Let's Talk Books

Of Beasts is a powerful little book, quietly literary, and yet reminiscent of horror bestsellers like Lucy Rose’s The Lamb, and the works of Andrew Joseph White.

This is a novella which feels, in no small part, like a dream, or like existing in the recesses of interconnected minds. We flow between Jude and Dante, one the anti-Christ, the other a pastor, neither devoted to the divine or the infernal more so than they are the other. This is not horror with gore and shock, although it is grotesque in its own way, and unflinching in the simplicity of language. This simplicity should not be taken as a critique, Of Beasts is craftily penned, the prose elegant, in places poetic, yet svelte and clear. This clarity and directness adds to the sense of inevitability in the work, the power and powerlessness of our leads.

Many reviewers have lamented the brevity of this work, and whilst I do not think it is fair to criticise an author for writing their work as they know it, I must agree to some extent: this was a story I wish went on just a little longer, characters I longed to know more fully, and a relationship which I wanted to understand better. Some scenes felt truncated, pruned or just economical, I feel, given the subject matter, they which would not have suffered from greater description, or a more lingering consideration.

4 stars.

Please note: I would advise looking into content warnings before reading this book, as there are some elements and themes which readers may find distressing.