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michael_benavidez's review
5.0
One of my absolute favorite things about this book was the prose. It's not often I find an author willing to play with their prose, and do so with such grace. Beautifully written it's contrasted by the content to make for some of the best and most jarring descriptions.
Reading this I imagined a post apocalyptic wasteland, a mad max world of disasters all clashing into our real world, while the fantastical elements elevated the story into something unique.
There's a lot in here that twists and turns so seamlessly that I genuinely finished it in one day. I found myself putting it down to do my own shit only to stop and pick it up again because I needed to know where it was going.
We take the POV of Torrence, you're not so average main character, and quickly realize that for the better part of the story we're stuck with the villains. Do we root for them? Do we sympathize? I don't know, and I don't know if I did, but by the end her and bad boys were fully realized characters.
I don't want to take away from the story because it's an absolute ride of what the fuck, greatly paced with brief brief flashbacks that are just as enlightening, with unique and interesting story concepts. But the prose, the turn of phrases, the inner dialogue, the road that unfolds through these words is the main highlight for me. I am in love with the writing style, making the most disgusting moments flash with a sort of beauty that I haven't seen anyone try to do, not on this level at least. Even now a full night's rest later, I reel from what the words provoked.
Reading this I imagined a post apocalyptic wasteland, a mad max world of disasters all clashing into our real world, while the fantastical elements elevated the story into something unique.
There's a lot in here that twists and turns so seamlessly that I genuinely finished it in one day. I found myself putting it down to do my own shit only to stop and pick it up again because I needed to know where it was going.
We take the POV of Torrence, you're not so average main character, and quickly realize that for the better part of the story we're stuck with the villains. Do we root for them? Do we sympathize? I don't know, and I don't know if I did, but by the end her and bad boys were fully realized characters.
I don't want to take away from the story because it's an absolute ride of what the fuck, greatly paced with brief brief flashbacks that are just as enlightening, with unique and interesting story concepts. But the prose, the turn of phrases, the inner dialogue, the road that unfolds through these words is the main highlight for me. I am in love with the writing style, making the most disgusting moments flash with a sort of beauty that I haven't seen anyone try to do, not on this level at least. Even now a full night's rest later, I reel from what the words provoked.
jdkauthor's review
4.0
Originally posted over at my personal blog site, Night Terror Novels
“Wesley wondered if Torrence wanted strength to save herself, and hopefully him, from the savior’s wrath if he found them unworthy of his flock. Surely they were more than qualified, more than devoted, but to whom? And why?”
– Brooklynn Dean, Deification
✝️I received an e-Book of this story in exchange for a fair review!✝️
Set against something of a dystopian, post-apocalyptic backdrop, Deification takes place in the aftermath of an event known as the opened-sky, in which the tenuous line between heaven, hell, and the Earth itself is slowly being rent open. I really enjoyed how the details about this event were either drip-fed throughout the narrative or simply alluded to – there wasn’t some overwrought exposition about it, and indeed even by the conclusion there is much that is left to the reader’s own imagination – often the conjurer of the most twisted and warped horrors.
I think one of the strongest aspects of this book was the writer’s unique and memorable authorial voice and style. Even when describing some truly grotesque characters and scenes, Brooklynn’s prose is just gorgeous, and has a really lyrical and poetic bite to it. It’s also just intensely readable, infusing a satisfying, flowing cadence to the way the story is woven. The plot itself concerns gang-leader Torrence and her devout brethren on a quest to destroy the so-called virtues for the sake of sin. They hope that by enacting these destructive endeavours, they will complete the work of Conrad, a once-possessed orator of demonic doctrines – and in doing so, restore their dark saviour’s powers so that the apocalypse can truly be unleashed.
I’ve always been an ardent supporter of the more morally questionable and unsavoury main characters, and in that regard Deification was totally my kind of story. In fact, to call the central focus Torrence a character of dubious and grey morals would be a vast understatement – she was really pretty despicable – but also highly complex. Though most of the narrative is focused entirely on Tor, it still feels that, even by the final page, we only understand a fraction of her character and motivations.
