BOOK REVIEW: WORSHIP ME BY CRAIG STEWART

St. Paul’s United Church sits across the field from Burward Forest.  One of the congregation’s own, Rick, goes missing for a few weeks.  Rumors flew through the congregation as to how he disappeared, and whether his wife Angela had been involved.  Angela takes her son to church after a few weeks to try to get some normalcy back in her life and to thank the congregation for their thoughts and prayers.  Suddenly, the church service is interrupted when her lost husband stumbles into the sanctuary.  Only he has been stripped naked, and sports intricate symmetrical marring and scars all over his body.  As the pastor takes Rick into his back office to get him cleaned up and clothed, Angela is frozen in shock.  Rick had been abusive, and Angela is afraid to bring Rick back home to threaten her and her son, Alex.  Before long, Rick emerges from the office and addresses the congregation.  While Rick was missing, he became a prophet for another god.  This god is Behemoth, and will truly save the congregation, if only they would devote themselves entirely to this true god.  And to prove their devotion, one of the congregation’s children must be sacrificed within 48 hours, or everyone will be slaughtered.  Rick demonstrates new and terrifying abilities to inflict pain and death upon anyone who tries to escape.  This soon becomes the longest and most terrifying 48 hours for Angela and the congregation as they are torn between faith in the Christian God they’d originally worshipped, and faith in a prophet whose very concrete signs show the power of a different type of god.
 
I think this is one of my favorite books I’ve read all year.  From the beginning, the book had a beautifully dark undertone that sucked me in right away. The tone was creepy and quiet in the beginning, and the suspense continued to build through until the end.  Each horrific death or threat from the Behemoth was worse than the last.  I quickly learned that perhaps no one would be spared the wrath of this new god.  I felt like this book read like a 1980’s horror movie and it was a delight to settle down in the evenings with this book.  It wasn’t until after I finished the book that I read the author’s biography, and how he is also a filmmaker.  Then it made sense why I so easily pictured this as a movie.  He has a real knack for cinematic elements in writing.
 
Every single character felt real and very consistent.  Several characters represented people I know in my own life.  There is a lovely mix of personalities and age groups within the congregation that are present in any large group of people, really.  It was easy for me to find people to root for until the end, and others whom I wouldn’t have been sad if they came face to face with the Behemoth.  The author helps us get to know each character intimately throughout the story.  The only issue I had was that sometimes I felt there was a bit of “head hopping,” where the story would jump from one character to the next within a couple of paragraphs.  At first when this happened, it was kind of confusing.  But very soon I became used to it, and it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story.  Looking back, I suppose the book was just doing what I movie would - show all characters within a scene. 
 
The entire story takes place in the short span of 48 hours, but overall the pace was very satisfactory.  The book was a little long, so every once in awhile it felt like it was a bit slow, with too much time spent in Angela’s mind.  But the story was action-packed pretty much from start to finish.  A lot happens in the book, but I didn’t find it confusing at all.  Everything was pretty well resolved by the end, and I wasn’t left with any plot holes.
 
Without giving anything away, I think the ending was beautiful.  It was not at all what I had expected.  It was both heartwarming and heartbreaking.  At the end, I started noticing a bit of a Lovecraftian feel.  I’m so glad the ending was as strong as the rest of the book, because I hate when I love the book from the beginning but then feels like the author rushed the ending.  This book’s ending was thoughtful and completely unexpected.
 
Overall, Worship Me is a unique horror story that surprises the hell out of you and leaves you wanting more when you finish the book. Craig writes a beautiful story about humanity, perseverance in the face of disheartening uncertainty, and above all...fear.  This is a story about being trapped in your worst nightmare, and the struggle to find a way out without completely losing your shit.  I give this a firm 5 out of 5 stars.
  
About the Author:
Craig Stewart is a Canadian author and filmmaker who learned how to count from the rhyme, "One, two, Freddy's coming for you." He's a creator and connoisseur of everything horror; never afraid to delve into the dark, and then a little further. His written works include short stories, film scripts, articles, and most recently, a novel. He has also written and directed several short horror films that have enjoyed screenings across North America.
 
website: https://everythingcraigstewart.com
Twitter: @TheCraigStewart
 
Review by Kimberly Wolkens

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