Review: Blood Mountain by J.T. Warren

Blood Mountain 
by J.T. Warren

Reviewed by Mallory Heart Reviews

This is not a story of hikers stalked in the forest by a Supernatural force such as a Wendigo, nor of campers in danger from natural forces (lightning, forest fires, earthquakes). Although the danger is nearly as implacable and as unthinking as a force of nature, it is ostensibly in human form-and it’s name is Victor Dolor. Intriguingly, “Dolor” is Latin for pain, grief, misery, suffering, and “Victor” is a winner or champion. This one is aptly-named, fulfilling his promise. He believes he is one of a small subset of “cleansers,” sent to purify the Earth before the end, prior to the advent of the “new” world in which he and those few others like him-primal in nature, meta-survivalists-will rule.

His current target is a young woman on the cusp of adulthood;  I say on the cusp, because although she is a college graduate, although she has endured the loss of her mother, Mercy by her nature, her introversion, and her lifestyle choices is, if not quite emotionally immature, certainly emotionally vulnerable. Neither is she “street smart” nor awake to the obvious intuitive clues which should ring strident alarm bells each time she encounters Victor Dolor. A clear example of bipedal predator, Dolor’s “vibrations” would warn any animal and many humans in his vicinity, yet Mercy in her daydreams of meeting a man, “the right man,” tunes out and suffers the consequences.

“Blood Mountain” is biting, graphic, gory, and intense. It is not for the faint of heart nor those without cast-iron stomachs. Readers with compassion will find themselves wincing, moaning, and perhaps even shrieking. It is smoothly-written and the introduction of Victor’s beliefs about cleansing and his recurrent images of gore are subtly introduced so that his particular brand of horror creeps up on us with that implacability I have mentioned: you can’t run, you can’t hide, and there’s no relief. But for those readers who have strong stomachs, this story has really unexpected twists, moments of intense terror mutating to high drama to surprise and perhaps success. It is rare to find a story of this length containing such a continuum of character evolution. I hesitate to say more, as I must not give away the story; but let me say, I came away glad that I had read it, with much to think about. I most definitely see in this story an extended course in how to write character, suspense, tension, and horror.


Reviewed by Mallory Heart Reviews
http://archiestandwoodsreviewsandwritings.blogspot.com

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