As a visually-centered person, my favorite writers are those that are able to create vivid pictures in my mind of the places, people and events that they describe. In that, "The Resurrectionists" by Michael Patrick Hicks succeeds wonderfully.
The opening chapter has a strong visual punch that carries through to the end of the novel. The images called are not always pleasant, but they are vivid and dramatic. A lot of horror writers would stop there, making their stories simple one-note gorefests, but Hicks ties his talent for description to a strong narrative sense with the result that the messy bits have a reason to exist and serve the purposes of the story.
"The Resurrectionists" functions as much as historical fiction as it does horror, so that political realities meet metaphysical possibilities. It imagines a historical truth in the context of the well-known Lovecraft Mythos without invoking the notes that generally make such writing pastiche. It's a fresh take in the subgenre with clear nods to the work of the gentleman of Providence (and what appears to be at least one strong nod to King's Dark Tower series). Hicks's violence is at times poetic and he has a talent for description of the monstrous to rival that of Clive Barker.
This is the kind of book that hooks the reader early, demands attentive reading and rewards with a satisfying experience and a promise of more to come. It adds Michael Patrick Hicks to my personal list of authors to watch for.

"The Resurrectionists " is a surprise hit of a story that will leave you wanting more. Not a full length novel, it does tend to fall flat where many novellas do when they try to compress a story that would be better fleshed out in a complete novel. With that being said, what, "The Resurrectionists" does do, is interest the reader in the world setting, characters and plot. You get invested in a man's struggle as a freeman and what he must do to save his city and undoubtedly, the world. Historic tellings mixed with a ting of H.P. LoveCraft-esque horror.
The first in what appears to be a series, hopefully we see more of the mood that has brought "The Resurrectionists" to life and then some.

Short and fast paced, THE RESURRECTIONISISTS delivers!

Salem Hawley is a free black man ever since helping the Colonies fight against the British. Now he is helping Americans battle against creatures of the cosmos. Doctors are trading in flesh, not only to further their science but to triumph in their nefarious efforts to bring forth these aforementioned creatures. Do any of Salem's actions make his make life as a black man at that time any easier? No, no they do not. Will he be able to help his fellow citizens fight an enemy most have never seen? If he does, will he survive the fight? You'll have to read this to find out!

There's a lot going on here for such a short novel. Clashing personalities, clashing cultures, a city in fear, cosmic frights and real life ones as well. Somehow, the personality of Hawley stands out as a shining example of good and hope, while most of the doctors come off as exactly the opposite. It amazed me how well these characters were drawn, considering how much page time they each were given.

I definitely recommend this book. I had previously sworn off books that are part of an unfinished series, however, I couldn't help but give in to this one-just look at the cover and you'll know why.

Recommended! (I can't wait for the next book!)

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*

Hicks's writing is as always top notch. No matter what he writes his novels are enjoyable to consume. Dark, grotesque, much visual horror in this historical novel. Excited about the next book of the series, as the story ends with a few surprises!

4.5/5 stars! Grave robbers! Murder! Lovecraftian cosmic horror!

TL;DR - Surprisingly rich world building for only 150 pgs. Vivid, gory details while still somehow remaining tasteful? I didn't know what to expect from this book, but I was pleasantly surprised. I cared about the good guys and loathed the bad guys. I appreciated that this book, although written by a white man, pays a lot of attention the historical black experience in early America. The black characters in this book were complex, neither purely good nor bad, but REAL. Also, the saviors were black men. There was no "white savior," pretty refreshing tbh.

Set in post-revolutionary New York City, medical science is in the midst on revolution. Cadaver dissection is illegal, but how are doctors supposed to learn about the human body if they can never see inside one? Resurrection Men were hired by doctors to steal bodies of the recently deceased from their graves to be used to dissection. Shady, but ultimately necessary right?

During this time, the majority of the black population in the newly formed United States were still enslaved and those that were free were hardly considered to be people by most white men. Because of this, the cemeteries for people of color were robbed more than that of whites.

