VICTORIA by Jason Parent

VICTORIA by Jason Parent

Published December 21st 2018

Published by Bloodshot Books

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(from book description)

Victoria Menard has had a hard life. She’s an orphan and a thief… and perhaps even a murderer. Worst of all, her only friend is a talking spider named Chester that lives in her head.

 

For the last eight years, Victoria and Chester have traveled the world, seeing the sights, learning half a dozen languages, and terrorizing communities indiscriminately. Now sixteen, Victoria wants her independence. But the parasite inside her won’t let her go.

Chester has big plans, but Victoria’s brain may no longer be big enough for the both of them. How can a girl rid herself of an unwanted guest when that guest refuses to leave?

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Just a quick note to the readers. This story takes place in the same shared universe as Jason's 2017 novel WHAT HIDES WITHIN, but you do not need to have read it to enjoy this story. VICTORIA is a stand-alone story. I would recommend picking up WHAT HIDES WITHIN for more spidery goodness.

I have never had a problem with spiders like a lot of people. If they leave me alone, then I will do the same for them. But spiders living in your head, and intelligent speaking spiders at that, well that's a whole different matter.

Jason Parent's new novel VICTORIA gives a a strong female lead who may, or may not be in control of her own destiny. This is because Victoria has a stow-away, a little spider named Chester who lives in her head. We are not talking about an imaginary friend here, no, this is an honest to goodness eight-legged freak living in her actual noggin. Chester has lived in Victoria's head since she was a child and has influenced her action for years. Teaching her to be strong and smart, a fighter and yes, at times, a killer. Victoria thinks of Chester as her friend and mentor, but Chester has much darker plans in mind.

The character of Victoria is a bad-ass, take-no-crap-from-anyone lead. She barrels through the story fists-flying, never letting anything thrown in her way slow her down. And boy, do some things get in her way. The author has created the perfect character. She is strong and determined and living in a world that is quickly spiraling out of her control.  But he does not let us forget that Victoria is still just a young girl longing for a sense of family and belonging.

Chester, our resident spider, is truly an evil being. For a spider, Jason has transformed the character into a believable and really frightening force. As a member of a race that has been around for centuries, Chester reveals just enough info about her race to keep us interested and guessing without bogging us down with too much lore.

One of the best things about this book is Jason's characters. The love/hate relationship between Victoria and Chester is great. Then add in a possible love interest and things get very interesting with all of it leading up to a totally surprising ending.

The story is fast-paced and exciting. It reads like an espionage thriller, mixed with The Da Vinci Code and sprinkled with spiders. I really enjoyed this book and hope that Jason Parent revisits the character of Victoria again in the future, and of course, brings us more history of Chester and her kin.


You can purchase VICTORIA in ebook and print on AMAZON.

You can learn more about JASON PARENT and his works HERE.

And to learn more about the publisher and the other books they offer please visit 
BLOODSHOT BOOKS

HEADCHEESE by Jess Hagemann

HEADCHEESE by Jess Hagemann

Published December 18th 2018

Published by Cinestate

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(from the book description)

The day that Lorrie “accidentally” cuts off her little toe, she discovers what it’s like to be able-bodied and not want that body.

After Bartholomew loses his left arm to a Sunni sniper, he’s inspired to start a new kind of church―one where both amputation and sex are types of performance art.

Trice, a prosthetics engineer, receives the assignment of a lifetime when he’s asked to rebuild his son’s crippled frame.

Haunted by the memory of his dead wife, George must take the ultimate measure to excise her ghost. For good.

From sexual fetish to the clinical diagnosis of Body Integrity Identity Disorder, Headcheese makes the first cut, peeling back the epidermis to peer inside the minds and hearts of 26 people navigating the topography of flesh.

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 I don't think I have ever had such trouble starting a review on a book. I finished HEADCHEESE by Jess Hagemann and then sat with it rolling around in my head for a few days as I thought about its message. This book did hit close to home for me. I am  amputee. I lost a leg to traumatic injury just over 18 years ago. The thought of someone wanting to voluntarily have a healthy limb removed just baffles me. I have been through multiple operations and therapies and would not wish it on anyone. Yet there are people in the world who do just that, and this book takes a look inside the life of these individuals.

The book deals with a very real mental illness called Body Integrity Identity Disorder. This disorder makes a person want to have a body part amputated because they feel it is not really a part of them. Like looking at your arm and feeling that it is just not right and wanting it gone. A person can go from trying to have it removed by a doctor to the more extreme cases of DIY at-home-amputations with electric saws and other devices.

HEADCHEESE is a very well written story that is part character narrative and part info dump from the author. Now, that term is not meant in a bad way, Jess Hagemann covers a lot of topics through the course of the book. Interwoven with the ongoing story, she adds story background, history lessons, news stories and more. The book jumps page to page with some pages only having 2 sentences on them, while others could be 3 pages of ongoing story. It didn't bother me, but some readers might find it off-putting. I found myself reading large chunks at a time and finishing the book in 2 days. The main story-line has an amazing 26 characters. Some are not given much attention at all, but the main few like Lorrie, Bartholomew, Trice and George carry the story along. The author has a great way of weaving the story elements together until everyone at some point has crossed paths with each other. The author does not hold back in her descriptions of amputations and other bloody events. I really enjoyed reading some of the informative tidbits and real life stories that are peppered every few pages.

There are also illustrations by Chris Panatier scattered throughout the book. Some are fairly tame while others are down right cringe worthy.

HEADCHEESE gives us a deep look inside the lives of a group of people dealing with Body Integrity Identity Disorder. At time it can be a terrifying display of raw body horror, made more disturbing by the fact that these are incidents that could be, and have taken place in the real world.

HEADCHEESE is definitely not a book for everyone and at times can be very difficult to read. Everyone is bound to take away something different from the story. Myself, being an amputee, found it very interesting that this could really be happening out there, even though the thought of it still upsetting to me deep down inside. In the end tho, I would recommend that you read this book. The story is intriguing, but the background information and thoughts from the author make this book shine even more.

This is one book that could spark some interesting debates between readers. Do we look at the sanctity of the human body and condemn people suffering from BIID for their actions, or is it a personal choice issue like sexual orientations and gender identity? This is an issue that really has not been addressed like some other disorders, but HEADCHEESE open the door to discussion. It's up to you, the reader, if you will step inside.


You can purchase HEADCHEESE on AMAZON.

You can find out more about the Publisher CINESTATE and all their other projects HERE.