Book Review: Our Lady Of The Inferno
Our Lady of the Inferno is the first book review to be published by MHS, and it was sent to us by Preston Fassel. This is also the first book to be published under Fangoria Presents, which is part of their re-launch this October. Fassel has done a lot of writing for other horror outlets in the past and is now a staff writer over at the new quarterly-published Fangoria.
The story spans just over a week’s time in Spring of 1983, with each chapter being a different day. It focuses on a place called the Misanthrope. It’s a grimy hotel on 42nd street in Manhattan which is run by a man simply-named “The Colonel” who operates as a slumlord and pimp there. The setting there at the Misanthrope is bleak, but somehow also very comforting. The focus is mostly on a young girl named Ginny. She’s The Colonel’s right-hand, and leader of the rest of his girls who work for him. She’s quick-witted, and dangerous when she needs to be. She also cares about her girls and also takes care of her little sister Tricia, who is in a wheelchair. The interactions between these two were some of the best parts of the book. Such a joy, and great character building.
The scenery feels very grungy in 1983 New York. Mostly following Ginny in her day-to-day activities, which include interactions with a variety of people. The story will also often change perspectives to another main character, Nicolette. Nicolette is also on 42nd, but for different reasons which we can’t go into too much here, but her intentions are not good.
One of the first things we noticed was that Fassel has an excellent ability to paint a picture. He describes everything vividly, and you really feel like you are there on 42nd street watching everything happening around you. This may seem like something that should be automatic, but there is a lot of detail in this book. It’s very easy to read and get lost in, which is great. Once you get into the story, you really want to find out where the paths Ginny and Nicolette are leading. There is a lot of great setup leading up to a point where everything is just about boiling over by the time the climax happens, and it’s a good one.
Overall, we would absolutely recommend this to anyone. Our Lady of the Inferno is a really fantastic read overall. There is a lot of personality to the characters, and to the settings surrounding them. There are a lot of different genres it crosses into. There is mystery, suspense, action, horror, fantasy, just to name some, and all flawlessly incorporated together into the dingy melting pot that is the 42nd. Fassel pulls you right in there with the best and the worst of each character and takes you on a journey with not only an anti-heroine but also an anti-anti-heroine. Definitely check this book out when it releases on 9/11/2018. You can find it on Amazon to pre-order at this link https://www.amazon.com/dp/1946487082/ before that date, and after, and please also follow Preston over at https://twitter.com/PrestonFassel. Also, be sure to check out the re-launch of Fangoria here https://twitter.com/fangoria and help #SupportIndieHorror!
P.S. This book was accompanied by a letter stating that this book did not belong to me, and instead asserted that this book belonged to the eighteen-year-old me. This was an interesting way to preface a book, but it couldn’t have been more right. Eighteen-year-old me is very thankful for the opportunity to read this.
