Lost Gods

August 15, 2016
Fantasy artist and author Brom creates a fascinating vision of the underworld in this sprawling dark novel, but the quest story that crosses the landscape is unsatisfying. It’s 1976, and 24-year-old bumbler Chet Moran has just served seven months in county prison in rural Alabama for drug possession. He reunites with his pregnant girlfriend, Trish, and they elope to Chet’s ancestral home, Moran Island, S.C., where his grandmother Lamia welcomes them with open arms. The island is not the haven it appears to be, though, and when Chet is murdered, he must cross through purgatory, which is currently in a state of perilous upheaval, to save Trish and their baby from a bleak fate. Brom clearly wants to show off his worldbuilding and much of Chet’s journey through the afterlife involves him stumbling into situations that could have been compelling, but Chet treats them as mere obstacles impeding his quest, which dulls their impact. The momentum is entirely driven by plot, and many characters seem more like puppets than people. The prose is evocative and the settings are brilliantly crafted, but unwelcome surprises (including upsetting things happening to the baby and many of the other female characters) and confusing, contradictory metaphysics (which both draw on and disparage non-Christian traditions) detract from the experience.

Underworld fantasy from the artist, games designer, and novelist (Krampus, 2012, etc.).Released from jail for drug dealing, trying to start a new life, Chet Moran goes to meet his pregnant girlfriend, Trish, hoping that her father, Judge Wilson, who's implacably opposed to their union, isn't home. Trish agrees to run off with him, but Coach, Chet's old high school nemesis, tries to stop their hurried departure, and Chet accidentally sideswipes him with the car. The pair heads for Chet's grandmother, with whom Chet has a psychic connection and whom he believes to be a witch. Malevolent child-ghosts surround Lamia's isolated house; Lamia explains that Chet's evil grandfather Gavin killed them and tried to kill her too. Chet, totally fooled, agrees to stay, but Lamia kills him and reveals something of her horrid plans for Trish and their unborn daughter. Now a despairing ghost, Chet encounters Senoy, an angel who lost most of his powers when Gavin stole his divine key. If Chet can recover the key for Senoy, the angel will be able to defeat Lamia, allowing Chet to reclaim Trish and their child. But to find Gavin, Chet must descend to purgatory, where, he will learn, nothing is what it seems and some things are much worse than being dead. Chet's exciting adventures occur in an inventive hodgepodge of mythical and literary netherworlds that owe little to logic, where the intention seems more to dazzle than illuminate. An oddly schizophrenic yarn--organized above, chaotic below--but fans of Brom's weirdly offbeat imagination will find much to admire. COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 1, 2016
Chet Moran has a problem keeping promises, although a seven-month jail stint has prompted him to reset his priorities. He is determined to begin again and proposes to his pregnant girlfriend, Trish, promising to never let her down and be a good father to their child. Looking to make a fresh start and leave their past behind, the couple heads for the one place Chet is sure will be safe. What he finds instead is a terrible evil and a violent death, leaving Trish and his unborn child alone and unprotected. Learning that death is not the end as expected, Chet takes on a herculean taska single chance to keep his promise and save his family. To retrieve a lost celestial key, he descends into the depths of purgatory on an orphic journey fraught with ghosts, demons, and ancient gods. Brom's newest illustrated fantasy, after Krampus (2012), spins a tale of heartrending horror that will appeal to fans of Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden's Baltimore; or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire (2007).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

May 15, 2016

Artist/author Brom's Krampus and The Child Thief were decidedly different retellings of familiar fairy tales, but here Brom offers an original story. Murdered by a lurking, ancient evil, newly minted ex-con Chet Moran must save his wife and their unborn child by traveling deep into Purgatory--which, as the 35 color and black-and-white images suggest, looks a lot like hell. With a 50,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.