[Review] - Those Who Go Forth Into the Empty Place

By Curtis M. Lawson and Doug Rinaldi

Let's start with the Intro by Jared Collins. It's a great intro that sets up this crazy premise really well. The intro really had me wanting more. The whole alternative view of nothing just whets the absolute hell out of my appetite for this book.

OK, let's get into the book. Our lead is a know-it-all and kind of an ass. You don't really like this guy at all, which plays well for me in the novella format (this story is a few pages shy of a hundred). For me, this book is way more on the bizarro side of things than it is horror. I kind of had to tell myself this while I was reading, because I have come to expect different things from the two genres. You can't really put this in a genre box, though; it definitely crosses the lines and breaks the walls.

I believe this is my third experience with Mr. Lawson's work, and what I can tell you is I dig his style. I really like the way he writes and the smoothness of it. This is my first experience with Rinaldi, and while I don't know who wrote what, I can say that it was a seamless collaboration.

It's a cosmic horror story, really Lovecraftian at its roots, and - are you ready for this? - I don't love cosmic horror or Lovecraft stuff. There I said it. However, this book was able to make me look past all that. I really think the intro had a lot to do with it. Then my love for Lawson's recent Black Heart Boy's Choir pushed me into places that I don't normally go. I am glad I did, because it was worth it. It's a very fun, enjoyable, mystical, and gory novella. It is definitely action-packed and full of laughable dark humor. I have become a Lawson fan, that is for sure, and I am looking forward to looking into what Rindaldi stuff I can get into.   

Grade: 4 Stars

Review by Well Read Beard
Twitter: @WellReadBeard
Video Review:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPOPtfLVhTI  

I received a copy from Curtis Lawson for review consideration.