The weirdest horror book I've read this year

What is the worst thing that can happen to a person? There are certainly fates worse than death. Horror often explores what it's like to be transformed into something lesser than human while being forced to live. To be deprived of any power over one's destiny, to lose everything except consciousness. Perhaps an even worse scenario is to watch someone you love suffer this fate. In 1862, three brothers desert from the Confederate army. Their assumption that anything is preferable to the horrors of war seems to be true at first, especially as they meet a mysterious woman living in the wilderness willing to host them. But the things that happened to them while under her roof prove to be worse than anything war has to offer. The brothers witness events inexplicable by both the laws of nature and the Bible. That is by the commonly accepted part of the Bible. Because the Holy Scripture is but an anthology of books, some of which were removed in desperate hopes that what they describe is no longer with us. [music] Not often do I see a relatively new horror release get as much positive feedback as Saraphina by Philip Fraasi. I am slow to judge a book based on Goodreads ratings because the website is just book Reddit at this point, and I am seriously doubting the literacy rates of its user base. One of the big problems is that many Goodreads users are incapable of accepting horror as a genre of literature, always complaining that they didn't stain their bed sheets for days to come and therefore the horror was weak. Fully ignoring that an adult should not be staining their bed sheets in the first place. This is the only way I can explain why the best contemporary horror authors rarely scratch for stars. As a rule of thumb, if a new horror release gets an abnormal amount of praise on Goodreads, then it's not trying to be pure horror. And so is the case with Saraphina. This is a very post-modern work of art. It goes from a historical drama into horror and fantasy while mixing in esoteric Christianity. It makes you question a lot of what happened, which I happen to really like in literature. If you have been disappointed by the movie Watchers and want something else inspired by the Book of Enoch, then this is right up your alley. This is not a spoiler-free review. I will go over the story and then share my personal thoughts. If the book seems interesting to you at any point, I recommend clicking off and reading it yourself. The story follows the fate of four siblings from Natchez, Mississippi. The three brothers were sent to an almost certain death in Tennessee to fight for a lost cause against the Union Army. As with most boys dragged into war, personal ideas, politics, and identity aren't the driving factor for enlistment. Their father is a veteran of the Mexican-American War. After the death of his wife, he grew sour, and his sons not fighting in the Civil War was simply not an option. If his bloodline disappears on the battlefield, then so be it. The brothers were originally more than happy to go. The youngest one, our main character, Ethan, was eager to leave his father's household and perhaps even gain some respect from the old man. Ethan is no pushover, but naturally always finds himself weaker than his older [music] brothers. At 17, he was still a boy when he joined the Confederate [music] army, and the war quickly deprived him of the last bits of innocence. He saw men die, and he killed. The oldest brother, Mason, is the one calling the shots and the only child their father had any respect for. He's the biggest, strongest, and always prone to violence. The middle child, Archie, doesn't share Mason's brutishness, but he more than makes up for it in cunning and cruelty. Ethan firmly believes that unlike his brothers, he is a good man thanks to his twin sister, Ellie. She made sure that Ethan would stick to the Bible. As soon as the hardships of war became apparent, he wished for nothing more than to come back home to Ellie. [music] The Battle of Shiloh makes the brothers realize that they have to choose between fighting and living. In the midst of all the bloodshed, they decide to desert and head back to Mississippi. On their way to Corinth, they encounter a lieutenant who doesn't buy their made-up story about reinforcing a hospital down the road. Mason shoots the man, which marks the point of no [music] return. Now they are being hunted by the Confederates. A couple days after getting off the road, they come face to face with a group of free bandits and once again opt for violence. The killing strengthens the bond between the brothers. Every corpse they are leaving behind is a secret they cannot share with anyone else. Their survival is fully dependent on one another. They come across a tribe of traveling Chukto natives. They buy some food, thinking luck is finally on their side. At first, it seems like the tribe is leaving the camp to move to their next destination. But one of the natives decides to be merciful and tell them the truth. Motivated by the large bounty on their heads, a tribe's men went to report them to the Confederacy. Ethan shares his thoughts with the reader. I can't blame them. A man's got to take care of his own. Morality doesn't feed children or buy clothes. Our government has taken everything from their people, and they've got to take back what they can when they can. I doubt the old man will have trouble sleeping at night, and a small part of me wishes them well. The home guard catches up soon, and Archie gets shot. Mason manages to injure two or three of the pursuers, and the brothers once again flee into the woods. Exhausted with little to no sleep, the remains of the search party ambush them again the next day. In a particularly powerful scene, Mason is wrestling with one of the Confederates while a boy, no older than 16, watches them with a loaded rifle. Unsure whether to shoot or wait until the two separate, Ethan notices and shoots the boy. Turns out the Confederate wrestling with Mason was the boy's father. They interrogate him as he's hugging the body of his dying son and learn that there are more pursuers coming. Luckily for them, heavy rains come and help hide the traces. At the same time, the cold and hunger make them miserable beyond belief. The violence transformed all of them. There is no more good and evil, just survival. Archie is on his last legs, and the only hope to shake off the pursuers is to pass through a swamp. Mason almost drowns, and only God knows what sort of bacteria enter Archie's open wound in the filthy water. The night after crossing the swamp, Ethan can't sleep. Somehow they are still alive, but not for long, unless there's a miracle. As Ethan thinks about his twin sister, his thoughts get interrupted by the sounds of flowing water. He follows the noise, and sure enough, there is a creek. He immediately starts quenching his thirst when he notices a child, a young boy on the other side of the water. Not scared, not surprised, just curious. He waves at Ethan, and for a couple seconds, they chat. The boy says that he's living in a homestead behind a creek and runs off into the woods. When Mason learns about this, he's skeptical. This is the wilderness. No one lives out here. But Archie is at the brink of death. This is their only chance. They arrive at the creek where, to their relief, they also discover a pear tree. The fruit shouldn't be so perfect since it's only April. But only a fool would think about such things after not eating for days. Ethan thinks about the lush forest beyond the water. The unexplored lands beyond is tantalizing, but something about it worries me for reasons I can't define. It feels like sitting at the edge of salvation and then discovering a surprising weariness to proceed. It's a response one might have standing at the gates of heaven, staring in awe at the majesty waiting for you just ahead. If you could only pass through those sparely golden gates. And the hesitation one might fe

