Internationally-bestselling author and multiple Bram Stoker Award finalist Michaelbrent Collings brings you “a taut, spine-tingling story that puts a chilling new spin on the concepts of justice and redemption.” (Publishers Weekly)
Your sins are Legion… him.
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Legion is a teacher. An avenging angel. A murderer.
A madman.
“This is the kind of story that once you start it will not release you until it is ready.” – The Genre Minx
Born in the blood of a dying mother, raised in the underground lair of an insane father, he travels the world looking for those who keep secrets and sins. He finds those who have fallen short, and teaches them the lessons they need to leave their mistakes behind.
Even if he has to kill them to do it. Because sometimes murder is the only way to teach a proper lesson.
“I see [Collings’] name and I grab the book… now that I have met Legion, I have to know more about him.” – Fundinmental Book Reviews
So when he sees a man kidnap two people on the side of the road, Legion knows it is time to teach again.
“This is a book that genuinely is hard to put down” – Hellnotes
Soon he finds himself caught in the crossfire of a coup in a Russian crime syndicate. He is captured, beaten, bleeding, in chains; cut off and alone.
It’s just the way he likes it.
“You’ll want to check this one out!” – Horror Book Reviews
Legion has found his students. And for them, life is about to become frightening and so much… stranger.
Grab your copy of this bestselling novel that straddles thriller, suspense, mystery, humor, and horror in a way only Collings can!
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Legion has a purpose – to teach, to avenge and to murder. Witnessing a married couple kidnapped at the side of the road, he follows them, knowing he’ll have to make choices about his actions—who to save, who to kill. But with a Russian crime syndicate involved, there are a lot of decisions to make in his bid to uncover the truth.
This is the third book I’ve read by this author, so I knew to expect a bit of creepy and a bit of weird, but this one is just plain off the wall. Michaelbrent Collings has the ability to write in different ways, and whereas with ‘Predators’ he deals with realistic situations (a group of tourists terrorised during an African safari), some of his other books veer well away from what I might call ‘normal’. What I liked about this one is his talent for keeping the reader guessing, piling on the twists like they’re going out of fashion. The gory scenes (and there are plenty) have a realism to them that makes me wonder what the author does in his spare time.
If you like your horror stories with a big slice of crazy, this’ll be right up your Nightmare Alley.
Suspenseful and disturbing! Uniquely written. A main character in its own classification.
“Your sins are Legion…..and now you belong to him .”
I can’t decide if I want to like Legion or if I want to hate him!
his book had a lot to live up to, because I found Strangers to be SO unlike any book I had ever read, and it COMPLETELY blew me away. So, in the beginning of Stranger Still, I found myself wondering if that “literary lightening” would strike twice, for me. But, as the plot rolled along and the tension mounted, I learned to NEVER doubt the ability of MbC’s writing to zap me twice in a row!
The action and thrills never stop in this electrifying story that delivers clever twists and blindsiding turns, jaw-dropping shocks and stunning surprises, blood by the buckets, guts and gore by the gallons and the literally, laugh-out-loud, comedic stylings of the trio that I have personally dubbed as “The Macabre Three Stooges”. In addition, he pens a complex plot with layers that skillfully intertwine, then artfully peels them all back, one-by-one, to reveal deeply-hidden secrets and astonishing truths. And, I knew that MbC had done an extraordinary job as an author, when I found myself ROOTING for a serial killer!
This novel truly stimulated my “B-spot” and was EVERYTHING I was hoping/expecting the sequel would be. For fans of psychological horror thrillers, this series is NOT to be missed.
*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.
What an amazing book ! So hard to put down.
It’s the first book I read by this author and he just blew me away. Very well developed characters, suspense, horror, blood, crime and punishment… and such a great sense of humor. I just loved it !
Michaelbrent Collings just became one of my favorite writers
Scary as hell! You are literally on the edge of your seat and terrified for the characters – well some of them – others, not so much! The main character, Legion is his name, is beyond weired however, there are times when you can’t help but feel sorry for him – Mr Collings is a master at character building! There are also some really laugh out loud moments too! This is a follow up to his book Strangers, although you don’t necessarily have to have read that one, which is also an amazing book that I highly recommend, it does give you a better insight into the Legion character. Absolutely Brilliant both of them!
