A cosmic horror with absurd humor, vile creatures, other worlds and a meta story and a creepy little town.

• Entertainment factor: ★★★★★
• Gruesome factor: ★★★★☆
• Cosmic horror factor: ★★★★★
• Folk horror factor: ★★★★☆
• Body horror factor: ★★★☆☆
• Humor factor: ★★★★☆

Edenville blends cosmic horror with folk horror, other worlds, meta fiction and humor. With one likable and one unlikable main character who find themselves in their own horror movie. It will be a fight for survival against a dimension traveler, not one but two cults, vile and absurd creatures, and their own desires. It’s an original story that can be overwhelming at the start but guides you into the story and then reels you in. And it will certainly surprise and entertain you. 

It consists of 336 pages. 

Plot

Campbell P. Marion is a writer who has written one book based on a dream. In his dream there is an attic with a sharp-peaked roof. In the middle of the attic is a pink sofa in which he sat on. On the wall is a figure etched of a man. This figure began to open and out came the Gummerfolk who ate him up. His book is called The Shattered Man and is so far his only book. 

At a bar he reads from its pages and is waiting for a new idea to come. His girlfriend Quinn Rose Carver-Dobson works at the bar and has a severe case of rescuing the tormented writer with a big ego who is hoping for his next big break. 

His next big break is different from what he expected. Three years later a woman comes find him at the bar and offers him a job at Edenville College to be the guest teacher coming semester. While he is flattered and feels recognized as an established writer, Quinn thinks it’s odd. A job offer without a proper interview smells like a trap. Even more so because she grew up near Edenville. 

Edenville and other small villages belong to the county of Renfield and she grew up in the next county. When she was in high school Celeste her best friend disappeared while they were driving to Edenville. There were rumors about Edenville, people disappeared there and strange things roamed the area. Quinn still doesn’t know what happened to Celeste and while she is scared to go to Edenville it can also be an opportunity to find out what happened to her. 

So they decide to go. Even if they know it sounds like a horror film. They come up with a safe word, a veto, Ichabod. Whoever says it at any moment the other has to agree and they go home. If it reeks like a trap it probably is. Soon Cam and Quinn find themselves in a dire but otherworldly situation that might cost them their lives. 

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Short Review

This book has a lot going on story-wise, but also the tone shifts from horror to comedy in a split second. And that’s a good thing if you want to be surprised. It’s an original cosmic horror story about a book in a book, otherworldly beings, worlds or dimensions connected through a spinal universe, creepy but also over the top campy fun creatures and body horror, cults, fiction that becomes reality or vice versa and Cam and Quinn in the midst of it all. 

While Cam is the main character of the story, it’s his story to begin with and he finds himself trapped in his own horror story he has written, Quinn is actually the protagonist of the story. We follow the events looking over their shoulder and find out that Cam isn’t a likable character at all. He is self absorbed, only looking for recognition, for applause and even though things are getting strange and seem very off, he still wants to feel important and lets that feeling overrule his own logical thinking. 

Quinn however deals with her own problems. She knows she’s in a toxic relationship and this little outing to Edenville is just what she needs to see that more clearly. Although she knows from the start it’s a trap she still is curious to find out what happened to Celeste mainly because of guilt and maybe even saving her this time. While Cam is seduced with his ego, Quinn is seduced by wanting to know the truth. Still she is a lot stronger than Cam and keeps thinking straight. 

Although the story only has two main characters with clear characterization, there’s a lot to absorb in the beginning. The story of The Shattered Man is intertwined with the actual book and so is the story about Jopp Yennigen, a new a strange character that at first is very obscure and is set in an other world, but slowly integrates into the actual story. The set up is fun and smartly done and you have to stick with it and be patient and all will be revealed. 

The book has more characters, the faculty of the Creative Writing Department, who are all a bit odd and soon we learn why. When Cam is at college, Quinn walks around Edenville and notices that all the small businesses and library and such are run by old women. Old lovely ladies who are concerned with her, a little bit too concerned and you can immediately pick up the strange vibe that there is something terribly wrong here. And of course there is. Something happened in Edenville some time ago and that still has its consequences on the town and the people living in the whole of Renfield. It not only has an original and gruesome background but is also intertwined with the multiverse. 

While the story can feel a bit complicated at the beginning, it’s written in a clear style that slowly explains and reveals what is happening and why, although not everything will be completely explained. It has some creepy and gruesome horror, with gore and lots of blood, but it also does have a lot of humor. Quinn herself has a cynical sense of humor and the book itself is not a laughing out loud kind of humor, but an absurd sort of humor. It often feels ridiculous, in a good way and with some fun weird moments. The horror and comedy take turns so that pure horror stays that way and respects the ones being killed or badly abused. 

Edenville has a feel of folk horror, but it’s more than that. It’s a cosmic horror that is a bit complicated with traveling through other worlds and dimensions, connections and interactions between them, an Ouroboros feel of time travel, cults, spider like creatures, even body horror and worms, a lot of worms.