The Dark Place

The Dark Place, William C Risp, CreateSpace, 2017

This story, the novelization of a graphic novel series, brings together several different people to fight some extreme evil.

A young woman named Reh-Reh has done unspecified, but awful things for Franko, the local drug dealer. She is desperate to get away from him, but is trapped in his bathroom. Reh-Reh does have a unique ability. Whenever she cuts her wrists, she is instantly transported to the Dark Place. It is a different plane of existence, where people are still visible, but everything is gray and shadows. It is also full of hell-hounds that are best avoided.

Reh-Reh meets Tony Salazar, a 300-pound brute of a man who has never been loved by anyone. The attraction is instant, and mutual. Tony wants to do the right thing, but he also has a huge temper that makes even hardened street thugs get out of the way. During the story, Tony gets shot several times. Reh-Reh takes him to the Dark Place, Where his gunshot wounds are miraculously healed.

Michael is a very special kind of private investigator. His companion is a nine-foot tall humanoid named Zophiel, who only Michael can see. They are real angels, and Michael does his own physical transformation when he draws his sword.

The extreme evil comes from a well-dressed, older gentleman called Mr. Sunshine. He is a being whom the hell-hounds of the Dark Place respect, and fear. He pushes Tony to accept the evil that is within him, and accept his destiny as a god. Tony wants no part of it; he just wants to be normal. The book ends with a handful of humans, in the Dark Place, and a pair of angels, facing thousands of hell-hounds. Do any of the humans survive? Do Reh-Reh and Tony get back together?

Let's start with Wow, and go from there. He is an incredible piece of writing. Based on a graphic novel, it has plenty of action, and weird stuff. There is also heart, and really good characters. This novel zooms past the level of "deserves six stars." I very much look forward to a sequel.