Right now Mr Collings has put ALL of his books on sale for 99 cents for those who are still shut-ins or in financial difficulty, so I decided to do my part by buying All of his books, including those I could freely read on KU! If you can help out it would help him keep this offer going longer, so maybe grab as many as you can and build up a fantastic library, or buy some for your friends? Let’s all join him in his generosity!
Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness Mr Collings!
I think this book gave me nightmares.u2060
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To be honest, I hate that sort of sentiment because it’s rarely true. But, in this case, yours truly had a full-on, face-melting boogyman infested bad dream.u2060
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However, it could have been the spicy tuna that night. So, coin toss.u2060
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What’s so fun about Michaelbrent Collings “Stranger Still” is that everyone is batshit crazy. Bad guys, good guys, probably the store clerks. Everybody.u2060
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But that does it make it more real. You are, in your own way, a nutjob. If you don’t believe that you’re in denial and need to accept it.u2060
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Now give me my $150 an hour. #mindhealeru2060
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There are nice action sequences and the hero and his “brothers” are delightfully unique. You never really doubt that the MC is going to win the day but that’s not a deal-breaker.u2060
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It’s like if Lee Child’s Jack Reacher– the ultimate can’t-go-wrong hero– had lost his mind. Truly lost his mind. You would have Legion.u2060
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Highly recommended.u2060
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Note: it’s a bit gory in parts but there’s a damn blood-soaked KNIFE on the cover, so if that shocks you, Dear Reader… there’s nothing the rest of us can do for you.u2060
If you’ve never read Michaelbrent Collings, there’s hope for you–leave now, running; if you’ve read only one and are reading this review, you’re probably beyond hope–welcome to the nuthouse.
Disclosure: I received a pre-publication copy of the book; I purchased a production copy as soon as it was published. (The only error I could find has been corrected.)
MbC (Michaelbrent Collings) ended the book previous to this one, “Strangers”, with a note about the story’s seed and incubation, concluding with the statement that he would not develop the story any farther. (“Probably.”) Frankly, I was skeptical. I expect he received a lot of petitions to develop the ideas that didn’t fit in “Strangers”–or maybe I was the only one, but obviously he did develop the story–and the embellishments are awesome. (And scary. But you should know that will usually be the case if the author is MbC.)
MbC has written this book so that it isn’t necessary to read “Strangers”: he conscientiously explains connections to past events carefully and coherently. Yet….
Collings creates characters that are quickly revealed to be admirable or despicable, and he stirs those feelings to an intense level. Then he peels back a layer or two and makes us begin to reverse our feelings. And could it get worse? I think so: he even doubles back and changes our opinion of the characters. How bad can that be? Here’s the crisis: the villain is now one of my favorite characters. (And yet I still despise Dr. Hannibal Lecter.)
One takeaway from reading several of MbC’s novels: I believe he has intimate knowledge of a quirk of Sheldon Stewart. Please add a comment if you think you see it.
Stranger Still has the craziest, scariest serial killer ever. His name is Legion, and he makes this book freaky scary. Legion’s two dead brothers follow him around, and they all interact. Again, the best creepy character ever. I actually felt sorry for Legion at times because Collings does such a job developing this character.
Gore, suspense, secrets, organized crime . . . this book has so much going on, yet as complex as the plot is, it’s still easy to follow.
I have one small quibble when the honeymooners are starting on their trip. It’s all just too nice without tension and with throwaway lines filling space on the page. But then the throwaway lines end up being important clues later on, so the scene and lines are needed. It’s just a slow part of the book. (A short slow part, though, so that’s good.) I took off half a star for this.
This is a horribly violent story, but there are several beacons of light and glimpses of goodness along the way, so you end up feeling pretty good after reading it instead of feeling depressed.
Yes, you can read this book as a standalone, but it’s even better if you read Strangers first because Legion will get in your head that much more.
4.5 fun, scary stars!