power over one's destiny, to lose everything except consciousness. Perhaps an even worse scenario is to watch someone you love suffer this fate. In 1862, three brothers desert from the Confederate army. Their assumption that anything is preferable to the horrors of

war seems to be true at first, especially as they meet a mysterious woman living in the wilderness willing to host them. But the things that happened to them while under her roof prove to be worse than anything war has

to offer. The brothers witness events inexplicable by both the laws of nature and the Bible. That is by the commonly accepted part of the Bible. Because the Holy Scripture is but an anfology of books. some of which were removed in

desperate hopes that what they describe is no longer with us. [music] Not often do I see a relatively new horror release get as much positive feedback as Saraphina by Philip Fraasi.

I am slow to judge a book based on Goodreads ratings because the website is just book Reddit at this point and I am seriously doubting the literacy rates of its user base. One of the big problems is that many Goodreads users are

incapable of accepting horror as a genre of literature, always complaining that they didn't stain their bed sheets for days to come and therefore the horror was weak. Fully ignoring that an adult should not be staining their bed sheets

in the first place. This is the only way I can explain why the best contemporary horror authors rarely scratch for stars.

As a rule of thumb, if a new horror release gets an abnormal amount of praise on Goodreads, then it's not trying to be pure horror. And so is the case with Sarafhino. This is a very post-modern work of art. It goes from a

historical drama into horror and fantasy while mixing in esoteric Christianity. It makes you question a lot of what happened, which I happen to really like in literature. If you have been disappointed by the movie watchers and want something else inspired by the book

of Enoch, then this is right up your alley. This is not a spoiler-free review. I will go over the story and then share my personal thoughts. If the book seems interesting to you at any point, I recommend clicking off and

reading it yourself. The story follows the fate of four siblings from Nachez, Mississippi. The three brothers were sent to an almost certain death in Tennessee to fight for a lost cause against the Union Army. As with most boys dragged into war, personal ideas,

politics, and identity aren't the driving factor for enlistment. Their father is a veteran of the Mexican-American War. After the death of his wife, he grew sour, and his sons not fighting in the Civil War was simply not an option. if his bloodline disappears

on the battlefield, then so be it. The brothers were originally more than happy to go. The youngest one, our main character, Ethan, was eager to leave his father's household and perhaps even gain some respect from the old man. Ethan is

no pushover, but naturally always finds himself weaker than his older [music] brothers. At 17, he was still a boy when he joined the Confederate [music] army, and the war quickly deprived him of the last bits of innocence. He saw men die

and he killed. The oldest brother, Mason, is the one calling the shots and the only child their father had any respect for. He's the biggest, strongest, and always prone to violence.

The middle child, Archie, doesn't share Mason's brutishness, but he more than makes up for it in cunning and cruelty.

Ethan firmly believes that unlike his brothers, he is a good man thanks to his twin sister, Ellie. She made sure that Ethan would stick to the Bible. As soon as the hardships of war became apparent, he wished for nothing more than to come

back home to Ellie. [music] The battle of Shiloh makes the brothers realize that they have to choose between fighting and living. In the midst of all the bloodshed, they decide to desert and head back to Mississippi. On their way

to Corinth, they encounter a lieutenant who doesn't buy their madeup story about reinforcing a hospital down the road.

Mason shoots the man, which marks the point of no [music] return. Now they are being hunted by the Confederates. A couple days after getting off the road, they come face tof face with a group of free bandits and once again opt for

violence. The killing strengthens the bond between the brothers. Every corpse they are leaving behind is a secret they cannot share with anyone else. Their survival is fully dependent on one another. They come across a tribe of traveling Chukto natives. They buy some

food, thinking luck is finally on their side. At first, it seems like the tribe is leaving the camp to move to their next destination. But one of the natives decides to be merciful and tell them the truth. Motivated by the large bounty on

their heads, a trib's men went to report them to the Confederacy. Ethan shares his thoughts with the reader. I can't blame them. A man's got to take care of his own. Morality doesn't feed children or buy clothes. Our government has taken

everything from their people, and they've got to take back what they can when they can. I doubt the old man will have trouble sleeping at night, and a small part of me wishes them well. The home guard catches up soon, and Archie

gets shot. Mason manages to injure two or three of the pursuers, and the brothers once again flee into the woods.

Exhausted with little to no sleep, the remains of the search party ambush them again the next day. In a particularly powerful scene, Mesa is wrestling with one of the Confederates while a boy, no older than 16, watches them with a

loaded rifle. Unsure whether to shoot or wait until the two separate. Ethan notices and shoots the boy. Turns out the Confederate wrestling with Mason was the boy's father. They interrogate him as he's hugging the body of his dying

son and learn that there are more pursuers coming. Luckily for them, heavy rains come and help hide the traces. At the same time, the cold and hunger makes them miserable beyond belief. The violence transformed all of them. There

is no more good and evil, just survival. Archie is on his last legs, and the only hope to shake off the pursuers is to pass through a swamp. Mason almost drowns, and only God knows what sort of bacteria enter Archie's open wound in

the filthy water. The night after crossing the swamp, Ethan can't sleep. Somehow they are still alive, but not for long, unless there's a miracle. As Ethan thinks about his twin sister, his thoughts get interrupted by the sounds of flowing water. He follows the noise

and sure enough, there is a creek. He immediately starts quenching his thirst when he notices a child, a young boy on the other side of the water. Not scared, not surprised, just curious. He waves at Ethan and for a couple seconds they

chat. The boy says that he's living in a homestead behind a creek and runs off into the woods. When Mason learns about this, he's skeptical. This is the wilderness. No one lives out here. But Archie is at the brink of death. This is

their only chance. They arrive at the creek where to their relief, they also discover a pear tree. The fruit shouldn't be so perfect since it's only April. But only a fool would think about such things after not eating for days.