The supporting cast of characters were interesting and engaging too. Each member of Tor’s close circle were fleshed out with their own twisted backstories, and own reasons for following her every whim. Conrad’s ominous presence haunts the plot from the very beginning, and takes on an almost ethereal, otherworldly presence. It isn’t until his late introduction that we see that beneath the veil of villainy, he is but a man too.
Another theme and sub-genre that I unashamedly love is anything concerning cults; I’m fascinated with non-fiction and true crime stories on this subject as well, but love a good fictional cult so much. Basically, anything that focuses on the mentality of devotion and following that comes with sect-like societies, and my interest is instantly piqued. In the case of this book, Torrence and her little gang of loathsome cronies are a textbook clan of cultists, the demagogue they venerate coming in the form of the mysterious Conrad.
Given the premise and the setup, you’d be right in assuming that themes of religion, faith and worship are prominent in Deification’s story. But there is also so much more beyond the angels and demons, the ‘end of the world’ scenario and the twisted characters. This is a story of personal devotion, idolization and veneration, of people broken and jaded by their own histories. Torrence’s gang would follow her to the literal end of the world, and much of their willingness to do so is born of a commitment to her as an individual, rather than to their unholy quest itself, and even to Conrad. This added a layer of complexity and depth beneath the surface plot of ne'er-do-wells committing atrocities in the name of their dark lord.
The only slight thing holding me back from rating this higher is that I felt the ending all happened a little too abrupt for me. I won’t spoil anything here, but will just say that I’d been anticipating more of a confrontation between certain characters in the narrative. There was a late stage role reversal that I really enjoyed, but as I say, I felt it had been building up to more of a showdown of a climax.
Even with that being said though, the ending was still very good and felt fitting for the story, as it maintains consistency with the overall tone of the narrative. Brooklynn notes in one of her author bios that you typically won’t find ‘Happily Ever After’ endings in her stories, and as a lover of the more grim and downbeat finales I have to say I’m totally onboard with reading more misery and bleakness from this writer. This was an excellent example of the kind of dark horror my blackened husk of a heart longs for, terrific and terrifying.
VERDICT: Deification is a well-written and compelling read, with an interesting, if extremely unsavoury, cast of characters, an original premise and highly engaging plot. Brooklynn is a very talented writer, there’s no doubt about it; the language throughout is just fantastic and silky smooth, each line is dripping with atmosphere and character. This is definitely an author I’ll be keeping a close eye on for future projects for sure.
It’s a ⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ from this reviewer. I also want to say a humongous thank you to Brooklynn Dean for providing a copy and giving me the chance to read and review it.
Book Information
Title(s): Deification
Author(s): Brooklynn Dean
Publisher(s): Self-published
Original Publication Date: 17th February, 2021
Page Count: 131 pages
Format Read: Digital
Advance Review Copy (Y/N): Y
Website(s): https://www.brooklynndean.com/
“Wesley wondered if Torrence wanted strength to save herself, and hopefully him, from the savior’s wrath if he found them unworthy of his flock. Surely they were more than qualified, more than devoted, but to whom? And why?”
– Brooklynn Dean, Deification
✝️I received an e-Book of this story in exchange for a fair review!✝️
Set against something of a dystopian, post-apocalyptic backdrop, Deification takes place in the aftermath of an event known as the opened-sky, in which the tenuous line between heaven, hell, and the Earth itself is slowly being rent open. I really enjoyed how the details about this event were either drip-fed throughout the narrative or simply alluded to – there wasn’t some overwrought exposition about it, and indeed even by the conclusion there is much that is left to the reader’s own imagination – often the conjurer of the most twisted and warped horrors.
I think one of the strongest aspects of this book was the writer’s unique and memorable authorial voice and style. Even when describing some truly grotesque characters and scenes, Brooklynn’s prose is just gorgeous, and has a really lyrical and poetic bite to it. It’s also just intensely readable, infusing a satisfying, flowing cadence to the way the story is woven. The plot itself concerns gang-leader Torrence and her devout brethren on a quest to destroy the so-called virtues for the sake of sin. They hope that by enacting these destructive endeavours, they will complete the work of Conrad, a once-possessed orator of demonic doctrines – and in doing so, restore their dark saviour’s powers so that the apocalypse can truly be unleashed.
