Synopsis:
In 1785, Professor Sebastian Grave receives the news he fears most: the terrible Beast of Gévaudan has returned, and the French countryside runs red in its wake. Sebastian knows the Beast. A monster-slayer with centuries of experience, he joined the hunt for the creature twenty years ago and watched it slaughter its way through a long and bloody winter. Even with the help of Sarmodel, the demon he plays host to, bringing the monster down nearly cost him his life.
Now, two decades later, Sebastian has been recalled to the hunt by Antoine Avenel d’Ocerne, an estranged lover who shares a dark history with the Beast and a terrible secret with Sebastian. Drawn by both the chance to finish the Beast for good and the promise of a reconciliation with Antoine, Sebastian cannot refuse.
Some monsters, it seems, simply won’t stay buried . . .
Review:
Hello again dear reader or listener, as always, I hope you’re doing well, reading good books, and are ready for me to add one more to your never ending TBR. My offering this time is a lusciously gory, hella romantic, and transporting, historical horror fantasy, that’ll have you laughing out loud one minute, cringing, and then clutching your chest from the feels the next.
Do I have your attention now?
With thanks to the Pan Macmillan team for approving my NetGalley request for an eArc then, let’s get to it!
Where to even properly begin talking about this downright feral (in every sense of the term iykyk) story? Should I begin from the ambitious and chaotic theological sangria that Sullivan enriches his plot with in such a way that for all intents and purposes should not work and yet it somehow does gloriously? I’m talking primordial deities butting heads with Christianity by way of Greco-Roman pantheons. Or, should I focus on the embedded narrative structure of the story that is told across three main moments in time, all framed by an immortal narrator who is reminiscing about these connected events in his long past, sassily footnoting as he goes? Being a fellow academic and also a Greek living in Italy meant that Sebastian Grave instantly became a new favorite character of all time for how much I could relate to him. And maybe, just maybe, I am not entirely proud about what that might say about me, considering what a melodramatic, “well actually” pain in the ass, and mess of a character he is. But I love him, your Honor.
Yeah, let’s go with the latter, and let me tell you how fun this multilayered book was to read, precisely because of its back and forth through time structure. In a feat that might’ve been confusing had it not been woven so interestingly, Sullivan well and truly delivers on a narrator that you can picture yourself sitting across, while he’s telling you about the shadows of his past that he has not quite put to rest just yet. All of which is interspersed with delightfully irreverent addendums begrudgingly supplied by Sebastian Grave’s demonic indentured servant, the succubus Livia. This all worked wondrously to keep me hooked and unable to put the book down – who needs sleep when you can have answers anyway? Also, I went into this book precisely because I was a fan of the Beast of Gevaudan story and I found the author’s take both refreshing and unexpected given the aforementioned sangria. I mean come on, werewolves rock!
Another thing I need to you to know dear reader is that this book, for lack of any better descriptor, is indeed, atrociously Horny and Lusty. And don’t mistake my tone for anything other than approval, for the sometimes over the top sexuality/crudeness within fit perfectly, both in context and for the overarching narrative in a borderline hedonistic celebration of life way that, frankly, I approve of. Sometimes it even just served to crack me up plain and simple. I don’t even mean that there is explicit and prolonged sex on the page either, but Sullivan laughs in the face of pearl clutching silliness that treats such integral parts of our lives as taboo. It could’ve floundered in crassness and yet Sullivan managed to rein it all in just short of that tragic pitfall. You see, this is a story of a tragic love so short yet passionate and tender that it is still echoing across centuries, despite countless other lovers that came before and after for the disaster bisexual that is our protagonist. What makes it all shine however is the very truth that it is imperfect and the now older narrator is not mincing words about his past self’s shortcomings. There is something exceptionally precious in a character who is looking back at their life with both grace and sass at the same time. Which is also why it doesn’t matter if Sebastian and Antoine made me root for them to be together as this wasn’t the point of the story. It wasn’t about the love itself as much as it was about what love makes you do, both the good and ugly, which I found way more interesting in itself.
The character dynamics are naturally my favorite part of this action packed, and most of the time gory spectacle of a novel, and I sincerely hope that this does not remain a standalone as I would gladly sacrifice things for another installment that follows the chaotic trio I’ve come to care so deeply about. Even the soul-eating Sarmodel and his kill them and spare ourselves the hassle attitude. We don’t deal with morally grey as much as morally complex and interesting characters and Sullivan understands the tenet of ever evolving sensibilities and moralities, as applied onto an immortal being that has lived through centuries, to perfection. He trusts his reader to understand what his unreliable narrators will not fully reveal while switching between nuanced/subtle and highlighted commentary on several different themes with the confidence of a seasoned writer. In short, this is an utterly phenomenal and decadent debut dealing with the search for power, love, redemption, and belonging.
I know this is a bit of a rambly review and I don’t feel like I am doing the book justice as my brain is a bit mush these days but the point is, this story is a crackin good time. From the sharp humor to the tender and tragic humanity, but also for a truly memorable narrative voice and badass action that all make up this truly welcome addition to the ranks of SFF. I cannot even count on one hand the books that have made me well and truly laugh out loud so many times and yet also hit me in the feels the way this book did and I cannot wait to add a fancy edition of it to my trophy shelves, as should you!
Until next time,
Eleni A.E.
Leave a Reply