Black Flame

Did I want it? Yes. Yes I did

I picked this book up on a whim from The Twisted Spine bookstore and cafe in Brooklyn, shoutout, and I did so because of its phenomenal cover. Am I ashamed to admit that I judged this book by its cover? I should be, maybe, but I’m not. The design teams at publishing houses work damn hard and the work they do is damn good. Hate me if you must, but I think that a good cover and concept can both coexist and exist independently of each other. The cover caught my eye, the premise on the backmatter sold me on it, and I was thinking about this book the entire time I finished my previous one. I’m going to, as usual, try to keep this spoiler free, but I have a lot to say.

First and foremost, I went into this wanting for a horror and gay, and boy did I get both. I’m not one for smut, and this book definitely isn’t that, but it’s got a lot, a lot, of sexual content in it. THIS IS NOT A CRITICISM. I think that it works extremely well for the book, for its characters and their development, for the plot, and for its themes of self discovery and sexual liberation. It’s shocking at times, horrific at others, and deeply enticing at yet more times. It’s erotic and sensual and shameful in ways that any queer readers will recognize and relate to.

Which leads me into my second point: the themes. I will go ahead and say it plainly here in only my third paragraph, I absolutely loved this book. A horror story about being robbed of identity and clawing your life back, there was so much in this that seemed like a reflection of myself, so much of this that I found lamentable and despicable, so much about this that has happened to me or the people around me, the book’s connection to reality is deep and sincere and oh my god is the final product the richer for it. Exploring sexual identity and the robbery of it by others through horror is as strong a pairing in literature as there can be, and Black Flame does so masterfully. Our main character, a woman named Ellen, is tormented by so many ghosts of a person that she could have been that I would call this a haunted house story even if she was homeless. She’s trapped inside of a shell, a thin mask made to please everyone around her at the cost of herself and everything she believes in. She’s closeted both her identity and her beliefs, and nothing can bring her back. In a lot of ways she’s despicable, denying everyone around her every opportunity and shred of grace they deserve. In a lot of ways she’s pitiable, denying herself and having been denied all the same. She’s real, and I think she’s one of the more compelling protagonists I’ve come across.

The horror and gore in this book is another way that it shines. It is, on its face, a very graphic tale. It does not shy away from its sex scenes, TW: both consensual and not, or its deaths or its torture. If you go into this book, which I highly suggest that you do, do so with the knowledge that it is a grisly one. I was hoping for something good and I got it in spades. Even from its earlier scenes the violence and blood are present and visceral. Not for the faint of heart, it only gets worse from our main character almost losing a thumb in the first few pages. The experiences and dangers of living as a woman and as a queer person in a hateful time are laid out plainly. It’s a 200 page book full of hateable characters and punchable faces that deserve worse than what the world will ever give them. The scenes the book lays out, its scares, are well paced and spooky, and the crescendo of this book is incredibly long and well crafted in spite of its relatively small size. The ghouls and goblins are out in full force and create a respectably formidable cast of creeps that I was always very happy, if uncomfortable, to see.

The stakes in this novel, one of my biggest issues with most horror, were established and paid off perfectly. Legitimately, it’s the happiest I’ve been with an ending to a horror book in some time. I’m very happy to say that every single cent I spent on this book was paid back in full and then some.

Sincerely, if you haven’t heard of this book then now you have and if you’ve heard of this book then you should go out and read it. Buy it from a store if you want to, rent it from the library, EXPERIENCE IT FOR YOURSELF IT IS SO WORTH IT!