Ethan thinks about the lush forest beyond the water. The unexplored lands beyond is tantalizing, but something about it worries me for reasons I can't define. It feels like sitting at the edge of salvation and then discovering a surprising weariness to proceed. It's a

response one might have standing at the gates of heaven, staring in awe at the majesty waiting for you just ahead. if you could only pass through those sparely golden gates. And the hesitation one might feel at doing so, at leaving

life, the world as we know it, our families and friends, leaving it all behind for some form of eternal bliss.

They cross the creek and continue through the forest, carrying Archie, who is no longer capable of supporting himself. After reaching a clearing, they finally see the house. The three brothers that passed beyond the border of the creek can't be considered good

men. Yet, as the first arc of the book comes to an end, the reader clearly sees their strongest and perhaps [music] only virtue. Absolute loyalty to one another.

But the horrors that are to come will test if that loyalty persists when there's more than just survival on the line. Before they're even able to approach the house, they notice the dogs. Large, uncanny looking creatures not resembling any breed common in

Mississippi. Their heads and limbs are way too big, their backs arched. The pack doesn't react well to intruders on his property, and just as it seems that a dog attack is imminent, a female voice gives the command to stand down. The

dogs seemingly disappear, running off in different directions. On the porch stands a beautiful woman with olive skin and raven black hair. Her [music] name is Saraphina and she agrees to treat Archie's wounds. One might expect a woman living in the middle of nowhere to

have a bit more skepticism when free men show up to [music] her house, but not Saraphina. She seems to understand the urgency of their situation and quickly gets to treating Archie. She removes the bullet and sues [music] the wound. Ethan

introduces himself and his brothers. When Saraphina learns their siblings, something seems to click in her, as if everything made more sense. Now, the boy that found Ethan back at the creek is named Titus, assumed to be Saraphina's son. She's willing to host the free

under a couple of conditions. First of all, they need to burn their clothes and shave their hair so they don't spread any lies. Mason uses the opportunity to ask whether the razors and spare clothes she's offering belong to her husband.

Saraphina seems more than happy to answer the [music] question. Yes, they do. Her husband is alive but fighting in the north. As she puts it, he's in the war like all the other fools. It's here that we see the difference between Mason

and Ethan. Ethan feels guilty over being under the roof of a man who fights in the same war he ran away from. Mason, who at this point drank some of the whiskey intended for Archie, isn't afraid to start flirting with the

married woman. Suddenly, when survival doesn't seem so uncertain anymore, Ethan gets reminded that his brother's lack of morals isn't a good thing. They wash themselves and shave up to the sculp in the creek nearby. Ethan notices that the

hair doesn't flow downstream. It's actually more like the creek doesn't have any direction, as if it's flowing into itself. An even stranger situation arises when both of them fit perfectly into Saraphina's husband's clothes. How come one man owns so many different

sizes of clothing? Questions get postponed by a more important matter, hunger. For the first time since enlisting, they get to eat a home-cooked meal after a week of surviving on almost nothing. Mason tells Saraphina the same jokes even heard him say to countless

girls in the past. To the little brother's dismay, Saraphina laughs at all of them, even though she appears far too intelligent for them. We get to see the events of the book unfold through Ethan's perspective. The perspective of

the youngest brother, always seen as a child by those around, which in turn shapes his own self-image. He both envys and accepts that Mason is the one shooting his shot with this beautiful woman they encountered. Mason is bold

and quickly able to gain her favor. While Ethan initially doesn't even think about Saraphina in that way, not because he's not attracted to her, but because always being the weakest of the three made him repress his sexuality. This

also means that unlike Mason, he's worried about the morality of things. [snorts] Forced to think with his brain at the expense of other organs, he's aware how ungrateful the entire situation is towards this mysterious husband. If only Archie was there to

knock some sense into Mason. But when the injured brother wakes up, the only thing on his mind is perhaps unsurprisingly also the mysterious woman that saved his life. The next day, the search party finally catches up, [music] or rather what's left of it. Instead of

a dozen, only two men show up in front of the house. The brothers didn't really share who they are, and they certainly didn't share that there is someone haunting them. Yet, Saraphina seems to be sympathetic to them. Perhaps because

they are her guests, or perhaps because she doesn't exactly like the Confederacy. Whatever her reasoning might be, she confronts the home guard on her own and doesn't grant them entry into the house. But the soldiers are not interested in what she has to say. On

the contrary, they inform her that they will do as they please and take what they want. That includes her. But before Mason or Ethan have any chance to react, Saraphina summons the dogs who come rushing in from the surrounding forest.

to Ethan. It more closely resembles how a lion pack would hunt rather than any dog breed. The Confederates stand no chance against the beasts and slowly get torn apart while Saraphina stoically watches from the porch. She lets the

dogs feast on the dead men until Mason puts a stop to it, insisting on a proper burial. When the two brothers return in the evening, Archie appears healthy again. While one might expect that to be a positive, the way he's flirting with

Saraphina greatly irritates Mason, who childishly starts sharing embarrassing stories about the middle sibling. Yet, Saraphina is no typical woman and finds the story of Archie masturbating to biblical illustrations charming. Ethan can't stand his brothers fighting over something they shouldn't be fighting

over in the first place and spends the following day hunting. Notably, he speaks to the boy, Titus. Titus is a quiet kid, spending most of his time reading books. At first, he wasn't too fond of Ethan. That was until Ethan

saved the boy's life during a mountain lion attack. As a sign of gratitude, Titus shares some very significant information. This land beyond the creek, where they find themselves, is an island. His brothers are evil men and they can't cross the water and get back

home, but Ethan can still escape. Ethan doesn't pay much attention to the boy, assuming that his words are a product of childhood fantasies. When he returns to the house, it's once again Mason, who is way too intimate with the woman.

