Macabre Musings: Book Review - Scarecrow Gods by Weston Ochse
2008, Delirium Books

EDITOR'S NOTE: Read Fear Zone's interview with Weston Ochse.

My introduction to the work of author Weston Ochse was through his short fiction. It was both good and "fresh" enough to warrant my taking note of his name and seeking out further written works by the author. This, in turn, led me straight to his longer works, Recalled To Life and Vampire Outlaw Of The Milky Way , both of which were, like author Ochse's short fiction, innovative, energetic, imaginative, and immensely fun to read. Indeed, the only work by Weston Ochse that I seemed unable to obtain (without spending a great deal of money) was his first novel, Scarecrow Gods , which had earned him a Bram Stoker award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel, and which had previously been released in a very limited numbered and lettered hardcover edition by Delirium Books. This limited edition novel sold out quickly enough to actually act as a legitimate test of certain aspects of Einstein's theory of relativity relating to the speed of light.

Thankfully, Delirium Books, heeding the cries of the masses wanting to read this award winning novel is now about to release Scarecrow Gods in a trade softcover edition in May 2008, retailing for a reasonable $16.95, as part of its Delirium Book Club, making this important work available to a much wider audience. Having now read this book, I can readily understand why it won the Stoker award, and can strongly recommend it without reservation to all fans of the Horror Genre who have yet to read it. This book should go right to the top not only of your "to be purchased" List, but also placed at the top of your "To Be Read" (TBR) List as well.

Scarecrow Gods is first and foremost, the tale of its unique protagonist, Maxom Phinxs, an African-American Special Forces soldier in the Vietnam War who survives both a horrifying set of wounds received in the war and then the gruesome torture he is subjected to by the Viet Cong who capture him. During his capture and confinement in Vietnam he is assisted by Lo Lo, a Mung Tribesman witchdoctor who teaches Maxom to use certain mental and psychic powers to survive what would otherwise have been certain death. Maxom manages to return from the war to his native Tennessee, horribly disfigured but alive, where he is now routinely referred to as 'The Maggot Man" both due to his appearance, and also in reference to his rather odd employment.

Maxom encounters and eventually befriends a troubled twelve-year-old boy, Danny, whose older teenage sister has mysteriously disappeared after having left certain ambiguous diary entries suggesting that their father may be guilty of incest, which has certainly placed a strain upon Danny's mother and his father, who denies culpability. Maxom eventually begins to tutor Danny in the same psychic arts which he had learned from Lo Lo, including how to enter the "Land Of Inside-Out" where one may enter and control the minds of animals, and where one must avoid the frightening and deadly denizens known as Chill Blaines. Author Ochse, in a fashion reminiscent of a young Stephen King of The Stand, masterfully integrates these story lines with those of a rising supernatural danger to the world emanating from a mysterious preacher in Arizona who calls himself John The New Baptist, and who has established his own Branch-Davidian styled complex and is rapidly gaining adherents, including many young girls, who meet sinister and most fatal ends. Seeking to stop this new evil are a somewhat motley group of unlikely saviors, including Brother Simon, an Alexian monk who has lost his faith, a homeless man known as Billy Bones, who communicates only in metaphors, anagrams and palindromes, and a somewhat nasty FBI Special Agent, Gill Gooly, who is referred to as "The Ghoul" by his own co-workers.

Weston Ochse manages to weave a compelling and very fast-moving story that eventually brings all these disparate personages together in a fascinating and frightening plot. Mr. Ochse's characters are all vividly portrayed and are among the more unique and irresistible, and certainly the more memorable characters to be introduced in modern Horror fiction. While one may arguably find components in Weston Ochse's writing that are reminiscent, in a very good way, of such masters of the genre as Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, F. Paul Wilson, Jack Ketchum, and even Ed Lee, among others, the fact is that Mr. Ochse has his own strong, unique, and distinctive style - one that is exceedingly entertaining and irresistibly appealing to readers.

Weston Ochse is a skilled and extremely talented writer who creates compelling worlds and unique and fascinating characters as well as gripping and persuasive stories. He is a talent to be reckoned with and one whose influence upon the Horror and Dark Fantasy Genres is certain to be felt in the years to come. Scarecrow Gods is a brilliant first novel and one which leaves a reader wanting to read more. Both his subsequent Recalled To Life and Vampire Outlaw Of The Milky Way have already proven that the promise displayed in Scarecrow Gods was no fluke. In truth, all the comments made in this review can be equally applied to author Ochse's two later books. Scarecrow Gods displays the budding talent of one of the Horror/Dark Fantasy Genre's most promising rising stars, and receives my highest recommendation.