Regret by Gabrielle Faust

Wow. Talk about an ambitious little novella. This book is packed with enough examples of demons and sin to turn your church going grandma into a slavering maniac. When I read up on it, and Faust's other works, I knew I was going to be in for something special. I'm stoked to report that with Regret, I wasn't let down at all.

Humanity is renowned for placing the blame for their most unspeakable actions in the palms of their "demons". It would seem that for every crime, every indecency there is a minion of the Underworld assigned to it. The lucky ones balance precariously on the edge of damnation, always managing at the last minute to halt their impending doom. The unlucky ones succumb entirely or, in Marcus Glenfield's case, find themselves following a much darker parth than they ever would have imagined. After a strangely brutal twist of fate, Marcus becomes his own inner demon, that of the Demon of Regret. As he begins his new life as a tempter and collector of mortal souls, his path of damnation unfortunately crosses with that of Sonnellion, the Demon of hatred; Cresil, the Demon of Slovenliness; Vetis, the Tempter of the Holy; and finally Belial himself, the Prince of Wickedness. Through each of his interactions, Marcus gleans valuable insight into the purpose of his fellow demons within the greater hierarchy of existence, assisting his personal mission to collect the one soul that continues to preoccupy his every thought. However, will the wisdom of Hell's ancient minions be enough to save him from a deadly encounter with Belial, or does Hell have another plan for Marcus altogether?

That's quite a synopsis, isn't it? It looks as if you've gotten the whole story, but deep within this 140 page novella is something far darker that any blurb can actually single out.

Faust writes beautifully, with a seasoned artist's touch and a flair for the dramatic. Her descriptions dance across the page in a flow that feels both elegant and brutal. The depictions of gore are wet and juicy, the dark and squalid surroundings in some of the settings are completely tangible, and the oppressive emotion regarding the varied sins you'll come across in the novella are incredible. Rich, full fleshed and disturbing images abound in this piece of work. It's like reading the literary equivalent of a deliciously dark painting.

The demons that appear in this book are phenomenal in description and design. The beginning of each chapter features a wicked picture of the demon to be featured in the following chapter. All of the drawings were done by the Author, making this novella a huge treat to those who love their art as much as their literature. Seriously, Faust has such a handle on so many facets of the genre, I'm not even going to hesitate to say that this is someone who is going to go very, very far.

Faust's writing is tight, making this book incredibly hard to put down. I was disappointed to see it end, but incredibly pleased that the author had left it open for future volumes. I'm looking forward to following Marcus' adventures in the underworld.

Check out Faust's website here. You can also follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

You can pick up a limited edition copy of Regret in October 2010 at the Dark Regions website, here.

PBH.