Meanwhile, Archie is worse than ever before. He's in their shared guest room almost dying. But when Ethan comes to check on him, he doesn't seem to be concerned with his health at all. I love her, he says, his shaved head nothing

more than a skull wrapped in dyed skin. His cunning eyes wide with hate and fear. I love her, Ethan. I squeeze his hand, unsure what to say to such a thing. Unsure how I feel about his saying it. If he takes her from me, he

says, that deep granting voice, low and omnous as thunder, I'll kill him. Ethan is powerless as the brother's seemingly unshakable bond that made them survive the wrath of the Confederate home guard gets broken by their lust. He is haunted

by dreams of him and his siblings burning in hell for eternity, their flesh melting in the fire. It becomes hard to sleep, especially as Archie is dying on the bed next to him. Mason isn't even in the room anymore. The line

was finally crossed and he is now sleeping upstairs with Saraphino. The place feels eerie and the woman moves through the hallways in her serene beauty, waiting for Ethan to show him something. She takes him behind the property to a tree called Novas. Ethan

thinks it's strange that the plant has a name, but Saraphina tells him something even stranger. She makes him look at the night skies and explains that there are layers to reality unexplainable by his Bible. You think of heaven and hell as

being above and below, but they're right next to us. If I didn't think it would kill you, I would show you. I would open your eyes to the true reality of what surrounds this world. Ethan soon realizes that there is no husband. That

this woman is living in the woods all alone with her, well, not a son.

Saraphina explains that Titus isn't her offspring. He is a companion. And similarly to what Titus did, she also offers Ethan to leave as a gift for saving her companion. Of course, his brothers would stay, but he should take

the opportunity. It becomes obvious that Saraphina has some sort of magical abilities. She conjures a flame, expecting Ethan to be impressed.

Instead, he recognizes it as a devil's trick, irresponsibly playing with powers that should be left alone. He goes on to scold her and have a lengthy monologue.

He is sick of being treated like a child. After seeing all the horrors of war, his mind was already broken beyond repair. He doesn't fear these things Saraphina is talking about that he can't be shown and can't comprehend. It's time

to make his own decisions. An offer is made. Since Saraphina owes him for saving Titus, she should use her powers to save Archie. Saraphina says it's possible, but his brother will be changed. He will become different. But Ephan just wants to see Archie live.

Almost mockingly, she agrees. After all, Ethan said himself he's an adult that can make his own decisions. The following days can only be described as torture. Archie spends most time in immense pain, [music] granting and sweating a sort of black oily liquid. He

no longer eats food. Instead, [music] Saraphina feeds him strange herable teas that seem to be the only thing capable of calming him down. It's less of a healing process and more of a ritual. as Ethan hears the woman chant in unknown

languages from behind the door. In the night, Archie suffers even more as he's forced to listen to Mason having sex with Saraphina in her bedroom above.

Paralyzed and powerless to fight for the woman he claims to love. Ethan slowly learns that Titus was right. They are indeed on an island. The creek that surrounds the property flows into itself, forming an unnatural shape of a

five-pointed star. And in the middle of that is the house. The house in which Ethan's brothers are about to lose their humanity. Ethan goes to check on Archie, but there is something terribly wrong.

The wound turned black and so did his mouth and tongue. His teeth are falling out one by one. The flesh on his bones and the organs inside of his body are dying off. Yet amidst all the decay, there is something growing. Something is

pulsating under his skin and the hair breaks out on his face as if he was turning into an animal. The limbs bent in unnatural ways and the ribs are trying their best to pierce through the flesh. Archie is very much conscious and

aware of what is happening. He tries begging for help, but the deformation deprived him of the ability to speak.

Yet there is no need for words as Ethan clearly sees that his brother is a victim of something far worse than death. All this time, Ethan was screaming for Mason to come help. The oldest sibling arrives just in time to

watch Archie's limbs twist and break. The dogs outside start trying to break into the house, and Archie's facial bones finally give way. Out comes a new face, a face of a dog. New sharp teeth break through his gums. And after his

first attempts to move in his new body, Archie, or rather what used to be Archie, howls. One might suspect Mason to be fully under Saraphina's spell. But after seeing what the woman did to his brother, his lust is overshadowed by

fury. Both Ethan and Mason understand that Saraphina deserves death. They confront her with a loaded gun and Mason grabs her by the neck, demanding a cure for Archie. But at this point, it's obvious the woman is not immortal. Her

body morphs under Mason's hands. She grows taller, her eyes turning pitch black and her features slowly losing humanity. Both siblings get paralyzed, which even notices to be an effect of a strange dust blown into their face. His mind slowly dozes off as his motionless

body gets dragged into the cellar. As is the case with many single women after a certain age, Saraphina has a dungeon in her basement. The place is more of a cavern than a room with many shells filled with various herbs and mushrooms.

