Thomas is no ordinary man. To live, he must devour human flesh. His habitual existence is one of killing and feeding and taking on the physical characteristics of his victims.Thomas tries to fit in with the rest of humanity, but when his beautiful neighbor, Stephanie deceives him and turns out to be a monster just like him, he decides to discover his heritage and take revenge. Little does he know … does he know that there are many other “Fleshers” out there hiding in the shadows of the world and they are at war with each other.
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I first discovered Chapman last year when I read his fantastic novella The Followers (which is also known as The Eschatologist). It was a really well-done tale that had a nice, unique spin on post-apocalyptic horror. At the time I wrote the review I was fairly jaded with dystopian stuff (which I still am) but Chapman presented a narrative that had me riveted.
When Netherkind was offered up for review, I jumped on it. The artwork was amazing and I was looking forward to a long-read from Greg. Then I read the synopsis and truthfully, I was put off. It read like a zombie book and if there’s one genre I am currently avoiding like the plague – its zombies. I just can’t do zombie stuff lately, doesn’t interest me and I find I either don’t choose it or just don’t make an effort to read it. I know a ton of folks still love the zombie world, but for me, I need a break.
Netherkind isn’t a zombie book. I need to say that for other folks who are in the ‘no-zombie’ boat like me right now. The synopsis leads you to believe that and even the opening few chapters introducing the main character Thomas to the reader will make you think you’re about to head down the zombie plotline, but I’ll yell it again – NETHERKIND ISN’T A ZOMBIE BOOK!
What Netherkind is… is a stunning achievement by Chapman. Within this book, Chapman has created three new species/breeds of monsters that dwell in a subterranean world, miles below our feet. Sure they have elements seen before in fiction, but what Greg does it put a Barker style spin on them and then makes them his own. They don’t want to mingle or mix with humans, instead, they all struggle to co-mingle in the environment, and often scores get settled through bloody wars. In this case, the war has been raging on for hundreds of years.
Chapman does an amazing job of introducing a few key characters that really got my interest. Specifically – a billionaire obsessed with acquiring rare artefacts and creatures, an occultist that is hired to find said artefacts and creatures and a mercenary, bounty hunter who is also hired to help when needed.
This injection of non-monster characters elevates the tension throughout and I found I was racing through this book. It did take me a bit to get going, simply because in the back of my mind I was worried we’d be tossed into a full-on zombie trope, but it never happens. Instead, Chapman suddenly winds up telling a stunning fantasy-horror novel. I know the term fantasy can be off-putting, but for this book, it really is the only way to describe it. We’re not talking knights, horses and dragons – no we’re talking an ancient God expected to come back, a tribe of priests who live within an abandoned church, a race of creatures living in an enchanted style forest and a prophecy played out through specific actions, dreams and bloodlines. There is a deep running allegory throughout this tale, showing the pitfalls of religious turmoil and war based on beliefs, but if religious plot-lines put you off, then this book is fantastic because you can just let the story run on its own merit.
I’ve always been drawn to tales told with clashing families/cities that feature beasts and these tales are always elevated when the author has created the mythology first, then write the story. I’d hazard a guess that Chapman did approach it this way as never once did I find a stumble or an odd moment when things felt like they were falling apart. No, here Chapman knows the history of each clan front to back and weaves the tale between all as the story really ramps up. I began to realize I was getting close to the end and it was at this point I knew this story had elevated itself and I would be giving it 5 stars. I dreaded it ending. I didn’t want it to stop. I wanted one of the characters to arrive and the prophecy that was foretold, to continue on. Here’s hoping that Greg has a follow up planned as what he’s laid before us works so well as a stand-alone, but I want to revisit the world again.
This should be on everyone’s TBR – if it’s not you really need to fix that, and please look beyond the “Flesher” designation in the synopsis. This book is so much more.