Child of Chaos by Jaxon Wolfe

I'm not much of a reader of sci-fi or horror, or speculative fiction as the horror genre is coming to be known. But as reviewer, I like to read widely in all the genres. This book, although it initially seemed to be sci-fi, was more in the realm of the horror/speculative genre. So when a review copy for this work came my way, well, I couldn't refuse.

The big, bad monster, Cthulhu, was suitably evil and wicked, but dang it if his name didn't ring a bell. I've seen this guy's name around, so I have. So I Googled him, and what do you know? Cthulhu has been around for quite a while and is the invention of a pioneering speculative fiction author called H P Lovecraft. So the idea is not original. So what? Fan fiction is coming into it's own these days and one of the biggest hits in fiction in recent times was fan fiction, if what I'm hearing is true. FIFTY SHADES OF GREY is supposed to have originally been fan fiction for another famous work, before names and settings were changed.

The baddies, parasite monsters who live in host human bodies, willing the creatures to live somewhat in the manner of zombies, were appropriately repulsive. This short read, which can be read in one sitting, is action packed and doesn't coast or cruise, keeping the reader on the edge until the last line. The concept of the human/monster combination has its roots in the Bible, can you believe it? There are many people even today who fear a people called 'the Nephilim', the offspring of human and demonic angel pairings, which, they believe, happened before the flood of which Biblical patriarch Noah was the hero. And there are many who live in fear that surviving Nephilim are ready to attack the human race from outer space.

The idea in itself may not be original, but the passion of the writer shines through the work. And not having read HP Lovecraft before, I wasn't in a position to compare the original work with the merits of this one.

But as a speculative/horror piece, it was up to the mark, gave me the chills and as one can say, hit the spot. It put me in mind of SIBERIAN HELLHOLE, the speculative fiction novel from Irish author Michael Mulvihill.

I look forward to reading more from Jaxon Wolfe. I'm sure that someday, when he authors original concepts in the genre, others will be writing fanfic for him.