Jack the Ripper Falls In Love

SWORD AND SNAKES by Mark Lumby is nothing like his previous stories. I'm not impressed with the author's take on Jack the Ripper. Much of the story is a series of long-winded conversations, separated by drawn-out thought-monologues, with very little action. This novella lacks the creativity and suspense I've come to expect from Lumby.

If you want to know what the author is really capable of, I recommend THE DEBT or RATS IN THE LOFT.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Appetite For Destruction

If you had the chance to hit the reset button, would you?
If a stranger told you they could take away your cancer, would you let them?
If paradise was gifted to you, a new life, a house by the lake, more money than you could imagine, and a wife for whom you would eventually love, would you agree to take that deal?

There is only one condition. In 20 years you must give something back. You don’t know what that something is, and you never will until you need to give it. 

All debts need paying in the end.

Everything has its price.

The Debt by Mark Lumby (author of Most of Me, Lord of the Harvest, Rats in the Loft and Bag of Buttons) is a visceral story about a young man named Jack Monday. Jack owes $500,000 to a pair of loan sharks, and, in order to pay off his debt, he essentially sells his life (not his soul) to a rather perverse man who calls himself Francis Dupont. What level of perverse, you may ask? Think: family orgies, torture, slaughter...all manner of depravity.

The POV switches between characters, with the story belonging just as much to Francis and his family as it does to Jack and his family. There are many difficult choices to be made throughout the book, and it's maddening to guess what path each character will choose. Once again, Lumby has succeeded in writing one hell of an original storyline.

While The Debt works as a stand-alone, I sincerely hope Lumby will consider writing a sequel...I'd love to see a good battle between granddaughter and grandfather.

As always,
AstraDaemon