It's here that Saraphina harvests humans. Ethan, still paralyzed, is forced to watch as the woman approaches Mason, who is laying down on a table in the middle of the cave. Using a knife, she cuts deep into his side, separating

a piece of his kidney and eating it. To Ethan's horror, she announces that Mason got her pregnant. Saraphina is aware that a child needs both parents, and what better way to provide it than by feeding the fetus its own father's flesh

through her body. Down in this dungeon, the men unfortunate enough to stumble into Saraphina's domain are either killed or transformed. The dog pack guarding the property were at some point all humans. Titus, who is present to assist her with harvesting Mason, shares

his story. More than a century ago, he was one of the most brutal pirates on the Ohio River. He murdered, raped, mutilated, and enslaved. He killed his own brother, sold his own slave wife and kids to the natives, and a bunch of

other stuff only the most depraved individual could imagine. When he stumbled upon Saraphina's domain, he was hunted and on his last legs. Similarly to Ethan and his brothers, Saraphina saw that he is worse than any man she encountered before and in turn decided

to make him her companion, forever transforming him into a child that doesn't age. Ethan is to be transformed into something as well. Saraphina came to the conclusion that at his core, he's way, way worse than his brothers.

Titus either doesn't share her opinion or still has some gratitude left in him. Either way, when Saraphina leaves, he returns to the dungeon and sets Ethan free, advising him to take this last chance. According to the boy, Saraphina

is neither witch nor demon. She is something else. When Ethan gets back home, he should search for the Book of Enoch to find answers. A clicking sound signals that someone is approaching from one of the tunnels. The terrified Titus

urges Ethan to leave and disappears into the darkness. Ethan is left there with Mason's motionless body. Fully aware that he can save him. He gives his final goodbyes and takes the path into one of the tunnels. As he makes his way through

the cave, he can hear Saraphina taunting him from behind. At one point, he loses his lantern and a creature gives chase.

What once resembled a woman is now something animalistic, something with wings and unnaturally large teeth. After just barely escaping from the cavern through a tight hole, he takes a look back and realizes that in this form, Saraphina can't squeeze through.

Instead, she turns around, aiming to exit the dungeon through a different passage. This gives Ethan enough time to aim for the creek. He runs through the forest pursued by the dogs. What's worse, after looking up, he spots Saraphina chasing him through the tree

crowns. Upon finally reaching the creek, he jumps into the water fully expecting to be caught. But after crawling out on the opposite shore, he realizes that Titus was right. The land beyond the creek is an island, both Saraphina's

domain and her prison. She stands a few feet from the opposite shoreline, taller and broader than any man or woman I've ever seen. Her body senuy and black as night. Behind her, giant wings flap open and closed. Wings smeared with multitude

of colors, glinting like oil in the sun. Her eyes are hooded and golden. But her face is still somehow her, somehow human. This is no animal, no storybook monster. Despite there being a delicacy to the features, there is an

unfathomable power in its bearing, a deadly cunning in its eyes. She is the personification of death itself. In a blink of an eye, both Saraphina, the creek, and the land beyond are gone, as if they never even existed. Ethan left

Mason and Archie behind. But saving them or avenging them doesn't cross his mind. After all that he'd seen, he just wants to go home to his sister. [music] If only things could be that easy. It takes him a few days to reach the Mississippi

River. After stealing a fishing boat, he realizes that there was a child hiding inside of it. [music] Since the boy can't swim, he makes him row through the night and in the morning sets him [music] ashore. He continues all the way

down to Naches where he knocks on his family's house trying to act [music] as casual as possible. As expected, Ellie, the sister, welcomes him with open arms.

His father, on the other hand, is immediately suspicious. [music] After getting some rest, Ethan is subjected to an interrogation during which he announces to the father [music] that two of his sons are dead. Of course, Ethan doesn't share the true story. Instead,

coming up with a version in which Mason and Archie died in battle while only he deserted. [music] Thinking his son to be a coward who left behind his own blood, the father strikes Ethan and after some time to think, decides to pass the

sentence. Ethan can stay until Sunday. Then he is no longer welcome in his household. But the Ethan who came back is a different man. Someone who watched men die, someone who killed, and most importantly, someone who came in contact

with something that would leave other people mad. This is my home, I say quietly without anger. I was born here and I am your son. I look up at him.

Then I stand. I am a half foot taller than the old man. And even in my weakened state, I'm twice as strong and infinitely more dangerous. I'll stay here as long as I see fit. And so he does. He isn't capable of finding a job

because the father told everyone in town that he's a deserter. Ethan finds it hypocritical, especially as the union eventually seizes Naches and none of the men pick up arms. Paradoxically, the man being shunned is one of the only few

that has been to the front lines. During the night, he is haunted by nightmares.

Soraphina enters his dreams as she pleases. The feelings he has for her are a mix of strange emotions. He hates her and constantly daydreams about taking revenge for his brothers. He also fears her, fully aware that he is powerless

against such an otherworldly force. Last but not least, he admits that he also fell in love with her that night under the tree called Novas. Ethan starts getting close with his sister again and eventually she asks the inevitable

question. What actually happened? So they talk and Ethan reveals everything. Everything except that Mason knocked up this mythical creature. Ellie is a good girl. She doesn't have to know about her older brother's exquisite taste. There are a couple of important things to know

about Ethan's sister. Even though she didn't go to war, Ellie has scars of her own. At 13, she was caught kissing a boy. The father beat her for it and later the boy disappeared. The entire town, including Ellie, blamed Mason and

Archie for potentially murdering the boy. At 16, Ellie got pregnant, the first secret she kept from Ethan. After their father found out, he took her away for some time and subjected her to forced abortion. The surgery left her

forever unable to experience the joys of being with a man or having a child. She never revealed who the father was to protect him from getting killed like the boy she kissed all those years ago. By the point Ethan and Ellie are reunited,

both are on their last legs, deprived of all innocence. The twins agree that they must try to save their brothers. Ethan can't live with the guilt. While the brothers were at war, Ellie spent a lot of time with the local priest who has an

intriguing background. He introduced her to the world of the non-cannonical Bible. that is books that were removed from the scripture over the millennia.

He came to Mississippi from Ireland where according to his own words, he hunted things that were not men. After hearing out Ethan's story, not only that the priest believes him, he offers to help. Of special importance is Titus's

mention of the book of Enoch. The priest is familiar with the text, which is no longer accepted by any Protestant, Catholic, or Eastern Orthodox churches.

