Rating: 3 1/2 stars
John Skipp and newcomer Cody Goodfellow have teamed up to give splatterpunk fans a new purpose in life, Jake’s Wake. As if televangelists weren’t scary enough, Skipp and Goodfellow bring you Pastor Jake Connaway. In addition to a steady diet of cheap sexual encounters, with a side of cruelty and hanging out with his best psychopathic friend, Gray, Jake preached his belief of everlasting life to his congregation.
When Jake is murdered while doing the nasty with someone else’s woman, past conquests and congregants meet at the home of Jake’s widow, Esther, in an effort sort out the details of Jake’s ministry; as well as his misdeeds. Just when things start to get a little heated among the group, a new guest arrives to the gathering. Having made good on his promise to return, Jake stands before them in all his rotting, putrid glory.
With formaldehyde and stuffing oozing out of every orifice and his flesh peeling away from the bone, Pastor Jake plans to televise his resurrection and the day of reckoning he is about to unleash on his unsuspecting guests. With the help of Gray and a handful of demons, Jake embarks on a brutally violent and bloody gore-fest that would make Rob Zombie weep tears of joy.
I have to say I was surprised that the story line actually kept me interested. The writing had just the right amount of cheese factor, such as when Jake was about to crescendo while bumping warm fuzzy parts with his barfly and the knife was plunged into his back “his ruptured heart meat started squirting instead” and when Gray was leading two women to a holding cell, “The look in his eye might have given them a yeast infection”. I actually had to take a moment to ponder that little gem. Speaking of Gray, he was quite a character. A scary-violent sociopath, whacked out on booze, drugs and no sleep. I haven’t seen that much unfettered crazy since Tom Cruise fired his handlers. So, if you’re looking for blood, gore, brutality and violence, this book is for you. For those of you who prefer to watch their murderous rampages rather than read about them, Jake’s Wake will be coming to a theater near you.
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Publisher: Dorchester Publishing Company, Incorporated
Pub. Date: December 30, 2008
ISBN-13: 9780843960761