Midas- Tyler Jones Review

I'd like to begin by saying, for complete transparency, that an advanced galley of "Midas," was sent to me by the wonderful folk at Earthling Pub. Whilst I'm insanely grateful for the opportunity to have read such a WONDERFUL book in advance, that won't stop me from saying exactly what I feel throughout this review. 

Before we properly delve into this strange but riveting story, I'd like to take a minute to just appreciate this COVER. Both the gorgeous front, and the illustrations inside are by Vincent Chong, who's absolutely blown me away.

This great artwork is accompanied by a very worthy story. Both the writing and the plot, very much reminded me of Philip Fracassi's work.. and this was just as good. The man himself stated "There is imagery in this book I'll take with me to the grave," and I couldn't agree more. Jones uses visceral and graphic imagery throughout, and the ending in particular was such a blood bath I felt that I needed a shower after finishing it.

In "Midas," we follow former preacher "Jeremiah Pevensie," whom we quickly learn is devastated and questioning the existence of God over the death of his son Samuel. After an outburst at a sermon, in which he proclaimed God to be a thief to his congregation, Jeremiah and his wife Emma now live in ruin. The story truly takes off when a horse approaches the Pevensie home (which is situated next to a notoriously dangerous forest), concerned for the rider's safety, Jeremiah enters the woodland.. changing his life forever. The former-preacher finds the horse's owner dead, and not only does the man have more gold than Jeremiah has ever seen before, but he's bleeding it.

This is a story featuring grief, greed, religion and pure terror. It is of course inspired by the legend of King Midas. For those who are unfamiliar, King Midas famously requests that anything he touch turn to gold, a wish that is granted by the Greek God Dionysus. After realising that his request comes with many implications, he begs for the curse to be reversed. This is particularly interesting, and makes Jones' writing particularly poignant and intelligent, as Jeremiah also finds himself wishing he had thought his actions through and been careful what he wished for.  This almost reads like Jones took "Pet Sematary," by Stephen King, and seamlessly blended it with the Greek myth. 

The religious aspect of this is truly the cherry on the cake. When Jeremiah discovers a "gift," he finds himself targeted by a religious cult, who have sought after Jeremiah's new ability for years. The ring leader, Solomon is a real piece of work, and a formidable antagonist, who wishes to rebuild the Earth from its foundations. Very interestingly, he believes there are 1000s of Gods, and they are indifferent to what is good and what is evil, meaning on top of all the golden gory goodness it has to offer, Midas also features one of the most unique cults I've come across in the genre, nipping at the heels of "Last Days," by Brian Evenson. The religious turmoil that the protagonist finds himself in throughout is also very interesting, bringing us back to that age old question, how can God (if he exists) allow the innocent to suffer? Best believe, we're confronted with many more questions and queries throughout... most commonly "WTF did I just read?"

Do I recommend this? Absolutely. If you're a seasoned horror reader, looking for something different, or a fan of Greek Mythology looking to enter the horror genre... or (like me) you think the cover's pretty- it's worth the read. 

This will be the eighteenth instalment in Earthling's Halloween series, and comes out in October. You can pre-order it here: PREORDER LINK

To conclude, this has been my introduction to Tyler's work, and whilst I can only vouch for Midas at the moment, it is evident he is a skilled writer. Midas is SO original, and really brings something new and fresh to the table, but is written so exquisitely, and is comparable to the work of some of the greats.