Penny Dreadful

Rating:
Summary: Dark Side of the Looking Glass
Review: To read Penny Dreadful is to experience a surreal nightmare while awake. Seedy neighborhoods inhabited by ghoulish freaks and society misfits - lost souls without hope of redemption. If you are looking for a feel good moment, this is the wrong book. Nothing uplifting here. This will come as no surprise to anyone who has read Will Christopher Baer's first novel Kiss Me, Judas.

This time Phineas Poe starts in search of a missing detective Jimmy Sky. Through this endeavor Poe unwittingly becomes a participant in a bizarre game in which in the players possess dual personalities - one real, one fantasy. But in this game fantasy soon takes over reality as people become absorbed into their alter egos. Baer spares nothing as he graphically describes their descent into this slimy underworld. Creepy stuff here but, if you can handle it, Penny Dreadful will provide a mesmerizing read.