A review by brnineworms
Corrupted Vessels by Briar Ripley Page

dark emotional tense medium-paced

4.0

Corrupted Vessels is disturbing. I mean that as a compliment.

Page has a way with words, conjuring evocative imagery and reeling the reader in as the tension mounts. There are some brilliant phrases that have stuck in my brain (for example: “Ash came back like the flame on a trick candle”) and some interesting worldbuilding concepts too. I like the idea of

angels being primordial beings who created God to govern humanity because they were spread too thin across the universe.

But then I wasn’t at all disappointed when it turned out to be

a fiction that sprung from Ash’s psychosis. I think their schizophrenia(?) was handled quite well. Their hallucinations were vague and intertwined with their delusions, their beliefs are “confirmed” by voices and visions, and they are convinced that they have power but obviously not in a way that can be proven or (more importantly) disproven. Ash does some awful things, in large part because of their mental illness, but the narrative neither demonises nor exonerates them fully. It’s a sympathetic portrayal of a deeply fucked up person.

All in all, it’s an enthralling and sickening exploration of the human condition.

My copy pairs the titular story with a short story called “New Eden.” It’s fine. I don’t have a Christian background so it doesn’t resonate with me as deeply as it might for other readers, but even then I just don’t think it’s as strong as Corrupted Vessels.

I intend to seek out more of Page’s work and I look forward to reading it.

CONTENT WARNINGS:

drug use/drugging and overdose, seizure, psychosis (hallucinations and religious delusions), cults, verbal abuse/manipulation, physical violence, rape of a minor, non-consensual groping and voyeurism, stalking, suicide attempt, death, body horror/gore (corpse decomposition), cannibalism, vomit