Review: Southern Gods by John Hornor Jacobs

Posted on September 22, 2011 in Fantasy, Horror, Suspense, Zombies! with 6 Comments

Southern Gods by John Hornor Jacobs
Publisher: Night Shade Books
Source:Purchased
Horror/Southern Gothic/Noir
5/5

Recent World War II veteran Bull Ingram is working as muscle when a Memphis DJ hires him to find Ramblin’John Hastur. The mysterious blues man’s dark,driving music –broadcast at ever-shifting frequencies by a phantom radio station –is said to make living men insane and dead men rise. Disturbed and enraged by the bootleg recording the DJ plays for him,Ingram follows Hastur’s trail into the strange,uncivilized backwoods of Arkansas,where he hears rumors the musician has sold his soul to the Devil. But as Ingram closes in on Hastur and those who have crossed his path,he’ll learn there are forces much more malevolent than the Devil and reckonings more painful than Hell…In a masterful debut of Lovecraftian horror and Southern gothic menace,John Hornor Jacobs reveals the fragility of free will,the dangerous power of sacrifice,and the insidious strength of blood.

REVIEW
It’s getting closer and closer to my favorite time of the year. October is just around the corner (which of course means Halloween), and the weather is finally cooling down. For me, this means sprinkling in some horror with my urban fantasy. There’s been a bit of an influx of Southern Noir in both film and books lately, and the atmosphere that books set in the deep south creates is always a draw for me. Southern Gods has been on my radar for a while for a few reasons: a.) It’s a Night Shade Books publication b.) Did you get a load of the awesomeness of that cover?, and c.)It just plain sounded good. The cover establishes the mood and the feel of the novel perfectly, which is always a plus for me. Crack this sucker open, and you’re in for a wild ride. Bull Ingram (he’s a ginormous brute of a man, the name says it all), WWII vet and strong-arm for hire, is hired by a radio station owner to find a salesman that seems to have gone missing while on the road, promoting new artists. The salesman is not the type to jump off the radar, and his family and the station owner is genuinely worried. Keep in mind, this is 1951 Arkansas, so Bull has a lot of legwork ahead of him. He’s also asked to find out anything he can about a bluesman called Ramblin’ John. Little does he know (but will soon find out), Ramblin’ John is anything but human, and bad news all the way around. Just how bad, Bull will soon find out. Meanwhile, Sarah Reinhardt is fleeing her abusive husband with her young daughter, to return to her family home. So, what do this young mother and Bull Ingram have to do with each other? Quite a lot, actually, and their paths will eventually converge in order to fight an ancient evil that threatens to end humanity as we know it.

Southern Gods starts off with a bang, and it rarely lets up. Take the hot, steamy landscape of 1951 Arkansas, throw in the walking dead, blues that have the power to take over your soul (and not in a good way), and the mythos of the Old Gods, and you have a potent cocktail that goes down smooth, then hits you like a freight train. Bull is a man that’s rough around the edges, a bit tortured, and the author certainly puts this poor man through his paces. Sarah is looking for something (or someone) to believe in, and also an escape from her misery. She finds this to a certain extent in her oldest friend, Alice, who still runs her family home, however, the presence of her ailing and controlling mother puts a bit of a damper on things, to say the least. Southern Gods isn’t for the faint of heart, folks. There is some toe-curling violence here (nothing gratuitous, however, yet some of it is disturbing), but there are also a few scenes that are genuinely creepy, like, little-, hairs-on-the-back-of-your-neck-standing-up creepy, and the author knows just how, and when, to temper the out-and-out scary with the moments of creeping terror. There is also another huge component to this story: hope. It shines in Sarah and Bull, especially in Sarah’s love for her daughter, and their humanity and strength elevates this novel far above the usual horror fare. If you love southern goth, intelligent horror, Cthulhu, and just plain outstanding writing (don’t forget having your pants scared off), you’ll love Southern Gods!

Read my interview with John Hornor Jacobs

**Purchase Southern Gods**
Amazon | Barnes and Noble

6 Responses to “Review: Southern Gods by John Hornor Jacobs”

Author comments are in a darker gray color for you to easily identify the posts author in the comments

Diana (@Offbeat Vagabond) says:

September 23, 2011 at 9:52 pm

Wow this sounds scary. I am tough, so i will definitely check this out, but thank you for the warning nonetheless. But I love the Southern Gothic genre, all thanks to Flannery O’Connor. This sounds brilliant and with a 5 hat rating, you bet I will be reading this. Thanks so much hon

Reply
- Kristin says:
  
  September 25, 2011 at 1:51 pm
  
  Super creepy, but also intelligent. You’ll love it!
  
  Reply