It speaks of angelic entities that were sent to earth to watch over people receiving the name watchers. But while in our world, something went wrong. The watchers started wearing human appearance as a disguise and procreated with human women. The offspring of this

unholy union were the Nephilim, giants that roamed the earth and terrorized humanity. Only through prayer was mankind able to convince God to start the great flood and wipe out these beings. At least according to the book of Enoch. The priest explains that the

Watchers taught humanity how to use powers never intended for mortals, which is how sorcery entered our world. He knows this because before arriving in America from Ireland, he was a witch hunter. But his days of confronting the unholy and the demonic headon are over.

Instead, he provides the twins with multiple artifacts intended for tasks like theirs. A holy knife, a stone tablet to locate Saraphina's domain, a book about witch hunting, and last but not least, a ring from the age of King

Solomon with the name of God himself carved into it. The ring serves to protect against demonic forces, and Ethan hands it over to Ellie. The twins buy supplies for their journey and set off, following the same path Ethan used

to get back home. Saraphina continues to enter Ethan's dreams, terrorizing him with a vision of his own deformed body as well as strange incest scenarios.

After finally finding the spot where the bras made camp all those weeks ago, Ethan uses the stone tablet from the priest to reveal the domain. Crossing the creek makes him realize that he will never be allowed to leave, but there is

no turning back now. Instead of aiming for the house, the twins make their way towards the tight cave entrance. The dogs have spotted them and follow from a distance. Of course that the witch knows about them, but she's more than happy to

welcome them. As they descend into the dungeon, Ephen catches a glimpse of her. She is in her beastly form, far above ground, her wings spread against the dark sky. Of course, Ephen is afraid.

But there is another stronger emotion. Even from a distance, part of me recognizes the woman I'd come to love.

Somehow, even in this monstrous form, I can almost make out the human beneath, frail and beautiful, clothed in a dress and a cowl. They take the passage Ethan once used to escape. He's armed with a rifle and a holy knife, while Ellie

brought their father's sword, but weapons can't save their brother. They find what's left of Mason hanging from a hook. And what's left is unfortunately still alive. The legs have been amputated. So were the genitals. The torso is covered in scars marking the

places from which organs have been harvested. Eyes were removed. Ears were cut off, but he can still smell, hear, and cry. Ethan lures him down from the ceiling, and Mason apologizes for being a bad brother. But Ethan makes sure to

only remember the good. The oldest sibling was a brute, but a brute always determined to protect him. Even now tortured beyond recognition, Mason begs his little brother to save Archie. Ethan wants Ellie to hold Mason's hand for the

final moments. But she's unable to approach him in this state. Mason begs to be brought home, begs to be saved.

But Ethan knows that only death can liberate him from the unimaginable pain that was imposed on him. He takes a dagger and slides it into Mason's heart.

A final show of mercy for his brother. They emerge from the dungeon and find themselves in the house. Instead of Saraphina, it's Titus who comes to greet them. He tells Ethan that Saraphina is waiting for them at a tree called Novas

along with her child. Titus regrets helping Ethan because the witch decided to punish him for it. Right after they reentered her domain, she took away his gift. The gift of course meaning his endless youth. The boy starts transforming into his true self, a more

than a 100-year-old man. He throws himself at the twins, but Ethan reacts quickly and shoots Titus dead. Keep in mind, Ellie is in the dark about the existence of a child, and therefore, Ethan is forced to address the elephant

in the room. He chooses to lie and say he didn't believe it and found it not worth mentioning. Surprisingly, Ellie is quick to theorize whether Mason didn't force himself onto Saraphina, which would mean that the entire torture process would be a form of revenge.

Ethan obviously doesn't believe it and Ellie doesn't expand on it. I will come back to this part later. As they search through the house, Ellie becomes strangely fascinated with Saraphino. The bedroom seems too perfect to be lived in. It's almost as if the witch is only

pretending to be a woman. Whatever Saraphino is, it doesn't take long for them to find exactly [music] what she's capable of. On the porch, there is what at first appears like a dog. It has the body of a dog, but both twins notice an

unmistakable similarity between the creature and their brother. It's his face, however, that will haunt me forever. The snout is fully extended, the nose wet and black. The ears are human but elongated, pointing up from the head. The bottom of his face, a

clump of fur borrowing into the neck. The eyes, however, are all Archie, human and aware. Their brother House then runs off. The cries of an infant echo through the clearing and lead the twins to the tree called Novas. It's there that they

see Saraphina in her serene beauty holding a newborn that is quite unmistakably Mason's. Saraphina welcomes them and gives them one last offer of mercy. The side of Ethan holding the knife intended for hunting witches makes her laugh. How could he think she is a

mere witch after all this time? As for the child, it's to be sacrificed, which Ethan obviously wants to prevent. What Saraphina did to his brother is unforgivable. And now she is planning to kill his offspring, too. Yet, Saraphina

argues that Mason could have escaped alive. She only wanted his seed. But he wished to dominate her and humiliate her under her own roof. Ethan tries to confront her, but before being able to do so, the branches of the tree come

alive and trap him. Saraphina goes on to have a monologue about her true identity. During the great flood, when angels were sent by God to destroy the enemies of heaven, the watchers gave their wives one last gift and infused

some of their power into them. That's how they turned them into sirens. That's what Sarafhina is, a siren separated from her husband for eternity. As the watchers were exiled to roam a place between heaven and hell, their offspring, the Nephilim, were all wiped

out, all except one. Saraphina's son, Novas, who was transformed into the tree that is now holding Ethan. The island Saraphina is trapped in is a prison crafted specifically for her by Archangel Michael. Now she seeks to escape it. Ethan's limbs gets twisted by

the tree branches, hugging him tighter and tighter. Then he gets released and dropped to the ground. Before losing consciousness, his last thoughts are dedicated to his sister. But when he wakes up, Ellie is standing there right next to Saraphina while he himself is

hanging from the ceiling. Saraphina goes on to prepare the sacrifice. The baby and Mason's organs are to be offered to Lilith, the wife of Satan. Saraphina was trying this for decades. Many men stumbled upon her prison, and while the

good left, the evil ones were offered to Lilith along with their offspring. But time and time again, hell only took the offering, never giving anything back.

