REVIEWS: THE SORROWS and CASTLE OF SORROWS by JONATHAN JANZ

{suitably subtitled: In Praise of Author Jonathan Janz}

Review: THE SORROWS by Jonathan Janz

I was surprised to realize I had not read this when first published; but as I had acquired the sequel, CASTLE OF SORROWS, to review, I wanted to read this one first. I'm so thankful I did, because I spent two days in the incredible, fabulist, fantastical, reality conceived by outstanding author Jonathan Janz. (I'm using fabulist in the sense of fable; fantastical in the sense of fantasy.) Mr. Janz can stand toe-to-toe in the realm of extreme horror with another favorite author, Edward Lee. Both can pen the most gruesome, gory, graphic, pain, suffering, torture; and explicit sensuality including rape-murder; and yet the writing is so excellent, the characters so intricately defined, that even while the reader cringes, gasps, and tries to turn away, still we are held fast to the page.

If you've read Mr. Janz' THE CLEARING OF TRAVIS COBLE, you know how his stories insinuate themselves into the deepest recesses of your mind and make themselves at home. So grab yourself a cast-iron stomach and blinders, and prepare yourself for the ride of your life, to an unforgettable experience on an isolated island eighty miles from the California coast: welcome to THE SORROWS.

REVIEW: CASTLE OF SORROWS by Jonathan Janz

I leaped at the opportunity to review this book, and then bought the first in the series--THE SORROWS--so I could read the two consecutively. What an experience! A weekend spent reveling in the unforgettable environment of The Sorrows, an isolated, haunted, fantastical island in the Pacific, eighty miles from the Northern California coast, an island of incredible beauty--and unrelenting terror. I literally held my breath while reading the last quarter of the story; and if there so won't be a sequel--well, I'll just SCREAM.