THE RESURRECTIONIST - Reviewed by Sin

The Resurrectionist
Wrath James White
Leisure Books


I started reading “The Resurrectionist” yesterday, and was done before midnight. Before I start to gush, and I will, I present the GSA ratings!

Gore: Sweet DJ Ozma, yes.
Sex: See above.
Angst: Done fluidly, and in a manner that fit with the plot.

What can I say about “The Resurrectionist” that won’t be a spoiler, or make me sound like a very sick person? I’ll be honest: I love gore. Whether it be unbridled, senseless slaying (a la B-grade slasher films), or a poetic orgy of flesh and bone (Ichi the Killer), I’m happiest when body fluids are raining down on the pages/movie screen. Wrath James White delivers on the later version: His novel is brutal, but there is a method to the mayhem. In other words, this isn’t torture porn.

This book also isn’t for the squeamish. The killings are wet and nasty, and I’ve never read so many rape scenes in one novel. It wasn’t done for shock value, but I wouldn’t look down on anyone who felt too uncomfortable to pick up a book that deals so graphically with the subject of violent sexual assault. It’s not pretty, but that’s the point. The antagonist may or may not be truly evil, I’m sure opinions vary, but his actions are. To create character like Dale, and then write the book any other way, would have been hypocritical.

Personally, I had a blast reading “The Resurrectionist.” It's a depraved, bloody roller coaster ride that stops every so often to punch you in the gut, then start again. Books like this are the reason some people think horror fans/writers are sick fucks. This isn’t the place to wax philosophical on reality v. fiction, so I will simply say that my line between the two is very thick. If yours is as well, then I recommend grabbing a copy of “The Resurrectionist,” by Wrath James White.