Damnable [Mass Market Paperback]

U.S. special ops agent Jake Hatcher has a talent for harsh interrogation techniques. Unfortunately for him, plying his trade lands him in military prison on charges of torture. The novel begins when he is sprung from jail to attend the funeral of a brother he never knew, a brother involved in a shadowy conspiracy involving a sex cult, murdered prostitutes and an apocalypse-hungry billionaire.

Motivated by a desperate attempt to find out the truth about his family, as well as a believable desire to protect human life, Schwaeble's protagonist puts his unusual skills into action against foes natural and supernatural alike. Combining the use of interrogation as a psychological weapon with a realistic portrayal of combat martial arts, the story delivers a fresh approach to all forms of conflict, leaving the reader to reap the benefits. And while we do get accounts of Hatcher's uses of some forms of torture while in the Middle East, it comes across as too simplistic to consider him `Cheneyesque'; for Jake Hatcher's character is the epitome of one who backs up talking the talk with walking the walk (kicking the kick, punching the punch, and then some). Indeed, his epithet, which makes the book's title, offers a precise descriptor of a hero who must do what is unpopular in order to save others.

Thus follows the book's kinetic ride through an urban landscape fraught with ingenious demon-assisted murder scenes and posh catacombs full of beautifully mutated sex kittens. Schwaeble's descriptions are lush without slowing the pace, and his factual renderings of police and military procedures intriguing and accurate. Those readers who commonly find themselves put-off by increasingly lackluster horror and thriller tropes will love the uninhibited explicitness of the sex and violence. And yet, such scenes are so strategically placed and well written that they cannot be considered gratuitous by the true meaning of the word.

Thus I recommend DAMNABLE not just for its grand sense of action and adventure, but because it causes the reader to question assumptions at every turn. It's one thing when a book sends you to the dictionary to look up esoteric words. It's another when you find yourself looking up and questioning the concept of `innocence'.

If I had to name any flaws in this novel it would only be in areas where I wanted more--perhaps to see Schwaeble's cosmos superimposed on more of New York City than just midtown and the edges of Long Island. Also, when exploring theological concepts with stakes as high as eternal damnation, I wanted the same kind of detailed questioning of assumptions as had been applied to human conflict. In other words, it seemed a little odd that a text that does an excellent job of exploring the morality of torture as a means to a just end, doesn't go very far in exploring whether or not torture as an eternal punishment is equally just. Only the villain questions the justness of Hell, and his criticisms are rarely refuted or mused upon. It would be interesting to see a psy-ops man of Hatcher's caliber attempt to answer the same questions. Well, it's never a bad thing to leave a reader wanting more of a main character. Perhaps he'll enter this territory and more in a welcome second installment.

Wow! "Extreme horror" doesn't even begin to describe the gory action in this book. Definitely a book you do NOT want to read late at night when you are alone -- unless you enjoy getting up to lock the doors every 10 minutes! Very believable storyline and plenty of twists and turns all help make the book impossible to put down. Definitely recommended reading...especially at a third the price of the junk being put out by bigger named authors who have gotten lazy with their writing. Two thumbs up!

I gave it Five Stars, and it earned every one of them. This is an awesome thriller-chiller. I don't know what book the guys knocking it read, but it sure wasn't this one. A whole chapter cutting out a woman's heart? Uh, try one page, of an 18 page chapter. And that was a tense scene where the villain was introduced, one where the tension keeps building throughout. And I don't know how someone could find support for thinking the writer is "working out therapy issues" because of "problems with everything." The only character who has a problem with G-d is the villain; the protagonist is at best a skeptic. And the reason all the women are incredibly beautiful is because they're almost all some sort of demon/human hybrids who are are physically perfect. And, as someone else noted in their review, torture is a theme explored in some depth throughout. The ethics of interrogation tactics are probed without any, or hardly any, preaching, one way or the other, and the reader is provided an interesting comparison to the idea of eternal torment, as well as an interesting comparison between the protagonist and the antagonist.

Overall, this is a brilliant example of hard-boiled horror. I would say it is certain to please both adrenaline junkies and horror fans, especially those who want tight prose, vivid descriptions, and rich insight into military and police viewpoints. I highly recommend it.

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