Also common was prostitution and these women would often go missing with no one who "mattered" caring to look for them. They disappeared and were gone forever. Murder as a method of procuring bodies for anatomists is not fiction, it actually happened (search Burke and Hare). The author runs with this idea with an even more horrific twist! Doctors murdering people to try and bring forth the elder gods to our plane of existence!

Our protagonist, Salem, is a recently free black man that fought on the colonial side of the revolutionary war and earned his freedom because of it. Being one of the few literature people in his community, he is roped in fighting for the rights of those buried at the black cemeteries and their families. Sometimes, the necessary thing feels very wrong and Salem finds himself doing some unholy things in an attempt to prompt a law banning the stealing of bodies.

Without giving away too much, Salem gets into trouble with the cultist doctors and chaos ensues! It ends in a total cliffhanger and I think I must read the next installment to see what happens next.

*I received an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for my fair, unbiased review.*

Over-written and remarkably misogynist and racist, despite what I'd hoped early on would be a black hero figure, this novella describes the work of white doctors who are intent on bringing forth Lovecraftian horrors into post-Revolutionary War New York. The gore and body horror is described in minute and tedious detail, and the inclusion of stereotypes like the sexy exotic black sex worker with the good soul makes this a definite miss.

Review copy provide courtesy of NetGalley


Having won his emancipation after fighting on the side of the colonies during the American Revolution, Salem Hawley is a free man. Only a handful of years after the end of British rule, Hawley finds himself drawn into a new war unlike anything he has ever seen.


The Resurrectionists is the first in what will be a series following Salem Hawley going up against grave robbers, occultist doctors, and cosmic horrors, and it certainly did a fantastic job of getting me hooked and ready for the upcoming books! Once again Hicks brought me almost too far into his story, I could nearly smell the blood and feel the tentacles reaching for me from the void. There's a fine balance between being so descriptive you feel like you're within the story, and being so descriptive it takes you out of the story, but Hicks has found that perfect balance and walks it with aplomb.


I do wish I had gotten a bit more insight into Salem himself and what makes him tick. What I do know is that he is a moral, loyal, and badass character, and that's enough for me to know I'll gladly read about him fighting baddies and monsters for as many books as Hicks writes about him. This is also a novella length story with a lot happening at a very fast pace, and I'm sure as the series continues there will be more character development--so I'm not mad about it (but actually pretty psyched!) I mean, a black protagonist in post Revolutionary War America battling human and inhuman monsters? What's not to love??


We do get a pretty good picture of the antagonists here, and while that might seem a bit backwards I felt it really drove home just how much Salem is up against. If Lovecraftian monsters aren't enough, there are absolutely vile humans as well--racist, human sacrificing, grave robbing humans, and you will loathe them entirely. On the subject of race, I really appreciated that race issues of the time (and who are we kidding, they haven't gone anywhere) are so centered within the story, but treated with sensitivity. The N-word does make appearances, but is used sparingly and pretty much exclusively by the villains, which may seem small to some (but certainly felt big to me).


The Resurrectionists is a great story on it's own, but also serves as a stellar introduction to a series that makes this "series shy" reader excited for what's to come.

Thank you to NetGalley, Michael Patrick Hicks and High Fever Books for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review

A beautifully written tale, blending historical fiction and cosmic horror with vivid imagery and not for the faint of heart.

This novella is fast paced, unputdownable and straight to the point. The imagery is powerful, and has the potential to make you squirm. It's gory, but I didn’t find it overpowering. Lack of equality features, you feel the disparity, the anger, the emotion and it all makes it all feel quite real, putting you there and making you feel the same way.

Salem is a well flushed out character that you cannot help but to like, fighting for what is right. I look forward to seeing what he gets up to next.

The novella ends fairly abruptly, but it is a series so we just have to wait on the edges of our seats for the next one!

This is my first read by Michael Patrick Hicks, and I will definitely be reading more!

3.5 stars.

Sadly, this book didn't work for me on several levels. I'm a fan of Michael Hicks and that makes my disappointment all the worse. I wasn't able to connect with the characters, which is always a problem. I saw several elements that felt borrowed from a some other stories. The story failed to hold my attention and I forced myself to keep on going. If the author reads this, I'm sorry man. It just didn't dig it.

