Grind Your Bones to Dust

My friends at Excession Press have opened submissions for 2020 and I figured this was as good a time as any to  talk in detail about their previous offerings.

Last time was Laser House on the Prairie, and without waiting a week and a half we move on to Grind Your Bones to Dust by Nicholas Day.

Hoo boy, people, this one is a hard read. It is also extremely good, I read extremely fast and move on from books quickly, but this one has sorta taken root there, or which I am a little upset. 

The product information page gives us a rundown on the general plot lines of the book, the malevolent flesh hungry donkeys, the evil preacher, and so on. But it does not tell the whole tale, which is fair, if it did we wouldn't need the book I suppose.

The book opens in media res with a terrifying scene that, while extremely well written, does not really let you know what you are in for. This is not a book for those with weak stomachs or the desire to feel safe. If you are looking for good things happening to good people then with maaaaybe one exception you won't find it here. Themes of hope vs nihilism are dominant, and mostly nihilism wins out, mostly. 

I personally had a really hard time reading this, I've written in this space before about how, rather than scary imagery or gore, I am freaked out by despair and friends, this novel hits that extremely hard, over and over again, I got through it because Nicholas Day is a very good author, but I don't know how many rereads I have in me.

I don't know the author personally, but after reading his story I get the impression of a good person who is furious. It's obvious from the dedication before the book starts, which is the only one I have ever seen that literally says "fuck you" to people, that Day is not a nihilist himself, and has strong opinions about those who are. Those opinions are... not positive.

It's hard to say more about the book without getting into spoilers and I really don't want to do that, I will just repeat that this is a very hard book to read, but is absolutely worth the effort, get it from the link I posted above or from Amazon if you can't for some reason and find out for yourself.

Also that cover art is pretty sweet.