When Ethan was away and Saraphina repeatedly entered his psyche, she saw what sort of a man he really is. And as he is hanging there, begging for his sister to help him and stop the ritual, Ellie confronts him about what Saraphina

found in his head. When the sister was 13 and got caught kissing the boy, who in turn mysteriously disappeared with all the blame landing on Mason and Archie, it was Ethan who killed him. Out of jealousy, he picked a fist fight with

him. Then the boy came at him with a stick and Ethan came back at him with a rock. But that's not the only thing Ethan was hiding from the reader. Back when he sailed home down the Mississippi River, he didn't set the boy that

couldn't swim ashore. No, he knew very well what would happen. The boy would run home and snitch on him. So, he made him swim, made him drown. All this time, Ethan was an unreliable narrator, unable to share his most evil deeds. It was

always him who was the victim in his own head. But how come he didn't stand up for his sister when she was getting beaten by their father, who later destroyed her body with the forced abortion? Never. He ran off to war,

leaving her alone. The ritual begins and Ethan stares down onto the floor that starts dissolving before his eyes.

Saraphina chants in an unknown language while Ellie watches. As I arrive, the floor continues to dissolve, the smoke to rise, and there at a great distance far below. I see a light. It's as if I were seeing a distant campfire from a

top a canyon ridge. The flame no more than a flickering speck in the dark. The place that Ethan sees below is hell. And it's getting closer and closer. Ellie suddenly understands just what sort of a thing she chose to bear witness to and

begs Saraphina to stop. But the siren keeps on chanting. From the depths below emerges Lilith, the most beautiful sight Ethan ever set his eyes upon. He's overcome with immense lust for her and needs so great that it fills him with

jealousy as soon as she turns attention away from him and towards Saraphina. Saraphina offers her the baby, which doesn't impress Lilith. As mentioned before, this is just one in a series of attempts, all of which went wrong.

Lilith is, however, fascinated with Ellie. She is innocent, yet hurt beyond belief. However, Ellie is protected by the ring given to her by Ethan, so Lilith can't take her. Saraphina's attempt at trading the child for her own freedom fails. Lilith admits that her

powers aren't great enough to destroy a curse by an archangel. However, she would be willing to accept Saraphina into hell where she would rule over all except her and Satan. Of course, in relation to them, she would be but a

slave. As for Ethan, his flesh would make for the main course of a welcome feast. Perhaps not wanting her brother and nephew to be eaten alive, and perhaps also feeling empathetic towards Saraphina, Ellie comes with her own counter offer. She will grant Saraphina

the freedom and companionship she craves. She will let the siren take control of her own body whenever she wants to venture beyond the creek. In exchange, the newborn will be spared, bound to live with them. And as for

Ethan, he will be allowed to return home. After some consideration, Saraphina agrees to the terms. In an anticlimactic fashion, she renounces Lilith's offer, and the demon descends back into hell. Ethan begs Ellie to not do this, to instead come back home with

him. But Ellie doesn't want to go back home. "If I'm to be trapped, then let it be by choice," she says, the baby held tightly in her arms. Then her eyes flash with something akin to fury, a rage I

have never seen. "And let it be with power." I shake my head. "Ellie, I'm sorry. Please, goodbye, Ethan," she says quietly, then turns her back on me and disappears into the shadows. Of course, Saraphina isn't planning to fully honor

her part of the deal. She takes Ethan in her arms and flies towards the night sky. Instead of setting him free, she wants to show him the stars. Show him all those things she was talking about, the things he couldn't comprehend that

would break his mind. But Ethan manages to liberate a knife from his boot and steps Saraphina. Screeching, she lets him go, and he falls down into the tree crowns.

The book ends with a significantly older Ethan, one that was found at the brink of death by random passerbys and nursed back to health. One that mysteriously fell from the sky into a forest. The only thing waiting for him at home is

what he went to war for all those months ago. His father's respect. The old man was thought about what happened by the priest and didn't only forgive Ethan, he came to love him as his only remaining son. But it's obvious that it wasn't

worth it. Ethan lost his health, his youth, and all his siblings. 10 years later, the father is dead, and [music] Ethan is left with the house and the family business all alone. Except he isn't alone. At night, Ellie comes to

visit. Her mind either controlled or merged with Saraphina. She enters the house as she pleases, encouraging Ethan to come back. And with her, the dog that was once Ethan's brother, Archie, who even after losing every human feature, is fully conscious inside his new body.

I have to say, I came to appreciate the book a lot more on the second read, which made me see things a bit differently. Before I get into the theories, I'm fairly certain that this book isn't intended to have characters

who are in the right and who are in the wrong. However, it still chooses to put good and evil as one of its central themes. Saraphino says that there is evil in everyone, which makes me think back to her other comment about heaven

and hell being right next to us as opposed to some distant realms above and below. My central theory is about Ellie and her aborted child. Ethan thinks that she never gave away the identity of the father because she feared that he would

get killed, as was the case with her previous boyfriend. At first, it seemed that it made a lot of sense. The father would then choose to rid her of the baby because he didn't want to have a bastard

in his family, but I don't really buy it anymore. When Ellie learns about Masons and Saraphina's baby, her first assumption is that Mason forced himself onto Saraphina. To make it clear this isn't the case. First up, Ellie knows

that Saraphina is powerful enough to dictate the terms. Later, we also learn that she did indeed want to get pregnant with him. Earlier in the book, when Ethan tells her that Mason is using her, she replies by asking what makes him

think that it's Mason using her and not the other way around. On my first read, it seemed like such a baseless assumption by Ellie to immediately start creating scenarios in which the Eldridge whor was the victim and her own brother

was a rapist. Well, perhaps it wouldn't be so irrational if she didn't happen to have some experience which pointed her thoughts in that specific direction.