Salem is now a free man after fighting for the colonies to free this new land from original tyranny, only to find another war here at his home after one of his good friends wife's and baby's graves was robbed. They claim they rob graves to further medicine, but some go to far, the Resurrectionist, doing things that might wipe out the new colonies and possible the world if they are not stopped for they know not what they are doing.

This is another wonderful book by author Michael Patrick Hicks, I really like his style of horror. This book was a bit different since it was set so far back in time but it worked so well, it made it so interesting. Hicks has a way of painting the whole picture for you in detail but at the same time not being wordy, he makes me feel as though I am really there seeing everything in full gruesome color. I love his characters and I can not wait to see what happens with Salem in the future.


this will appear on my blog on 6-4-2019

★★★✯☆

Right. Let’s get one thing straight up front – I’m a massive wimp. I find squirm at gore and used to run from my bathroom to my bedroom as a kid because I was convinced that the toilet witch would murder me during a midnight pee.

HOWEVER. Horror books have always piqued my interest because you chose the pace. You can hide from the pages for a few days until you’ve mustered up your courage. It was time for me to brave the world of scary books.

The Resurrectionists caught my attention for a few reasons:
1. It’s a novella so a good way to dip my toe in without committing to a beast of a book.
2. It’s historical fiction. Enough said there.
3. It sounded bloody awesome.

So why only 3 ½ stars, Jen. WHY? Because I feel like it could have been so much more.

Yes I found myself wiggling around on the bus when things got gory
Yes, I tore through the book because I was gripped by the story.
Yes, it’s intriguing, brilliant and creative.

You follow the story of the baddies and the good guys through the cleverly twisted retelling of the 1788 New York Doctor’s Riots and, thanks to an impressive amount of character work for such a short book, you’ll find yourself wanting Salam to triumph over the evils that the resurrectionists unleash on the earth.
Side note: part of me wanted things to go completely tits up and for the weird tentacle monsters to just run rampant on the city, but a girl can’t have everything.

All sounds great, right? Here’s the downside – you’ll be right into the story and then it just ends. It’s a little too abrupt for my liking and it felt like the start of a bigger book. I get it. It’s part of something bigger and there’s more to come, but I just wanted more.

Two final things:
1. This isn’t for the weak stomach. It’s gory AF.
2. That cover is BEAUTIFUL.

Blog will be published on 28th May.

Resurrectionists

First I was gifted this book by the author for an honest review. My opinion is my own.

I am not going to put a complete synopsis here in my review as so many have already an done amazing job here. I’m going to write a personal response. Set in the time of The NY Doctors Riots in 1788. We are introduced when poor graves were robbed for medical experiments. In this story, more is happening then that. Humans alive and dead are subjected to unspeakable horror in a effort to bring forth an ancient horror that stalked the war battle fields. Salem Hawley, a free black man leads the charge to end the robberies but ends up sucked into the madness that ensues.

I do have to mention that the hyper visual description of live human torture all most did me in. I am either blessed or cursed with a vivid imagination that I could barely get through these sections of the story. Just reader beware.

Other then my own squeamishness the story is excellently written and for a story set in an actual historical time shows what an amazing author Mr. Hicks is. I look forward to book 2 as the abrupt end made me wanting more. Pre-order, Put it on your TBR and in the meantime read the other titles of Michael Patrick Hicks to hold you over. Enjoy!!

Cosmic horror at its finest! I loved every page of this book. The descriptions are solid and take you immediately into the scene, which is no small thing given the content of these scenes. There is a lot of gore, and a lot of terror, and you have a front row for it all. We get to rip into another dimension, and believe me when I tell you, there are NOT nice things waiting to greet us there. This book gives us flawed characters with all the weakness and petty desires we humans love to dwell upon, and it shows the awful and spellbinding results of those urges.

I am delighted to find out this is the first in a series! Bring on the next read, Mr. Hicks!

A very well written and dark Lovecraftian tale from Mr. Hicks.

The plague doctors are looking to rip open the “thinnies” and bring forth the creatures that lurk behind the curtain.

They just might do it, too.

Another super solid effort from MPH and highly recommended.

