end and left me feeling satisfied but uneasy. I would definitely recommend.

[Annette Gisby · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing is sparse, getting the reader invovled from the first page. It's definitely a page-turner, but the ending is weird.

There was an extract from another book, which I think may be a sequel to this one, but that isn't mentioned anywhere.

First two thirds were very good, last third was a bit strange and it didn't seem to quite fit in with the rest of the book.

[Scott · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, this book is just not...well, pretty much everything. Loosly based on God and the legend of Jack The Ripper this book is a hodgepodge of time periods thrown together and head hopping that makes it more of an maze than a story. I would not recommend it. And really, can I hear one more time Lord in the mine, lantern in the cave, moth eating law, blah, blah, blah.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so enjoying this book a bit but then it went religious at the end and not even in a good way. It was so out of left field and I really didn't care after that. Why can authors not write a story about Jack the Ripper without ruining it completely.

[K.L. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Flew through this but didn't actually enjoy it. I didn't like the writing style, found it too bitty, and felt that a potentially great storyline wasn't treated properly. Will probably not read anything else by this author.

[Janet Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the extraordinary skills of Simon Vance (who can read the phone book and get me to listen), I think I would have preferred this horror novel in print due to frequent viewpoint changes. A decent listen, probably a slightly better eye read.

[Sian Taylor]

Very well written, with effective use of language. That being said, I didn't really like this book; a disturbing, but imaginative, story.

[Terence Clay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fictional story about the re-birth of the Ripper. The tale is the mixture of the Ripper and fallen angels. Thomas Emson is a fast paced writer and keeps the reader of the edge.

[Mel · Rating 1 out of 5]

This started off really well, and for the first couple of chapters I was hooked. But I soon got bored and by the end I didn't really have a clue what was going on.

[Jessica Peat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of lost interest when it swerved into the devil and god and angels crap. Meh