in

Dreg (Book Review)

Dreg

Author – Terry M. West (Turning Face)
Release Date – 2014

Reading was something I absolutely loved to do when I was in elementary and middle school.  I would often head to the library and check out Goosebumps, Fear Street, and the rip-off stories inShivers.  As I got older I would pick up the occassional novel.  Sometimes they were about serial killers, some were autobiographies of Dimebag Darrel, and others were random fictional stories.  Reading became a chore and real life took over.  I would occasionally check out a Terry M. West novel but those were few and far in between.

I recently lost my job and found work at another company where I have an hour lunch with no internet access.  Without my beloved YouTube videos featuring Rhett and Link, Smosh, and Epic Meal Time I had nothing to occupy my time.  Then I remembered that I promised to read and review several stories from West.  After reading Turning Face I decided to set my sights to Dreg.  Thanks Terry for letting me check this one out too.

**Spoiler Alert**The story begins in the swamps of Louisiana as a father teachers his special, left handed son (Dreg) the ways of their religion which follows the moon that they believe is the eye of a great wolf named Le Loup.  Le Loup is the great hunter of hunters and wants blood the nights he shines.  They kill a tourist that was lost in the swamp and prepare parts of his body for a feast.  The boy becomes obsessed with Le Loup and files his teeth down to fangs to make himself even more wolf like.  His grandpa is the patriarch of the family who has a book in his possession that details their religion.

One day while looking though the book he comes across a demon that manifests when a baby is stillborn and is not burned.  Not long after that his baby brother is stillborn and his father, the leader of their pack, starts to bury the child in their front lawn.  Dreg tells him about the demon and his father refuses to listen.  Dreg fights him before ripping his throat out with his fangs.  His mother shoots his grandfather and forces Dreg to leave.  We then jump to present day, almost 50 years later, and we follow a psychic who is working for the police department.  They are trying to catch a killer known as the Keepsake Killer who is stalking a particular highway.

The psychic tries to reach the killer and when he gets close something happens and he almost dies.  His wife tries to force him off the case and succeeds after a wolf tries to kill him in a vision.  They decide to go on vacation and when her husband is shitting in a roadside shitter, Dreg kidnaps her forcing him back into the case to save his wife even if it kills him. **Spoiler Alert**

West really is an exceptional author.  His stories are always unexpected and never fail to pull the reader in.  That is why he is one of my favorite authors.  His stories are so addicting and are easy to read.

The story for this one is so in depth with so much going on.  We have the crumbling marriage between the psychic and his wife before getting a very in depth back story on his wife and why she is a strong, independent woman.  We also get a look in the life of the detective that is helping him and how close he is to dying.  We then get a long look at two FBI agents that are fucking and their side story featuring a second serial killer known as the Optometrist.

The stories main focus is Dreg, his life as a follower of Le Loup, and his upbringing that lead to this point.  I absolutely loved how West was able to cram this much excitement into one book.  With that being said, this story pulled a Bible on us and only gave us Dreg’s life as a child and as an adult before his death just like Jesus.  What happened during his young adult life?  Let us know what happened West!  This story is riveting and pulls the viewer in.

Finally, the writing in this one is fluid and easy to read.  West truly has a way with words.  Dreg is easy to follow, understand, and comprehend.  Overall, Dreg is another hard one to put down from a true master of horror.  The film is packed full of excitement and characters that you just can not stop reading about.  I highly recommend this one to anyone that enjoys a good horror novel.  Check it out!

Blacktooth

(Staff Writer) Lover of all things horror and metal. Also likes boobs and booze.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.