It's creepy, cosmic horror, southern gothic, cynical detective story. I absolutely loved it. A great plot with very cool characters. It begins when a brute of a detective tries to track down an R&B artist in a racially charged post-WW II south. It's a great setting.

Until...

That ending. Just ... no. It blew all of the atmosphere and creepiness out of the water and ruined the book.

The villains were straight outta Saturday Morning Cartoon casting. I really hate that. Their motives and personalities are one dimensional. There's nothing about what happened to them to make them so evil or turn them so horribly wrong. They just give overlong speeches about what they will do to humanity once they get them in their evil clutches.

The villainous mother makes a speech about how the world will change when the Elder Gods rise and my first thought during her screed was, "Who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters!"

Seriously. No one should think that while reading cosmic horror.

Then the author "subverted expectations" with a rape and a death, then reversed it with a semi-literal "hand of god". By the time that was over, I was cringing so hard my face hurt. And everyone lived kinda sorta happy ever after the rapes and deaths. Seriously. WTF.

Then there were the speeches about the death of religion. OMG, staahhhhhp.

If not for the terrible ending, Southern Gods would have been a solid five with a 'top pick'. Such a waste.

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A harsh, spare little chunk of Lovecraftian brutality. What it lacks in polish it makes up for in full-on speed. ( )

Southern Gods
Author: John Hornor Jacobs
Publisher: Nightshade Books
Publishing Date: 2011
Pgs: 270
Dewey: F JAC
Disposition: Interlibrary Loan - Central Library IFICW via Irving Public Library - South Campus - Irving, TX
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REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

Summary:
Recent World War II veteran Bull Ingram is working as muscle when a Memphis DJ hires him to find Ramblin' John Hastur. The mysterious blues man's dark, driving music - broadcast at ever-shifting frequencies by a phantom radio station - is said to make living men insane and dead men rise. Disturbed and enraged by the bootleg recording the DJ plays for him, Ingram follows Hastur's trail into the strange, uncivilized backwoods of Arkansas, where he hears rumors the musician has sold his soul to the Devil. But as Ingram closes in on Hastur and those who have crossed his path, he'll learn there are forces much more malevolent than the Devil and reckonings more painful than Hell... In a masterful debut of Lovecraftian horror and Southern gothic menace, John Hornor Jacobs reveals the fragility of free will, the dangerous power of sacrifice, and the insidious strength of blood.
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Genre:
Gothic Fiction
Historical Fantasy
Dark Fantasy
Lovecraft Mythos
Blues Music
Crossroads Myth
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Why this book:
The Blues and Cthulhu. A many tentacled trip to the crossroads.
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The Feel:
Eerie AF.

So after we start off with a Crossroads vibe, it picks up both a Lovecraft Country and an American Gods kind of vibe. Very nice.

Favorite Character:
I like Bull Ingram, but no one would ever accuse him of being the most intelligent character.

Favorite Concept:
Music that will raise the dead.

Hmm Moments:
Arkansasylvania? Transylsas? I expect Hickthulhu any second.

At the least, this book is a fellow traveller with Lovecraft Country. It definitely shares roots in the part of the country that it's taking place in and in Lovecraft.

So within the space for an hour she saw a bedridden sickly old woman start speaking in tongues and lashing out and, then, sees a shadow staring at her from the bottom of the stairs and doesn't tell anybody about it, not the smartest character in the world. Course I guess she could already be under Hastur's spell. She has been translating the Little Book of Shadows and sitting with and listening to the old lady speak in tongue. What could possibly go wrong?

Juxtaposition:
The scene in Ruby’s on the Bayour: Grover's introduction of Hastur reminds me of King's Man in Black. Interesting juxtaposition, Hastur and Flagg.

So, Sarah belittles the Father Andrez and makes fun of him and, then, runs away from him. Then, she remembers Uncle Gregor telling her stories that line up with what the priest was talking about.

Dreamcasting:
Peter Dinklage as Father Andrez.
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Pacing:
Once Bull, Sarah, and Father Andrez gather at Gethsemane the pace picks up a lot.

Last Page Sound:
Damn...that ending was both horrible and awesome...mostly horrible, in a horror movie way. And that epilogue...that's not really a happy ending. It’s awesome. But...damn.

Questions I’m Left With:
So...Wilhelm survived the boat...or was that Hastur in another form?

Author Assessment:
Very good. Will read more by this author.
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This was an interesting horror novel. I am not usually a fan of Lovecraftian stories, but the creepy beginning pulled me in and helped me get beyond the gore and unexplained evil that developed later in the story. I liked the characters and character development throughout the story and the ending was satisfying if bittersweet. ( )

This is more than a 3 star read, but not quite enough to round up to 4 stars. The potential for a fabulous story carried me through until a sudden shift in point of view. The main character, Bull, seemed to take a back seat to Sarah and the action became hers, with Bull fading into the background like a supporting actor. I lost a bit of interest at that point. Bull's character and background were more interesting, and though I was sympathetic to Sarah, she would have been better as a support to Bull. In fact, the dynamic between Bull and Ramblin' John Hastur was excellent. With Sarah, the tension was lost since she never actually met Hastur. The story abruptly changed focus to her family and background.

As for zombies, and gore - the horror elements were all there. For some reason I was less drawn into those scenes than I have been with other horror stories, such as HORNS by Joe Hill. I'm not certain why - just saying. On the positive side, SOUTHERN GODS plot and characters, especially Hastur and Bull, were very well drawn. This was quite a decent book, and one I'll remember for several elements, such as oily mouth'ed zombies.

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