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richardleis's review against another edition
4.0
A lot of fun, and if sometimes silly, too, cinematic, rapid-paced, and epic as well.
aaronlindsey's review against another edition
4.0
Cosmic Horror at its (almost) best. It’s not H. P. L., but it is entertaining
charshorrorcorner's review against another edition
5.0
After losing on a televised quiz show by giving an incorrect but bizarre answer, Brewster Gilligan's life continues to roll downhill. He doesn't realize it yet, but his wrong answer set in motion a series of powerful events-events that could change the world forever. Will the thoroughly unlikable Brewster be able to save the world? You'll have to read this and see!
I love books that revolve around themes like opening doors to other worlds, ripping through our reality to get the other side, and ancient organizations or cults whose only purpose is to make those doors open right now. THOSE WHO GO FORTH INTO THE EMPTY PLACES OF GODS is none of those, exactly, but it's close. I love this paragraph, from the introduction, talking about artists, (authors, musicians, etc...), getting random glimpses of things:
"I do know, though, that when they reached down into the recesses of their brain buckets to pull an idea up from nothing, that a little of that nothing came back up with the idea. It's worming its way into existence, one story and one song at a time. Pretty soon there will be no nothing left on the other side."
The writing here is seamless and often beautiful. Also, it's concisely descriptive and gory as well. I found at times that scenes were unfurling in my head like a movie. Most especially one scene where all the guardians, (You'll see), strutted into town, (Sheba) like superheroes in a Marvel movie, or better yet, like something out of Tombstone.
Even though Brewster is a pompous jerk I couldn't help but feel for him and what he went through. I wish I could tell you that everything turned out all right. I wish I could tell you that the gate stayed closed and that humanity remained untouched, unharmed. Or maybe I'm lying to you right now, and it did stay closed? I guess you'll just have to read this to find out!
THOSE WHO GO FORTH INTO THE EMPTY PLACE OF GODS was my last read of 2019 and what a way to close out the year! If cosmic horror, or the themes I mentioned above are your cup of tea, then you need to add this book to your 2020 reading schedule.
Highly recommended!
*Available now, here: https://amzn.to/2T347hN
*Thank you to Curtis Lawson and Douglas Rinaldi for the signed, paperback ARC in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*
I love books that revolve around themes like opening doors to other worlds, ripping through our reality to get the other side, and ancient organizations or cults whose only purpose is to make those doors open right now. THOSE WHO GO FORTH INTO THE EMPTY PLACES OF GODS is none of those, exactly, but it's close. I love this paragraph, from the introduction, talking about artists, (authors, musicians, etc...), getting random glimpses of things:
"I do know, though, that when they reached down into the recesses of their brain buckets to pull an idea up from nothing, that a little of that nothing came back up with the idea. It's worming its way into existence, one story and one song at a time. Pretty soon there will be no nothing left on the other side."
The writing here is seamless and often beautiful. Also, it's concisely descriptive and gory as well. I found at times that scenes were unfurling in my head like a movie. Most especially one scene where all the guardians, (You'll see), strutted into town, (Sheba) like superheroes in a Marvel movie, or better yet, like something out of Tombstone.
Even though Brewster is a pompous jerk I couldn't help but feel for him and what he went through. I wish I could tell you that everything turned out all right. I wish I could tell you that the gate stayed closed and that humanity remained untouched, unharmed. Or maybe I'm lying to you right now, and it did stay closed? I guess you'll just have to read this to find out!
THOSE WHO GO FORTH INTO THE EMPTY PLACE OF GODS was my last read of 2019 and what a way to close out the year! If cosmic horror, or the themes I mentioned above are your cup of tea, then you need to add this book to your 2020 reading schedule.
Highly recommended!
*Available now, here: https://amzn.to/2T347hN
*Thank you to Curtis Lawson and Douglas Rinaldi for the signed, paperback ARC in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*
exorcismofemilyreed's review against another edition
3.0
Those Who Go Forth Into the Empty Place of Gods is a novella by Curtis M. Lawson and Doug Rinaldi. This is my first Doug Rinaldi book, but the second I've read from Curtis M. Lawson, and both of the storylines have been creative and entertaining.
I was very intrigued by the setup of this book with the forbidden phrase being spoken on TV, and then beginning something that the main character was not prepared for. There are a lot of characters, and this is a short book, so it was a little difficult to keep track of who was who.
I think I expected this book to be mostly about a curse, but it was really more cosmic horror. I am not the biggest fan of cosmic horror, so I struggled with the story a bit. This is definitely a case of me not being the right reader, and not that the book is bad. If a cosmic horror novella with a forbidden knowledge storyline sounds good to you, this is definitely one to pick up! The other people who have reviewed this book so far really loved it, so I recommend checking out theirs on GoodReads, too.
I was very intrigued by the setup of this book with the forbidden phrase being spoken on TV, and then beginning something that the main character was not prepared for. There are a lot of characters, and this is a short book, so it was a little difficult to keep track of who was who.
I think I expected this book to be mostly about a curse, but it was really more cosmic horror. I am not the biggest fan of cosmic horror, so I struggled with the story a bit. This is definitely a case of me not being the right reader, and not that the book is bad. If a cosmic horror novella with a forbidden knowledge storyline sounds good to you, this is definitely one to pick up! The other people who have reviewed this book so far really loved it, so I recommend checking out theirs on GoodReads, too.
abbie_'s review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
2.5
(Gifted by The NightWorms)
My first foray into cosmic horror (I think!) and I was pretty impressed with the creativity of this story! Unlike How We Broke, this book does feature a lot of gore and violence, but it works and even I could handle it! What I couldn’t handle was the protagonist, a self-described ‘stuck-up whiny narcissist’. Every time he opened his mouth I wanted to punch him in it. I’m all for unlikeable protagonists but I dunno, something about him just grated on me far too much. But still a cool premise that probably would have benefited from being fleshed out in a few more than just 97 pages.
(Gifted by The NightWorms)
My first foray into cosmic horror (I think!) and I was pretty impressed with the creativity of this story! Unlike How We Broke, this book does feature a lot of gore and violence, but it works and even I could handle it! What I couldn’t handle was the protagonist, a self-described ‘stuck-up whiny narcissist’. Every time he opened his mouth I wanted to punch him in it. I’m all for unlikeable protagonists but I dunno, something about him just grated on me far too much. But still a cool premise that probably would have benefited from being fleshed out in a few more than just 97 pages.
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