Brimstone

Today’s post is on Brimstone by Cherie Priest. It is a standalone novel. It is 326 pages long and is published by Ace Books. The cover has a woman silhouetted in flame. The intended reader is someone who likes period pieces with a little darkness in them. There is some mild foul language, no sex, and no violence in this book. The story is from first person close of the two main characters. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book -In the trenches of Europe during the Great War, Tomas Cordero operated a weapon more devastating than any gun: a flame projector that doused the enemy in liquid fire. Having left the battlefield a shattered man, he comes home to find yet more tragedy for in his absence, his wife has died of the flu. Haunted by memories of the woman he loved and the atrocities he perpetrated, Tomas dreams of fire and finds himself setting match to flame when awake. . . .
Alice Dartle is a talented clairvoyant living among others who share her gifts in the community of Cassadaga, Florida. She too dreams of fire, knowing her nightmares are connected to the shell-shocked war veteran and widower. And she believes she can bring peace to him and his wife s spirit.
But the inferno that threatens to consume Tomas and Alice was set ablaze centuries ago by someone whose hatred transcended death itself. . . .

Review- This book is billed as a horror novel but it really isn’t. It has some horror elements like the bad guy being a living flame that wants to burn the world down but it is more like magical realism. By that I mean Alice and the other mystics’ abilities are just there and they work. Nothing fancy or shocking about their powers. The creature bad-guy is really horrid but not creepy or scary in a traditional sense. It wants what it wants and it wants to burn all the witches and then the world. Tomas is very sympathetic with his grief and PTSD and fear that he will never see his beloved wife again. I really enjoyed the setting of the book with Cassasdaga itself being a character and very important to the story. I recommend this book if you looking for a mix of light horror and magical realism.

I give this novel a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.