Book Review of Hell’s Gulf by Nick Carlson (August 2022)
Back in early 2022, I was contacted by Temple Dark Books through Twitter if I had an interest in reading an ARC of Hell’s Gulf by Nick Carlson. Temple Dark Books is a younger indie press with already some great products, but I hadn’t interacted with them yet so I thought this was a great opportunity to see what they are doing. I agreed to take a look at the ARC and leave a book review once my website was done because I was hoping to start to do some book reviews of fellow horror authors and websites. That is, after all, my great big interest since Curly’s Book Club through Goosebumps (complete with the neon green coffin).
But putting together a website turned out to be a Herculean task. After many months of delays, particularly a darn slider and a newsletter form that still isn’t working (don’t sign up, I will never get your info–it’s guaranteed spam free though!), I finally have something to put together here. To that and the many delays that Temple Dark Books has been generous in affording me, I thank them.
Now onto the book review! Which, to avoid the appearance of impropriety, I’ll note again I received a free ARC of Hell’s Gulf. I am not being paid to leave this review. My rating cannot be purchased and neither the press, publisher, nor any third party of paid me any compensation for this review. I note that, through affiliate programs, I may make a commission through affiliate links of any books or products that I post about.
First Impressions
Now that’s a nice cover. They say that you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, and I know that adage to be true, but i’d have to agree with some other comments in the #horrorcommunity on Twitter that an author with a bad cover is a clear sign to stay away–they just don’t care. But this cover, gorgeous.
It’s just well done and is gritty like the book itself. If you examine carefully, the cover does contain elements of foreshadowing (stay away, tentacles! You dirty, dirty tentacles) which is tastefully down in a way that doesn’t ruin the surprise (tentacles, again).
Lot’s of care and design went into this cover. Just like the story.
From the Publisher and Author:
Rowan Vane, a wannabe writer with the confidence of a leaf in a hurricane, is on a soul-searching vacation with his damaged family in Hell’s Gulf – a ramshackle, no-horse stain on Florida’s reputation.
You might be forgiven for asking why he’d go there, but forgiveness isn’t much of a commodity amongst the denizens of this godforsaken place – they’ve a bit of an axe to grind.
With a history as dark and pungent as its waters, this bit-too-quiet beach town in the navel of nowhere is patrolled by a delightfully xenophobic sheriff who sees ‘foreign agents’ arriving on every rotten jetty.
This picturesque town boasts abandoned ghostly ruins, unusually amorous sea life, mutant creatures and dastardly deeds that form the stories of the town’s affable alcoholics.
Oh, and something’s been killing the people here for decades.
Yes, folks, Hell’s Gulf really has it all. All you need is a little imagination.
Fortunately, Rowan’s brought his along with all the bells and whistles.
And some fishing tackle.
The Story Itself
I can tell that Carlson knows his aquatic–as an avid fisherman myself, I know a BSer, and he is not. Little details of the tackle caught my attention and made me feel comfortable that he is “one of me”–probably with some smelly LL Bean waders and corkers hanging upside down somewhere unsightly (sorry wife!).
I would describe the story as having elements of the Pirates of the Caribbean sauced with a little Joe Hill influence from Horns. Many of the sea critters, monstrosities, and anomalies all contain some type of Pirates aura, but with Carlson’s twisted words painting a more sinister vibe than the friendly varnish left by Disney. This is a good feeling to have because it creates a nostalgia that gets warped in–for a horror fan that grew up when the Pirates movies were flourishing–quite enjoyable.
I will say that probably my favorite part of the story is how the ending makes you go, “ah ha” followed by a quick “damnit I should have seen that”–which, you won’t. Even knowing that there is one of those twisty twists, you’ll still miss it with my heeded warning.
The Good
Carlson’s use of dialogue is quite proficient. His touch is very natural and not forced, which is perhaps why the story is largely driven through dialogue–or that is my feeling how it was developed. There are no times where I really felt the dialogued weakened in terms of verbiage and how it came out. Many times there were brilliant uses of slang or informal language that fit both with the setting and helped portray the characters better.
Carlson also knows his fishies, and descriptions particularly of corkscrewing blue sharks were particularly vivid and scientifically accurate (as anyone who watches Shark Week would know–but I happen to have caught a blue shark before!). His familiarity with these briny abominations helps keep them realistic and believable–allowing the reader to accept any little leaps in logic with ease.
I also get a flavor of some serious scenes coupled with a little undertone of humor or smugness. That is really refreshening in what is a pretty rough and tough horror novel, and is reminiscent of a Joe Hill style of writing that is both enjoyable and effective–deadly effective.
The So So
Listen, I’m not the kind of person who ever complains about grammar or really even style. That’s because I don’t think a story needs to be perfectly clean to be told, and most believable ghost stories around a campfire aren’t. To that extent, I kind Hell’s Gulf to be clean for me. But I did come across a few little typos which, as I understand, are still being finalized during the preparatory walkthroughs. I think those are just a product of an ARC, so you really can’t hold that against an ARC. I can imagine that some very particularly reader might take greater issue–I don’t.
I will say that one noticeable style is the use of ellipses (those … or . . . ) in text. Many come through the use of dialogue, which Carlson is clearly a very proficient crafter of the spoken word. But I think the use of ellipses in certain areas might be a little overdone, which that section of dialogue and tension because less effective. Other devices, like an em dash or use of a terse sentence and descriptive language, might serve better to get the delays across. Again, not a big issue because the surrounding dialogue is strong, but I wonder if removing some ellipses and playing with using other devices for pauses would magnified the already brilliant dialogue to frighteningly high levels.
To that further extent, I felt some description of the settings could be more. Carlson’s strength is absolutely language, which is why the story feels driven by his persuasive and natural use of dialogue. But at times, I think I would have liked a little more setting and descriptions to help me fill the gaps.
Verdict on Hell’s Gulf by Nick Carlson [Book Review]
It is hard to not enjoy the hard work of Temple Dark Books and Nick Carlson. Hell’s Gulf is a labor of love with lore resembling familiar franchises that allows readers to easily connect. If this were at my local book store, I think I’d find myself picking it up based on my similar interests. In terms of horror, perhaps i’m just a little more of a Jack Ketchum dark (okay, super dark) horror, or Richard Matheson and his painted cognitive murals reduced to words for easy digestion. Hell’s Gulf has elements a little more like Johnny Depp in Secret Window–you’ll know once you get to the ending–which is satisfying for more of the horror readers out there.
I mark this one as a SHOULD BUY largely on Carlson’s brilliant and enchanting use of dialogue that demonizes whatever it touches–particularly adding another reason why to fear the ocean water (and clawfoot bathtubs)–conjuring fear that Jaws and Watch Lies Beneath respectfully did for ocean water and baths, but Carlson decides to ruin both in one sitting.
Given that Nick Carlson is a new author and Temple Dark Books is a growing indie press (with excellent work already being pumped up), the Ghost category of ranking is appropriate. Upon due deliberation, I rate Hell’s Gulf by Nick Carlson (Temple Dark Books) at a RATING OF 4.5 GHOSTS.
There is a lot to enjoy and the flow of the story is steady. Check it out at these fine retailers to preorder, or get directly from Temple Dark Books here.
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