A Truly Horrific Horror

The Evil Visitor by Fernando Sobenes

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for a review.

Summary: Northern Kuwait, 1991. The first Persian Gulf War.

Peter Donovan, a US Army lieutenant leads a group of soldiers into an
ambush in the Iraqi desert. The fight begins and the enemies get
massacred. Hearing a terrible child cry, trying to help, he encounters a
terrifying force in a grave beneath the sands of the desert where he
has unknowingly pocketed an amulet that contains enormous power. Evil
takes him to death's door, yet he is able to escape.

Years later, Peter, now a civilian and a small town sheriff, unwittingly opens
a door for that ancient evil with a what many consider to be a child's
game, the Ouija Board. Donovan enlists the help of Father Josh Carter, a
Catholic priest beset by his own doubts, in his effort to fight this
paranormal threat.

Will evil destroy them? Will they be able to save those they love or will evil triumph and send them all to hell?

Review: An extremely graphic horror story, that is not for the faint of heart, about pure evil.

I must admit that I am not a big fan of horror, be it in book or movie form. So while I don’t read it often, I do enjoy a good horror on occasion. I decided to read this book mainly due to not having read a horror novel in a while and the religious aspect associated with the horror. Religious mythology lends itself well to horror stories and Christianity is no exception. As a warning, this book does feature some derogatory views of Catholicism and is very violent, why may upset some people.

I very rarely have a problem with violence in books. In this book, it seemed like the author was trying to stick in as much violence as possible. I had a very visceral reaction to this book, some of it good and some of it bad. Some specific instances of violence came very close to becoming triggers for me. While I did enjoy this book, the writing was stilted at points and the translation, mainly with verb tenses, could have used some work. The ending might be unsatisfactory to some, but I liked it.

Rating:






Recommendation: I would recommend this book to those that enjoy horror, especially religious based horror, but people of the Catholic faith or people who do not like gratuitous violence or people who have had past traumatic experiences should think twice about reading this book.