The Devil's Alphabet

Starred review from October 12, 2009
Gregory (Pandemonium
) produces a quietly brilliant second novel. As a teen, Paxton Martin left the town of Switchcreek, Tenn., to escape a scandal and the retrovirus that afflicted many of the town's inhabitants. Many died hideously, and most survivors turned into strange creatures: towering argos, parthenogenic betas, enormously obese charlies. A decade later, Pax returns home to attend the funeral of a close friend who has committed suicide. Hoping to avoid his estranged father, Pax plans to leave immediately after the funeral, but he soon finds himself caught up in both the complexities of his old life and the deep quantum weirdness that Switchcreek has become. A wide variety of believable characters, a well-developed sense of place and some fascinating scientific speculation will earn this understated novel an appreciative audience among fans of literary SF.

September 1, 2009
Engaging sophomore effort from the author of Pandemonium (2008) paints a highly original portrait of a town irrevocably changed by a bizarre disease.

After a long absence, Pax Martin returns to Switchcreek, Tenn., for the funeral of his old friend Jo Lynn, with whom he had a complicated history. But Switchcreek is no ordinary town, because of the Changes, a strange plague that hit 13 years ago. The mysterious outbreak didn't spread beyond the town's borders, but it killed a fourth of the population and transformed most of the rest into grotesque mutants:"the giant argos, the seal-skinned betas, the fat charlies." Pax, one of the lucky few who survived unscathed, left Switchcreek, he thought for good. Now he sees how the town has transformed, and eventually he discovers that Jo Lynn's suicide isn't what it appears. Then comes the horrible discovery that the Changes have hit another city, this time in Ecuador. The plot sometimes meanders, but the talented author has a wonderful eye for detail, and his descriptions of how the horrific mutations have affected every aspect of small-town life are both compelling and creepy.

Evokes the best of Stephen King: Gregory is a writer to watch.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

October 15, 2009
Ten years after the plague that transformed the survivors of Switchcreek, TN, into argos, grey-skinned giants with immense strength, and betas, parthenogenic bald women with brick-red skin, Pax Martin, one of the few unaffected, returns home for the funeral of an old friend, a beta who supposedly hanged herself. Pax's investigations into her possible murder reopen old wounds and reveal dangerous information. Gregory ("Pandemonium") creates a disturbing yet fascinating vision of a new evolution of humanity along two distinct lines, raising questions as to what constitutes being human. VERDICT As involving as any mystery, this tale calls to mind both the groundbreaking work of Philip K. Dick and the universal appeal of Ray Bradbury. [Library marketing.]

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