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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Blood brothers, September 5, 2008
This review is from: Orgy of Souls (Paperback)
In about 130 pages, authors Wrath James White and Maurice Broaddus have constructed a very dense and unique horror story.
Samson is a strikingly beautiful, but none too bright, model who is desperately trying to save his brother's life, arguably the only person in the world he has ever cared for. Samson's brother, Samuel, is a priest slowly wasting away from HIV, struggling with his faith and desperately trying to reach out to Samson whom he fears is spinning out of control.
Samuel has no idea how far out of control Samson has gone.
The first half of the story is the strongest. There is a real sense of suspense and dread that creeps in as you learn about these two brothers and the strained, yet deeply powerful love they share for each other, a love that is going to cost them both dearly. Once the story reaches about the half-way mark, it becomes a roller coaster ride, and you just have to hang on.
This is a story both authors should be proud of and one I strongly recommend.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Horror that ponders the soul, March 21, 2009
This review is from: Orgy of Souls (Paperback)
"Christian Horror" is a loaded term, and it's been thrown around much as of late. In its worst examples, it describes thinly veiled moral tales short on plot and long on evangelizing. In its best form, it defines a work that utilizes the trappings of horror to consider the spiritual and divine. The term itself is considered controversial; ironically those who utilize it best are reluctant to fall under its categorization, simply because they are artists and wish the work to speak for itself.
Whatever the label's legitimacy, "Orgy of Souls" - a novella co-written by Maurice Broaddus and Wraith James White - certainly uses the horror genre to ponder the nature of the soul, and the best part: it's done so well. The pairing of White and Broaddus is seamless, and it produces an emotional, gut-wrenching tale that will leave the reader pondering eternal questions long after the last page.
Brothers Samson and Samuel are as different as can be. Father Samuel has lived a life of faith and purity, a holy man who has trusted God since entering the seminary. In stark contrast, Samson lives to excess. A wildly successful fashion model, he indulges in every earthly pleasure. Father Samuel, however, has been saddled with a crippling test of faith: he's contracted HIV and his health is failing. Though he knows the words to all the prayers, his own resolve falters in the face of his own mortality and escalating pain.
If there's one thing Samson truly loves in this world, it's Samuel. Not willing to entrust his brother's fate into the hands of a God he hates, Samson takes matters into his own hands and summons dark powers to save Samuel's life. Everything changes forever after a bloody ritual, when Samson hears these enticing words: "Twenty for one". Twenty souls, in exchange for his brother's life. This pact marks the beginning of a bloody swathe of destruction that has only one end: and it's not anything either brother could ever conceive, even in their worst nightmares.
This is the perfect novella: it's an engaging, lean story that delivers a striking message. Though perhaps neither writer would consider it a work of "Christian Horror", it certainly provides a powerful template for the spiritual potential of horror and dark fiction.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
My Brother's Keeper, February 18, 2009
This review is from: Orgy of Souls (Paperback)
Brother's Samson and Samuel have always been close. They've each secretly admired the other for different qualities in their characters. Samson became a high fashion male model while Samuel followed his calling and became a priest. Samson saw this as a wedge God placed between them. When Samuel develops a resistant strain of HIV from a blood transfusion, Samson sees this as further proof God is trying to take his brother away from him.
With Samuel's disease literally taking his life, his faith is wavering. Samson is desperately searching for something to help save his brother. He ends up bargaining with the Devil for souls to save Samuel's life. Samson must provide twenty souls in exchange for Samuel's life. He uses his seductive powers, drugs, and sex to acquire the souls he needs.
Wrath James White and Maurice Broaddus have crafted a riveting tale that takes the fight of good against evil to new heights. They have brought their writing styles together to give readers a hefty dose of suspense, erotica and evil mayhem woven into a story about faith, the occult and brotherhood. I was drawn in from the first page and could not put this book down. My love for well-written, lengthy horror reads, drove my desire to have more of this story. By the end of ORGY OF SOULS, I was screaming for more.
Reviewed by Brenda Lisbon
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
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