When Mason is dying, Ethan urges Ellie to hold his hand. She refuses. She hates him. [music] The way I see it, she was a victim of Mason, but wanted to keep the baby.

Knowing the father, he would probably put all the blame for what ultimately was Mason's crime onto Ellie and the child she wants to raise with Saraphina, the baby she saves from getting sacrificed, that's ultimately her way of reclaiming motherhood, something that

was stolen from her. And the irony that the father happens to be the same man isn't lost on me. I think that this theory, while unpleasant, neatly ties the story together. So far, I've seen two main criticisms of the book. The

first one can be boiled down to the fact that mixing so many genres together is like mixing alcohol. Inevitably, someone will throw up. After the historical drama survival, after the horror, the author throws at you all this biblical

stuff and incest undertones. It feels like going for Jagger Bombs at 3:00 a.m., for example. A lot of people don't like the first arc. For me, it's my favorite part of the book. The second issue some people seem to have, and by

some I mean a few, but still a big portion of the negative reviews is political. To start off, I've seen people complain about the setting, the Civil War. In my opinion, one of the best things about the book, by the way.

I understand that for some people, sympathizing with Confederate soldiers is a hard ask. But why are we even talking about this when the brothers killed more Confederates than Union soldiers? They went into the war for selfish reasons. They deserted for

selfish reasons. But materially speaking, they helped the North more than the South. I think that as reading becomes more and more niche and seen as a quote unquote intellectual hobby, some people forgot that you are not supposed to form opinions about history based on

fiction books. You can see this everywhere. I mean, people who have never picked up a history book have their entire view of the Russian Revolution shaped by Animal Farm because they read it in school. The author doesn't owe you an exploration of

slavery or the war itself just because it's set during the Civil War. That doesn't mean he's denying its key role in the conflict. The book just doesn't have said historical event as its main theme. It's a setting, a background

stage. Frakasi already wrote a book about the battle of Shiloh in the past, so it's familiar territory to him.

Unsurprisingly, there are characters with different opinions. Saraphina is against the Confederacy. She herself desires freedom more than anything, so slavery is a big no no for her. The brothers all say they fight for the South because it's their home. But

judging by their actions, it's obvious that the cause becomes very unimportant for them relatively soon. I want to add that Saraphina also isn't a character who is supposed to be a moral compass.

She admits to sacrificing her own babies to hell. So, if you can't sympathize with the average American politician, then I don't see a reason why you should sympathize with her. I don't think this story is made to neatly fit the female

rage archetype, at least definitely not with Saraphina. To be fair, throughout my summary, I framed her exclusively as a villain because that's how Ethan saw her and the book is written from his POV. But I can absolutely see someone

who didn't really like Ethan and his brothers after the first arc siding with her instead. In the end, it's a cycle of loving Eldrich entities and she was the first victim. But even if her watcher boyfriend is exiled to some sort of

purgatory forever, I can't bring myself to empathize with her. I can absolutely look past what she did to Mason. I liked him on my first read before finding out he's probably a rapist, which is uh really not cool. But I mean, then she

goes to cheat on her watcher boyfriend with the rapist so she can sacrifice their baby to hell. Like get a hobby or something. That's awful. Even ignoring that part, I really came to hate her after what she did to Archie. I don't

think it's intentional, but in my opinion, Archie isn't that bad of a guy compared to his other brothers. I mean, he kept silent about the murder of Ellie's first boyfriend, but at least he didn't kill him like Ethan. And his

quote unquote big sin is threatening to kill Mason because they had a crush on the same girl. But it was just a threat.

He didn't do it. Yet, he got by far the worst faith out of any of the siblings.

Turned into a dogman. Come on, that's terrible. If you're the type who gets disappointed when the character you are rooting for turns out to be a bad person, this isn't the book for you. For me, it was Ethan. I was rooting for him

from the beginning, and it came as a shock when I learned how much of an unreliable narrator he was. He is a coward through and through. In the first half of the book, you get the impression that it's not his fault since he is the

weakest and youngest. But as time goes on, you see that he got that impression because the book is written from his point of view, and it happens to be his number one excuse. The things he doesn't have an excuse for, he just hides from

the reader. By the way, I'm almost certain that Ethan can't be the father of Ellie's child. He definitely got possessive over his sister, but there is no other evidence. Last, but not least, Ellie. This is the real martyr of the

story. You can really see that she grew up in a household of four men without a mother and it [ __ ] her up in the worst possible way. She never had a choice to be her own person and in the end

sacrificed herself for her brother and nephew. I doubt that she ended up having a better life with Saraphina. Of course, the siren empathized with what Ellie went through, but the domain doesn't seem to exactly reward victimhood. At the end of the day, Titus, who sold his

own wife to slavery, got to read his books and be a kid, while poor Archie got turned into a dog. I like the book mainly for the characters. The body horror was well written, but it's really not the main focus, which is

understandable. As for the religious stuff, the Book of Enoch is a real thing and a part of the Bible for a couple oriental Orthodox churches in Africa. If you want to learn more about it, there are plenty of YouTubers who covered the

topic already. Or you can watch the movie Watchers from 2024. They have it on Air France. So, if you're flying anywhere with Air France, maybe maybe give it a shot. It It wasn't a terrible movie. It was just not a very good

horror movie. Thanks to everyone who supported me on Buy Me a Coffee, specifically Jack, Eric, Nathan, and someone. Until next time, take care.