Genesis Of The Hunter: Book One by Joshua Martyr

With Genesis Of The Hunter, I can now say I've been introduced to something that is positioned to become something of a modern classic in horror.

From the Damnation Books website (because I, unfortunately, can't give a proper synopsis without spoilers...):

The world cradling humankind is yet to be understood. Much of its archaic beginnings linger within the mind upon a plane of postulates, mystery and uncertain truth, the voice of myth from times long past. In these legends are glimmers of truths dismissed as lore.

This is such a story: the origin of a legend that spans from distant past to the present day, the origin of the vampire. Alluring and suspenseful, it is the dark, epic chronicle of a man changed in nature and body. Once a sentinal of a prosperous settlement, he is forced into a nocturnal existence, and instinctually compelled in ways that he fears will cost him his very humanity. He gained an unnatural longevity, and while the ages pass, the modern world develops around him. His existence is discovered by an old organization whose siege even he shall be hard pressed to survive.

Genesis is an incredibly imaginative and compelling story that takes the reader far away from our current time and place, and deposits them into an entirely different world. The creativity and complex story structure is something you don't see every day in the small press. I would hazard to say that Martyr has created something here that would be better suited in the more main stream publishing world.

The characters that make up Genesis are incredibly detailed and well thought out, bringing them to life right before your eyes. In so, they make their mark well before the action starts and plant themselves firmly in your mind, where they ultimately feel like they belong to you - the reader. The intense amount of research that Martyr put into this book is very apparent, and is something that lends these characters so much more weight. The reality of the fact is apparent in the dialogue, which is at points written in the dialect of the region that the characters are in/from.

Overall though, this book is something that is felt - mostly in it's descriptive quality. Martyr infuses his prose with the masterful use of description that you can't help but feel that you're in the same time period of the characters. It's almost as if you can actually see the moon and feel the palpable weight of the darkness through the words on the page. Very little is left to be imagined, as Martyr creates complex and startlingly beautiful imagery that will guide the reader throughout the tale, and also into the mind of it's creator.

If you prefer the more pulpy, gore-fest, horror novels (as I often do) - this book might not be for you. But if you're looking for a modern novel with elements of classic horror, you may want to check it out.

Joshua Martyr can be contacted at his website, on Twitter and on Facebook. Look for his books at various online outlets such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and on the Damnation Books Website.

PBH.