Dollmaker
By Justin Robinson
I wasn't sure what to make of this book initially. All I had heard was it was about a guy who made some life-sized dolls he had a disturbing relationship with. Having read it, I can affirm it is definitely a disturbing story about some life-size dolls. In fact, I'm going to go out on a limb and tell you that if you don't have a relatively strong stomach for disturbing concepts and gore, you probably won't make it past the first 10 pages. Although, if that's the case, I'm not sure why you would come waltzing into the horror aisle looking for some reading. Your tolerance for disturbing must be THIS high to go on this ride.
It's not all gore though, of course. The truly disturbing scenes (either in concept or graphic detail) really just exist to punctuate a truly great story about losing oneself to obsession, unrequited love, being different and the dangers of bringing golems to life with perverse Hebrew sex magic. I'm not sure how to describe my favorite parts of the book without completely spoiling the plot, but I will say I found the dolls enjoyably imaginative, creepy and alien. And I enjoyed the overall structure and character development of the story. It starts with an introduction to the protagonist, which will give you the unsettling feeling that it is not likely to work out well for him. And after the main characters and their flaws are introduced and set in motion you'll be mumbling, "well, that can't be good." as you keep flipping the pages forward, wondering which weak link will be the first to snap. The finale, when it arrives, is strange, oddly beautiful and terrifying. There's a peculiar kind of fascination in watching Stephen, the dollmaker, lose bits of himself to The Work out of an unquestioned compulsion to create, even as it spirals out of control all around him.
Justin, much like Stephen, has carved a body of words for you, splattered it with blood and gore and brought it to life. Do yourself a favor and dance with it for a while.
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