We can be monsters together.
Curiosity has led Payne down a path of experimentation filled with corpses, connections to the underground–and a dead partner. When he finds Blaze, broken and lifeless, on a crime cleanup scene, Payne’s knowledge of anatomy and his created serums assist in bringing Blaze back to life…
The only hitch in this plan? They come back different.
Together, Payne and Blaze must navigate their new life, filled with a ravaging hunger for fresh meat and opioids, while keeping their urges secret from a powerful don.
And things get even more complicated when they find themselves entangled with a third unexpected person who has more to give than financial freedom.
Care to take a bite?
Troubled Bodies is a tale of obsession, of devotion and addiction, of care and primal urges – and, above all, of love.
THE FACTS
📙 Clever and original
📘 Interesting characters with a lot of depth
📗 Haunting and visceral
🔴 obsession and addiction
🔵 unconditional love
🟣 instincts, hungers and desires
THE GOOD BITS
I backed Troubled Bodies by Jake Vanguard on Kickstarter because I really liked the sound of it. The author was great and the package I received with the book and goodies was quite a lot of fun. I have the character art up on my bulletin board as I write this.
This book launches straight into the story on page 1. Payne is like a mad scientist. He’s experimented with death, dismemberment and body modification… and he cleans up crime scenes to assist him with the supplies he needs.
When this novella opens, Payne discovers his lover Blaze dead on the scene. Surprisingly, Payne isn’t as panicked by the revelation as you might think and thus begins this trip into a darker world filled with flesh, cannibalism and obsession (in various forms)
This book is quite remarkable. I was surprised at the way I began to care for Payne and Blaze considering their baser instincts being front and center…. but here we are. Payne is obsessed with Blaze, supportive no matter what… perhaps one of the best unconditional loves I have seen on the page.
The problem with a life of hunting humans (even the vile ones), addiction to blood and flesh, and violence is that there needs to be a way to survive. When Blaze and Payne meet Alexei, they discover someone with the kind of power that can keep them hidden and safe as they all explore each other and their desires and hungers.
This is an artfully crafted novella with layered characters. They are shockingly likeable considering the unusual and confronting ways in which they live. I would gladly revisit this world and the souls inhabiting it. There seems so much more to all these unusual creatures!
Humans are the worst monsters of them all – Blaze
I bought my own copy of Troubled Bodies by Jake Vanguard
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