Review: The Heavens Rise

The Heavens Rise
By Christopher Rice

To start, I will admit to never having been interested in the horror genre. However, I recently began listening occasionally to Rice's online radio comedy show,  The Dinner Party Show, where he has been advertising his book for months. Still I had no plans to read this novel simply because horror is really NOT my thing (why give myself more reasons to be afraid of the dark?) But I have come to realize that sometimes it's good to read something outside your comfort zone. Plus, the weeks of buildup through the interviews, reviews and other hype (Not to mention that I would feel like an ass hat if I went to his joint book signing with Anne Rice and had no book for him to sign) led me to purchase my copy and begin to read.

I'm glad I did.

For the first 75% of this book there is so much unknown to the reader. We know the source of the power or gift and we know which two characters posses it. (Marshall and Nikki) But there are so many questions! What are the limitations of the power? What happened to Nikki and her family? Are they going to show up? Where is Marshall? What is he going to do next? Are there others with this power? How in the world do you defeat someone who can control minds?  I found myself speculating and was partially correct, but there was so much to the story that was completely unpredictable. I honestly had no idea how the book would end, who would survive, or what the "monster" would become. Just when I thought there were no more surprises, two or three more surfaced!

So how scary is this novel? I would say this novel is more intellectual than terrifying. It is as scary as you imagine it to be because as you read it, you are left to imagine when Marshall (or someone else with this power) will strike next and just how horrific his presence will be. This novel is like none other in the fact that there is seemingly no limit to the evil that can take place because if someone with the power can imagine it, literally any of the other people around him or her can do it.

But this book isn't just about horror. Mixed into this nightmare is love and friendship and, in my opinion, the overall theme of staying true to the people (or in this case also the city) you love no matter what. The last couple pages of chapter 27 is one of the most intimate scenes I've ever read between two people who aren't romantically involved, and to me summed up an overall theme of this beautiful book.

     "You told me no matter who I turned out to be, you would always accept me. You would always love me. Do you remember that day?" 

"...And I'm offering you the same things in return. Always." (Rice, 266) 

It is at that exact moment when you realize that there is hope. That the side for "good" is no longer solitary.  And it is impossible to not read the rest of the novel in one frantic sitting.

Cheers!