Southern Gods

By: John Hornor Jacobs

Narrated by: Eric G Dove

Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

Recent World War II veteran Bull Ingram is working as muscle when a Memphis DJ hires him to find Ramblin' John Hastur. The mysterious blues man's dark, driving music - broadcast at ever-shifting frequencies by a phantom radio statio - is said to make living men insane and dead men rise. Disturbed and enraged by the bootleg recording the DJ plays for him, Ingram follows Hastur's trail into the strange, uncivilized backwoods of Arkansas, where he hears rumors the musician has sold his soul to the Devil. But as Ingram closes in on Hastur and those who have crossed his path, he'll learn there are forces much more malevolent than the Devil and reckonings more painful than Hell....

In a masterful debut of Lovecraftian horror and Southern gothic menace, John Hornor Jacobs reveals the fragility of free will, the dangerous power of sacrifice, and the insidious strength of blood.

©2011 John Horner Jacobs (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Big, Bold and Bright

If you are offended by graphic good and evil, best think twice. If your intellect has chosen a predictable, mutual fund sort of existence, and read the same, forget it. So suspend the predictable and look under all your socialization , at least as a "Westerner", and grub down to the essential- good vs evil and all its manifestation: love, loyalty, family; lust, indulgence, selfishness. Mix it up with life and eternity and all our mortal, or otherwise, soul's, and you get Southern Gods.

Kinda Cool. Thought it might turn zombie but ended up much bigger than a single genre. It was fun and has big characters, not just in size but philosophical point of view. But then again, since this is a personal review, I think all life ultimately really does boil down to good vs. evil and the choices we all make along the way.

Try it, it's lusty, gritty southern as befits the local.

Sweet idea well read but poorly executed by author

I grow weary of writers who seem to think that plausibility no longer applies when the genre is something other than strict "realism." The underlying ideas here (as you can discern from the descriptive synopsis) are deadly cool and fertile. The author is not able to live up to the possibilities. Too many implausibilities within the story's own frame of reference wreck the thing. (I cannot elaborate without giving things away for those who purchase--and, I hope, manage to enjoy--this audiobook.) If you like to continue THINKING while you listen to a tale (that is, if you enjoy tracking how a tale hangs together as it goes along), this audiobook will probably disappoint and irritate you.

Great flawed attempt

I'd say Southern Gods is worth it for Lovecraftian Horror fans just for the first, really great half, which is a stunning ride, an idea brilliant in its conception and execution but lacking in its completion. The setting is cool, unusual, and nicely crafted, the idea is brilliant, the characters are interesting and pretty likeable for horror. But there's a point where the momentum suddenly stops. You seem to switch tracks into a secondary story, slower tempo, sodden mood. At that point, feel free to read something else. If you decide to slug it out to the final scene, you may not feel like your persistence was rewarded. I didn't. But the first half of the book - that was a gem. If the author could find a way to keep that kind of inventive, interesting scene and character thing going, with that feeling of tension and menace but at the snappy tempo of the first half of the book, he'd have something worth praise. As it is, I can recommend this book as an indication of an author to watch.

Great start, lost steam at end

I loved the beginning of the book. Great premise, and really intriguing stuff ... it had a real feeling of mystery. I thought the second half of the book wasn't nearly so strong. I wasn't very fond of the second protagonist when she was introduced ... I liked her childhood best friend much better, which was a problem since she is so integral to the second half of the book.

I thought the writing was good, and the narration was very nice ... the Lovecraftian elements worked well for me. I think this is a good first novel. Look forward to seeing what JHJ comes up with in the future.

Modern cosmic horror rough but well done

John Hornor Jacobs combines cosmic horror and Southern gothic in a very effective way. It’s well written, gory and genuinely scary at times. I would say though that it is sometimes a bit rough and unpolished. It is clear that Jacobs is improving a lot, as A Lush and Seething Hell touches some of the same notes but in a more effective way. I would personally recommend A Lush and Seething Hell before this, but if you’ve already read it and want more and see the progression it is a highly enjoyable listen.

A novel with multiple personality disorder

The novel is basically split in two as many reviewers have said. The first half is great, really can't overstate this. It reads beautifully with its slow build up of dread - Jacob's prose, and ability to write atmosphere, character and setting really shines here.

Then comes the second half where the story starts devolving and becomes a real crap-fest at the end, where you can't help but question Jacob's conviction at writing this book. Was he just going through the motions and writing one more Cthulhu mythos story? Such a disappointment after promising so much

Get Lush and Seething Hell instead of this one - it is so much better.

Well written. Fascinating characters.

Well written story. Fascinating characters. Climax leaves wanting a little more to be desired. I enjoyed the story overall. Just wanted more of it.

modern southern gothic

I really enjoyed listening to this. great story, especially if you enjoy tales of the elder gods, cthulu mythos, or strange stories of this genre. the author has a good grasp of details to bring the characters to life. it takes place mainly in the 50s,, so dont be surprised that race relations are not sanitized. contains graphic gore.

A great book!

I really enjoyed this book, and I look forward to reading more by this author.
No jump scares for me but it definitely had the creep factor, and moments of uneasiness. I would have loved if there was a deeper back story on the main characters because they were interesting and I wanted to know more about them. There are some triggers such as rape, and some extreme gore. Overall I thought it was a great book!

LOVED

lover of Southern Gothic horror vibes and this book has it all and so much more. black magic, the undead, old gods, this is such a trip.