I’ve always been an ardent supporter of the more morally questionable and unsavoury main characters, and in that regard Deification was totally my kind of story. In fact, to call the central focus Torrence a character of dubious and grey morals would be a vast understatement – she was really pretty despicable – but also highly complex. Though most of the narrative is focused entirely on Tor, it still feels that, even by the final page, we only understand a fraction of her character and motivations.
The supporting cast of characters were interesting and engaging too. Each member of Tor’s close circle were fleshed out with their own twisted backstories, and own reasons for following her every whim. Conrad’s ominous presence haunts the plot from the very beginning, and takes on an almost ethereal, otherworldly presence. It isn’t until his late introduction that we see that beneath the veil of villainy, he is but a man too.
Another theme and sub-genre that I unashamedly love is anything concerning cults; I’m fascinated with non-fiction and true crime stories on this subject as well, but love a good fictional cult so much. Basically, anything that focuses on the mentality of devotion and following that comes with sect-like societies, and my interest is instantly piqued. In the case of this book, Torrence and her little gang of loathsome cronies are a textbook clan of cultists, the demagogue they venerate coming in the form of the mysterious Conrad.
Given the premise and the setup, you’d be right in assuming that themes of religion, faith and worship are prominent in Deification’s story. But there is also so much more beyond the angels and demons, the ‘end of the world’ scenario and the twisted characters. This is a story of personal devotion, idolization and veneration, of people broken and jaded by their own histories. Torrence’s gang would follow her to the literal end of the world, and much of their willingness to do so is born of a commitment to her as an individual, rather than to their unholy quest itself, and even to Conrad. This added a layer of complexity and depth beneath the surface plot of ne'er-do-wells committing atrocities in the name of their dark lord.
The only slight thing holding me back from rating this higher is that I felt the ending all happened a little too abrupt for me. I won’t spoil anything here, but will just say that I’d been anticipating more of a confrontation between certain characters in the narrative. There was a late stage role reversal that I really enjoyed, but as I say, I felt it had been building up to more of a showdown of a climax.
Even with that being said though, the ending was still very good and felt fitting for the story, as it maintains consistency with the overall tone of the narrative. Brooklynn notes in one of her author bios that you typically won’t find ‘Happily Ever After’ endings in her stories, and as a lover of the more grim and downbeat finales I have to say I’m totally onboard with reading more misery and bleakness from this writer. This was an excellent example of the kind of dark horror my blackened husk of a heart longs for, terrific and terrifying.
VERDICT: Deification is a well-written and compelling read, with an interesting, if extremely unsavoury, cast of characters, an original premise and highly engaging plot. Brooklynn is a very talented writer, there’s no doubt about it; the language throughout is just fantastic and silky smooth, each line is dripping with atmosphere and character. This is definitely an author I’ll be keeping a close eye on for future projects for sure.
It’s a ⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ from this reviewer. I also want to say a humongous thank you to Brooklynn Dean for providing a copy and giving me the chance to read and review it.
Book Information
Title(s): Deification
Author(s): Brooklynn Dean
Publisher(s): Self-published
Original Publication Date: 17th February, 2021
Page Count: 131 pages
Format Read: Digital
Advance Review Copy (Y/N): Y
Website(s): https://www.brooklynndean.com/
jferrell526's review
5.0
Malevolence reborn
Brooklyn Dean opens a whole new experience with Reification. She explores the very darkest side of humanity. I have found that with her books you are never sure what you'll get until you are in deep and realize you finished the book. I found myself wondering what I would do if the sky opened and suddenly there were angels everywhere.
Brooklyn Dean opens a whole new experience with Reification. She explores the very darkest side of humanity. I have found that with her books you are never sure what you'll get until you are in deep and realize you finished the book. I found myself wondering what I would do if the sky opened and suddenly there were angels everywhere.
michaelrgoodwin's review
4.0
This post-apocalyptic story follows Torrence, a mysterious and powerful woman, on her quest to collect virtues through unwilling sacrifice. With a group of devoted followers to help her with the dirty work in exchange for an unknown reward once the job is done, she leaves a trail of blood and destruction behind her.