<

*An ARC of this book was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest opinion.*

I came to this looking for a good old-fashioned horror story and I was not disappointed, although somewhere in the middle of the carnage and viscera I did wonder why I do this to myself. I really liked the character of Salem Hawley and wish there had been more of him. I suppose something needed to be saved for the future of the series. I also appreciated the utilization of a somewhat underrepresented time-period (post-Revolution, pre-Civil War), and the usage of the events leading to the New York Doctors' Riots of 1788 as a backdrop. I understand why this is considered "Lovecraftian" but I would recommend this to those who like their cosmic horror a little less cerebral and a lot more somatic. Congrats, Mr. Hicks. I was totally grossed out.

I wish I could give 3.75 stars. The Resurrectionists focuses on a time when people are stealing freshly buried bodies for medical research. Salem Hawley is a free African-American man who won that freedom after by fighting on the side of the colonies during the American Revolution. After his friends bodies are taken, he vows to find the perpetrators. But in his quest for justice, he finds something much more sinister than plain old grave robbers.

This novella is really well written. The plot is interesting and the characters are described really well, which I don’t often see in novellas. I like Salem as a character and I’m excited to read the rest of the series.

This book is quite good. I found at times that the gore factor felt too forced. I love gore and horror when it flows naturally and feels real. At times it seemed like the blood was there just for the sake of the blood and not to actually add to the story.

Overall, I’m glad I read this book. I will absolutely be reading the rest of the series and you should too.

*I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from High Fever Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All views expressed in this review are my own and was not influenced by the author, publisher or any third party.*

The Resurrectionists was a deliciously dark and tortuously good rollercoaster ride of cosmic horror. I’m so glad to see that it’s the first in a series as Mr Hawley’s work clearly isn’t through and I am already eager to read more of his adventures.

Salem Hawley is a former slave living in late 18th century America and recently having earned his freedom, fast learns that being a free man just means you don’t know from which way the oppression or beatings will come

The underlying theme of this novella is the strong sense of community that the recently freed slaves have and how, on some level, they each depend on one another to get by. Whether it’s writing a letter for those too illiterate to do so for themselves or taking up arms against those oppressing one of their fellow ex-brothers in chains.

The Resurrectionists focuses on those in the medic profession who unearth bodies to use in their experiments. Not simply experiments to further the human understanding of medicine. As cruel as stealing bodies is, that would be a noble and forgivable reason compared to the actual reason … desecration in the name of calling forth cosmic gods of darkness to our mortal plane.

In the opening line of this review I said that it was ‘tortuously good’. That wasn’t just a pretty tagline or play on words. That’s a genuine clue as to what to expect. If you don’t like reading of torture in extravagant detail then this book most certainly is not for you. You pretty much get hit in the face with a vast array of human suffering right from the get go.

Also, if racism (the N-word in various forms gets thrown out quite a lot, as do senseless beatings) then do yourself a favour and do not read this as you’ll only give the author a poor review score, which he genuinely does not deserve.

The Resurrectionists is a fantastic novella-sized offering of the dark and sadisticness of human nature from a time that is thankfully long in the past. The novella is set in 1788 and, as such, the Doctor’s Riot focuses heavily in this piece. The author did take a few liberties, as any good historical fiction author is want to do (after all, history doesn’t always happen in such a way that accommodates the sudden appearance of cosmic gods of darkness), but does so in such a way that does not detract from the story and his liberties blend in seamlessly.

I’ve enjoyed the fiction of Michael Patrick Hicks for a couple of years now, an author who specialises in blending fast-paced pulpy horror with a smattering of science fiction, check out Mass Hysteria or Broken Shells for some terrific examples of his work. I raise this in the opening paragraph of this review because The Resurrectionists is a major departure from this pulp-horror blue-print. I appreciate authors attempting to stretch the boundaries of their writing and Hicks succeeds admirably well in this outstanding change to direction. Taking us back to the 1780s for an intriguing tale of cosmic horror and grave-robbing, set in America a few years after the country gained its independence by kicking out the British overlords.

