Wow. This book was dark, and I loved it. Already a fan of this author (from my previous reading of The Dead Lands), I knew I would enjoy his take on the Wendigo legend. And I wasn’t disappointed. The first chapter was dark and grisly and I was instantly hooked. Something nasty has come to haunt the town of Vacant, and with enough problems already in place, Vacant’s residents are not prepared for the savagery of the supernatural being that has descended on their doorstop. The mayor, the pastor, the deputies, and the sheriff are all drowning in their various vices and issues and are ill-equipped to protect or help anyone, much less themselves. Their solution to the flesh-eating creature is not in anyone’s best interest—except their own.
This is very much a character-driven story. The plot moves along at a tense, but steady pace, all the while delivering plenty of thrills and chills. I am in love with this author’s descriptive style. As with his previous work, there were several times I had to go back and read a line, simply because of how beautifully it was constructed. Be warned: this story does not hold back. Morgan pumps out the terror, suspense, gore, sex, drugs, depravity, alcohol, corruption, action, and betrayal, in equal measure, with just a touch of hope sprinkled in. And he does it in such a mesmerizing way. The characters are delightfully flawed and finding a hero among them isn’t easy work. You’ll keep trying though, as you will have a lot of trouble putting it down, especially in the last quarter where the pressure is on and the fate of multiple characters is in the balance.
Flesh is a bloody, intense dive headfirst into the shocking troubles of a town that is very aptly named. I would definitely recommend it to all horror fans.