This was a powerful story, one that demonstrates that we don't have to live in a fictional world to bear witness to the horrors that exist around us. After all, some of the worst monsters aren't monsters at all. They're people. This story is ripe with violence, some gratuitous (TW: rape, assault), and some left to the reader's imagination, but all of it felt essential to give the full breadth of the world they live in.
Well-written, cunning and insightful to the inner workings of a damaged mind, I enjoyed the back stories of the secondary characters, but found myself wanting to know more about Torrence. I suppose that's part of that character's charming ruse, and thus a job well done by the author.
This was a powerful story, one that demonstrates that we don't have to live in a fictional world to bear witness to the horrors that exist around us. After all, some of the worst monsters aren't monsters at all. They're people. This story is ripe with violence, some gratuitous (TW: rape, assault), and some left to the reader's imagination, but all of it felt essential to give the full breadth of the world they live in.
Well-written, cunning and insightful to the inner workings of a damaged mind, I enjoyed the back stories of the secondary characters, but found myself wanting to know more about Torrence. I suppose that's part of that character's charming ruse, and thus a job well done by the author.
sabrinav625's review
5.0
Torrence lives in our world, but the skies have opened up and angels have descended upon Earth.
But is the end of our world the start of another?
This grim, short story grabs the indecency of the human spirit and runs with it. Torrence is a very interesting character, dripping with strength and violence both. Her goals are easy to understand, and her methods to achieve them will make you shudder.
Dean unpacks what parts of the human mind are driven towards chaos, to harm done, to violence. The way that people use others as a means to an end. In a semi-apocalyptic world, a lawless world, how far would those already without morals go to achieve their goals? This book takes a very raw approach to this, inspecting evil on every level.
The balance, however, is also there - the opposite side of it is War. A character with a set of morals quite opposite of Torrence’s. The way the two characters are drawn to each other was very well written. I wanted to explore it more, to understand it more, though what we are given is certainly satisfying. War had a lot of internal conflict that showed he could be swayed by human intricacies; it was this that set War apart from the other characters.
There were some instances where, due to the smoothness of the writing, I was unsure if what I was reading was past or present. Also to note, there were some moments where I couldn’t exactly picture the scene how it was intended to be visualized.
Torrence is one of those characters where you will struggle to know exactly how to feel about her. She’s layers of complexity. Her deeds are wicked and evil, and then her determined goals to achieve power are admirable. Her steady self-awareness and slight changing of goals without it ever being blatantly stated was perfectly done.
I was given an ARC of Deification in exchange for a review.
4.5 Stars
But is the end of our world the start of another?
This grim, short story grabs the indecency of the human spirit and runs with it. Torrence is a very interesting character, dripping with strength and violence both. Her goals are easy to understand, and her methods to achieve them will make you shudder.
Dean unpacks what parts of the human mind are driven towards chaos, to harm done, to violence. The way that people use others as a means to an end. In a semi-apocalyptic world, a lawless world, how far would those already without morals go to achieve their goals? This book takes a very raw approach to this, inspecting evil on every level.
The balance, however, is also there - the opposite side of it is War. A character with a set of morals quite opposite of Torrence’s. The way the two characters are drawn to each other was very well written. I wanted to explore it more, to understand it more, though what we are given is certainly satisfying. War had a lot of internal conflict that showed he could be swayed by human intricacies; it was this that set War apart from the other characters.
There were some instances where, due to the smoothness of the writing, I was unsure if what I was reading was past or present. Also to note, there were some moments where I couldn’t exactly picture the scene how it was intended to be visualized.
Torrence is one of those characters where you will struggle to know exactly how to feel about her. She’s layers of complexity. Her deeds are wicked and evil, and then her determined goals to achieve power are admirable. Her steady self-awareness and slight changing of goals without it ever being blatantly stated was perfectly done.
I was given an ARC of Deification in exchange for a review.
4.5 Stars
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