The Wicked, by James Newman

The Wicked is the most recent publication, but it's not his newest novel. His acclaimed suspense novel, Midnight Rain, was written well after The Wicked. The Wicked was due to come out from Wild Roses Publications, but it sat in Publication Hell for a long time. Newman eventually made the wise decision to pull his baby from that place and he found a new home for it. Necessary Evil Publications is still a relatively new operation, but its reputation is already sterling. Don Koish, Necessary Evil's owner, has been doing his job right and the genre is richer for his excellent work.

Right up front, The Wicked is one of the most beautiful books I've seen in a long time. Keith Minnion's cover art is spectacular and every aspect of the book's design is outstanding. If you're the kind of reader that loves aesthetic qualities in a publication, The Wicked is your kind of book.

The Wicked is a horror novel. It reminds me of the kind of book I loved reading back in the mid-late 1980's. It has a nice, comfortable rural setting and James is the kind of writer I like. He tells a story. His type of storytelling requires no stylistic tricks or overblown language to do its job. The prose that he employs is as down to earth and rich as the North Carolina mountain areas that he likes to set them in.

In a compelling Prologue, we learn of a troubled teenager that burns down a beloved youth home in a small town. It appears to have been a random, senseless act, but there are disquieting elements to it. In fact, the fire killed 30 children, which sets in motion a sinister series of events which literally bring Hell to the community.

We then meet David and Kate Little and their young daughter Becca. Coming from New York to the small southern town, they wish to escape the dangerous big city life and to spiritually heal Kate, who was recently the victim of a terrible sexual assault. They only hope to have their expectant son and lead a quietly satisfying life. Little do the Littles know that they are to be catalysts in a demonic takeover of the formerly peaceful town.

James Newman is quite good at establishing character and he takes his time in the first quarter of The Wicked getting us acquainted with The Littles. I felt that maybe he spent a bit too much time with it and I found the beginning just a tad slow. Not enough to consider putting the book down, but it wasn't grabbing me that much. If you are reading it and feel the same way, do not stop reading it.

The Wicked builds steam like a train. It gradually gains momentum and by the halfway point of the novel, James has the reader by the short hairs and doesn't let go until the final page. Circumstances and events in the novel become increasingly bizarre and disturbing and the suspense snowballs to the point where I had a difficult time putting the book down. The author uses very brief chapters often in The Wicked, which only add to the tension. I found myself just reading one more chapter, again and again.

It's fun to try to look for Newman's influences when reading his fiction. Midnight Rain brought the great Ed Gorman to mind. While reading The Wicked, I was reminded of the wild imagery that Bentley Little uses in his own horror stories. The last name of the main family in the book only enforces that similarity.

Not that I'm claiming that James Newman is aping these writers, either intentionally or otherwise. Stephen King wrote an essay one time which made the case that 'milk always tastes like what it is next to in the refrigerator'. Meaning that writers cannot help but be directly influenced by what they have recently been reading. And I know that James is a huge admirer of both Gorman and Little. In both examples, Midnight Rain and The Wicked, he manages to pay his respects to his literary heroes, but to also come across with his own distinctive voice.

If I had to pick a favorite of the two books, I'd go with Midnight Rain. But then I love stories with youthful protagonists and Midnight Rain reads like it could be a YA novel. Almost. The Wicked is a decidedly adult horror story, with some pretty outrageous scenes of sex and violence. It is over-the-top enough to appeal to aging splatterpunk fans like myself, but it also reads like a traditional horror story.

The Wicked was printed with a limitation of 350 numbered copies. These go for $45.00 each. I know that this is expensive, but I urge lovers of horror to give it a shot. As much as I love this Necessary Evil Publication, I think it's a bit sad that it's the only edition of The Wicked that is currently available. I found it to be much superior to the average Leisure paperback. I wish that at least a trade hardcover of this book would come out. It deserves a lot more than 350 readers.


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