Review: The Damned by Andrew Pyper

The Damned by Andrew Pyper
Also by this author: The Only Child, The Residence
Published by Simon & Schuster on February 10. 2015
Genres: Horror, Thriller
Pages: 304
Format: eARC
Source: the publisher (egalley)

Although Danny and his sister, Ashleigh, were twins, they couldn't be more different. Danny was quiet and laid back, an average boy. Ash was...different.  At their birth, mere moments after they entered the world, they died. They returned, but from that very moment something was different about Ash. It's as if she left a bit of her soul behind...or it was replaced by something else.  She tormented everyone, including their family.

Fast forward several decades. Danny has written a book chronicling the fire that took Ash's life but spared his. Clinically dead, he returned from the afterlife to share his story.  While most of us would celebrate the chance at a new life, Danny cannot. He's haunted by Ash, her torment and terror stronger now than it was in life.  For the last 20 years, she has continued to terrorize him, refusing to cut the twin bond that connects them.  Danny, though he struggled, was able to deal with her random appearances, but now that he's found the love of his life, Ash's need for revenge has intensified.

Now that she has new victims in her wake, Ash takes out her vengeance on Danny's new wife and stepson. Danny becomes obsessed with putting an end to Ash's reign of terror. He goes back to his hometown, Detroit, to find answers about the fire that took Ash's life.  It's obvious that some of her hatred stems from Danny's survival but there is obviously some secret that is fueling her anger.  He knows that he is the only one who can stop her, even if it means risking his own life.

I discovered Pyper’s work last year when I listened to the audiobook production of his novel, The Demonologist. I became an instant fan; Pyper’s talent for creating dark and richly terrifying reading experience makes him one of the horror writing greats, in my mind.  This most recent novel is just more evidence of this claim.

I don’t know if it had to do with twins.  Honestly, and no offense to any twins out there, but they are creepy! The bond they share, both mentally and emotionally, wavers on the paranormal.  In The Demonologist, there was a clear homage to Paradise Lost. In this novel, it’s not difficult to draw parallels to Cain and Abel.  Starting from birth, Ash struggled for her parents love and attention, yet the evil that resided within her prevented any sort of familial bonding to occur.  Her rage toward Danny, like Cain’s to Abel, was most definitely fueled by jealousy and anger.  While their family was never the most loving (mainly because of Ash’s terror that weighed upon them), Danny certainly had more of a connection with their parents than Ash.

Additionally, the terror and darkness that Pyper evokes in this novel sent chills down my spine.  It takes a lot to scare me, but this novel certainly succeeded at doing so. His richly detailed prose crafted a world, and experience, so dark and desperately terrifying.  His writing is genuinely solid; honestly some of the best out there in this genre.  Already proclaimed as the “next Stephen King,” it’s impossible to refute his talent.  As a matter of fact, the film rights to The Damned have already been acquired by Legendary Pictures.

I think it goes without saying, but I am absolutely enamored by this book and, frankly, everything penned by Andrew Pyper. A must read for horror fans!