2 Books Like Cuckoo

While I love GONE TO SEE THE RIVER MAN, which seems to be Kristopher Triana’s most popular work to date, THE OLD LADY puts Triana on a different level. It’s got the brutal violence that many of his fans will expect, but what really makes it such a great read are its immersive descriptions of an antagonistic setting and its masterful development of characters, good guys and bad guys, but especially the titular lady, Tracey, who doesn’t fit easily into good or bad molds but is likely to have you cheering for her anyway. I often found myself wishing I could handle natural terrain and survival tactics as well as she does. The lady has serious problems, but her relationship with her surroundings makes her unquestionably cool.

I don’t want to do any damage to the book in the eyes of fans who dislike such descriptions, but I wouldn’t hesitate… show more.

I wouldn't often--I would almost never--consider describing a book as "original" because I tend to think everything's been done, but the main point of MOTEL STYX, an exploration of a world where necrophilia is legal but regulated--is not something I've seen before, and authors von Eschen and Butcher handle their subject with frank rationality that endows it with fascination that balances its inherent repulsiveness. Don't get me wrong: the book is very, very nasty, definitely extreme horror that goes for gross-outs like you might expect. However, it delves with surprising insight into psychological states surrounding death and loss that both give rise to the taboo on necrophilia and some people's desire to break it. I found two characters, one alive and one dead, to have a quite endearing relationship once I came to understand them. The authors weave different aspects of the motel that fulfills necrophiles' fantasies around a compelling… show more.