Kindle readers can always appreciate a fine work of fiction when they are cursing the author at the end. Why? The Kindle version finished with a cliff-hanger at 90% on the page clock and I would have happily carried on reading. Damnation! I want that promised 10%!!!! Bearing in mind this was a novella and is being promoted as book one in the Salem Hawley Series, it could still have been longer as the story seemed strong enough for a full novel. However, we will have to see where Michael Patrick Hicks intends to take the series when future releases appear. He certainly has my attention.

One of the three main characters is Sam Hawley, a black man who fought for the colonies (America) against the British and is now a free man who is drawn into a grave-robbing mystery which will continue into the second novella in the series. Set in New York, it is common place for graves, mainly of black people to be robbed, and after a friend of Sam’s spouse is dug-up he attempts to help catch the culprits. Although the Resurrectionists is a horror story it also has a sense of social justice and the question of race is a key theme.

This leads us to the two other main characters Jonathan Hereford and Dr Richard Bayley who are amongst the Resurrectionists of the title, both whom are very nasty pieces of work and occultists. Bayley is obsessed with pain and, specifically, with the idea that extreme pain (torture) can bring forth something otherworldly, the cosmic horror element of the story. Hereford is the perfect assistant as nobody enjoys inflicting pain like this guy. The end result is probably the most violent and graphic book Michael Patrick Hicks has written, but it never glorifies the nasty torture scenes. Chapter one opens with an unpleasant torture scene and sets the bar for what you can expect later on.

The very informative author end-notes reveal that the bones of the story is inspired by a real instance in 1788 where there was a riot against the medical profession in New York. I enjoyed Hicks’s vision of the dirty dangerous city where unwanted body-parts were randomly scattered around the city by resurrectionists attempting to feed the needs of medical and scientific advances. Of course, Sam Hawley, himself a former slave, has to tread very carefully as he lives in a white man’s world which cares little about grave robbing in black cemeteries. But when a young white woman is exhumed that is a different matter entirely…

There is a flash-back to an earlier battlefield where one of the occultists witnesses a weird looking smoke coming from those in great pain and close to death, which reminded me slightly of Philip Fracassi’s Shiloh where something similar happens on an American Civil War battlefield. There was definitely scope for this novella to be longer, although I’m sure unanswered questions will be picked up in the next instalment. Hopefully we will see more interaction between Hawley and Bailey as they pass each other in the night in this opening sequence.

I was interested in how the author would merge the cosmic horror angle into a story about grave-robbing with the background theme of race. However, they bleed together successfully and I’m sure this aspect of the tale will be further developed in the next instalment. This was a very entertaining read and deserves to bring the fiction of Michael Patrick Hicks to a wider audience.

I love when a book is both eerie and creepy and you're terrified to sleep with the light off.
This is one of those book, an engaging and very good novella.
I look forward to reading a novel by this author as this was very good.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

The Resurrectionists takes place during the time where the illegal practice of body snatching for medical schools was rampant. Salem Hawley, a free man after winning his emancipation for fighting on the side of the colonies during the American Revolution, is now fighting in another war after his friend's family graves fell victims to the criminal gang - the resurrectionists. He vows to find the perpetrators but unbeknownst to him, Hawley is about to stumble upon something malevolent and sinister that may endangers his life.

This is one engaging read right from the first page! It is a well-written novella - from the intriguing plot to the storytelling. Historical fiction blends with cosmic horror makes one unique plot. I liked how Hicks puts a twist to the New York Doctor's Riot 1788. It is brilliant and creative! For a novella, you usually don’t find much depth in the characters but this is not so in this case. I find the characters are pretty well developed - just enough for this novella and enough to entice you to read the next book in this series. I find Salem Hawley character is endearing and I am rooting for him right from the beginning. It is also interesting to know that there are two characters which are based on real historical figures (although not an accurate depiction) - Dr. Richard Bayley and John Hicks Jr.

In a nutshell, this is one intense and eerie read! I am thrilled that this book is part of a series and it did compel me to pick up the next book in this series. I really enjoyed the plot and am curious to see how the whole story pans out in the series. But I am not sure if I could stomach the gory, bloody (oh so much blood!) part of the story. Yes, this book is not for the weak stomach!

***I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from High Fever Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All views expressed in this review are my own and was not influenced by the author, publisher or any third party.***