The Damned Ones

In The Damned Ones, Chris Miller returns us to Winnsboro, Texas and reacquaints us with the surviving heroes of The Damned Place. Twenty-six years after the horrific events that nearly resulted in the end of the world, Jim, Freddie, Ryan and Honey are all grown up. They’ve spent most of their lives trying to forget what happened out at that damned house. Unfortunately for them, something huge is coming and they might have to save the world again.

One thing that is apparent when reading The Damned Ones is just how much Miller has come into his own as an author since The Damned Place. That isn’t to say that The Damned Place wasn’t a damned good story; well-written with excellent characters and plot. It’s just that in the first book of the series, Miller’s influences were clear. The undertones of Stephen King and Stranger Things were undeniable and evident. With The Damned Ones, Miller has completely come into his own. The story is wholly original and 100% Miller, and it’s great.

Rather than the main plot thread being the conflict between kids and their bullies, The Damned Ones sees a grown Jim Dalton as the Chief of Police trying to solve a string of brutal murders. The two major points of view here are Jim’s and Norman’s. If the name Norman sounds familiar, it’s because Norman Reese is the younger brother of Jake Reese, the head bully from book one. A small side character in the first book, Norman takes the stage front and center in The Damned Ones. Just like in the first book, a Reese boy is the main human antagonist. I absolutely loved Norman as the big baddie. All his life, he has been convinced by his mother to believe that he is God’s chosen, and will play a pivotal role in bringing His word to all of creation. To keep this spoiler-free, I’ll just say that she was not entirely wrong.

Quite possibly the most successful aspect of The Damned Ones is Miller’s horrifying portrayal of absolute religious mania. The Reese family is nuts. Norman’s mother Cherry is convinced beyond all doubt that her loving boy has been called upon by God Almighty to fulfil a Great Purpose. That core, unshakable belief is what drives her every move, and what shaped Norman into who he had to be in order for this story to take off. Being inside both of their heads is surreal. The absolute delusion, the ridiculous mental gymnastics of justification are genuinely terrifying. Miller managed to get inside the head of this perfect storm of delusion, narcissism and grandeur. The scariest part is that it all seemed so real. People like this could actually exist. Religion has been behind some atrocious acts throughout history, and that level of realism really hit home with Norman and Cherry.

When it comes to blood-guts-and-gore, The Damned Ones is in a whole different league than its predecessor. Obviously with the plot being a grisly string of murders, there’s gonna be some blood. Miller writes these violent gore-fests with grace, balancing beauty and blood, passion and pain. The murder scenes were easily my favorite scenes in the novel (except maybe the climactic finale). Miller gives just enough background on each victim so that you can really put yourself in their shoes before he brutally chops you down while you’re there. The murder scenes were somehow both fun and haunting and actually scary all at once.

When it comes time for the final showdown, Miller cranks it up and just lets it fly. The final few chapters get progressively more brutal and wild and unpredictable. By the time the end came, I was flying through pages at 3 AM, practically inhaling the story. In my opinion, the way Miller chose to end the book is damn near perfect. This ending hit heavy. This is no story where the heroes hold hands and use the power of love to come through unscathed. Miller uses your heart as a punching bag, just letting you have it. Maybe I’m a softy, or maybe it’s cause I’ve got my first kid on the way. But the epilogue moved me damn near to tears.

The Damned Ones is a beautiful, violent, wild ride. Like returning to your hometown after years abroad, the setting and characters are comfortably familiar, but time has had its effect. Being back with the characters we know and love from The Damned Place really adds a punch to this one, but it would be a solid work even without reading the first novel. Miller has stepped up his game in the bloodshed department while managing to keep the story character-centric. Fans of slashers, cosmic horror and religious mania will absolutely love it. No doubts about it, you need to read Chris Miller’s The Damned Ones.