“Hell is real. And it’s coming this way…”
This isn’t the first time Dave’s been dropped into the killzone, where Hell and Earth meet. Again and again, he’s crashed down into the ground like an angry comet, clad in his living armor, with his shotgun, Bielebog, primed and ready. Time and again, Dave’s waded knee-deep through the dead, riding on the adrenaline wave, halfway baked out of his mind.
Except, Dave’s had enough. He’s died, fought and rampaged one too many times. He’s gotten sick and tired of being a berserker.
This time, Dave knows, will be the last time.
HERE WE GO AGAIN…
Title: Violence Dave: Heartless | Author: Konstantine Paradias | Publisher: Bizarro Pulp Press | Pub Date: August 1, 2017 | Pages: 62 | ISBN13: 978-1945373954 | Genre: Science Fiction | Language: English | Source: Purchased | Starred Review
Violence Dave: Heartless by Konstantine Paradias Review
I stumbled across this book by accident if I’m being honest. I wasn’t familiar with the author and I don’t recall any friends mentioning the book or hearing about it on social media. Yet somehow I landed on the book’s Amazon page (thanks algorithms!). I immediately loved the cover art and was intrigued by the plot synopsis. And look, if I’m being totally honest, the page count helped push me over the edge because I’ve been reading more novellas than novels this year.
Now, having read it, I can’t think of anything quite like it. Violence Dave: Heartless uses urgent, first person present tense language to simulate a first person shooter narrative. A quick look at Konstantine Paradias’ bio states that he has worked in the video game industry, so I would imagine that was the intended effect.
Violence Dave: Heartless is an immersive, action packed, propulsive novella where the action starts right away and never lets up. There isn’t time for extensive back story, world building, psychological insight, and deeper character development. Because of the manic and frenetic pace of wartime battle, and the limited scope of the characters point of view in that scenario, the confusion of war is rendered chaotically. Things happen suddenly and end just as suddenly. Characters are there then gone. Who’s the enemy, where’s my fellow soldiers, which way am I going, who’s my commander, what’s the orders. It’s definitely a grunt level book.
I’m actually looking forward to reading it again so I can pick up up on some of the details that I may have missed the first time around when I was just hanging on for dear life.
One word that appears on the cover is FWOOM! and that sums up the narrative propulsion beautifully. You want a FWOOM! story, this is it.
You can find this book at many retailers via clicking on the appropriate link on Goodreads. (Buying direct from retailers is a good way to support indie authors); however, in the spirit of supporting literacy programs, we would like to point out that you may be able to purchase this book through BetterWorldBooks.
Brian Lindenmuth is the former non-fiction editor of Spinetingler Magazine and the former editor of Snubnose Press. He likes both kinds of books, fiction and non-fiction. He blogs about subtitled TV shows and movies at One Inch Tall Movies