Book Review: CURSE OF THE REAPER by Brian McAuley

CURSE OF THE REAPER by Brian McAuley

Talos; 10/4/22

CBTB Rating: 4.5/5 

The Verdict: bloody fun for slasher fans

There’s no better time to watch a slasher movie—or read a slasher book—than October, and if your idea of perfect Halloween entertainment involves villains like Michael Myers or Freddy Krueger, the book I’m recommending today is the Halloween read for you. Brian McAuley’s CURSE OF THE REAPER is a thriller tailor-made for, as his dedication so aptly puts it, the “Halloween people.” Bloody, meta, occasionally self-deprecating, and always wickedly entertaining, CURSE OF THE REAPER draws inspiration from the world of slasher films to tell a delightfully devious tale of an actor, the silver screen villain to which he devoted his entire career, and the grip that villain might just have on him in the real world. This book is all kinds of bloody fun, a perfect Halloween reading choice for anyone who has ever contemplated which Ghostface killer(s) they would be most likely to survive, attended a genre convention, or, yes, set a timer to buy tickets for Halloween Ends the moment they went on sale (guilty on all counts). 

Howard Browning used to be an icon in the world of horror film. Decades ago, Howard broke onto the horror scene with his visceral portrayal of “The Reaper,” the titular villain of an 80’s slasher movie that spawned a blockbuster movie franchise. Deeply devoted to his craft, Howard spent years of his life fine-tuning his portrayal of the bloody, chain-wielding killer, sacrificing his relationship and dreams of starting a family in the name of achieving on-screen perfection—and earning a legion of die-hard Reaper fans in the process. But as the years passed, Howard’s fame began to dwindle—and that’s where we meet him when our story opens, as he sits at a table at a genre convention, signing autographs for an alarmingly short line of fans. Is this what his career has come to? And then he gets the call that adds insult to injury: the studio behind the Reaper franchise is rebooting the original, and they’ve tapped a young, heartthrob actor to replace Howard as the Reaper himself. Howard is crushed…and angry. As he grapples with this betrayal and faces a future divested from the franchise to which he gave his life, something strange begins to happen: the Reaper starts to get angry, too. Howard swears he can hear the voice of the Reaper himself, driving Howard on to reclaim the role that is rightfully his. Is Howard losing his mind? Has his method acting gone too far? Or has the villainous monster to whom Howard has dedicated so much of himself somehow taken a leap off the silver screen and into the real world, determined to protect his legacy from a studio hell-bent on changing it? In the wise words immortalized by one of the genre’s most iconic movie franchises, everyone knows the #1 rule when it comes to remakes: don’t f*ck with the original. 

CURSE OF THE REAPER is my favorite kind of thriller: it’s a book that oozes love for its source material, a story that effectively plays with and pays tribute to genre tropes and traditions the way only a book written by a true fan can. Like any great slasher movie, CURSE OF THE REAPER is, first and foremost, a bloody good time. Author Brian McAuley drops readers into the heart of this story’s action quickly, establishing character, setting, and tension within the book’s first couple of chapters. At the heart of story is Howard, a man both sympathetic and just off-kilter enough to keep readers guessing as to his true motivations and capabilities. Howard is a thespian through and through; he is a serious actor who has always treated his portrayal of the villainous Reaper with the respect and care with which he was trained to approach every role in theater school. With this comes a great deal of method acting and psychological deep-dives into the mind of his villain. It was never enough for Howard just to illustrate the Reaper’s violence and thirst for blood on the big screen; no, he wanted to know everything about this man, his origins, his fears, his motivations, and, ultimately, the kernel of humanity that lay dormant inside the monster he became. The Reaper wasn’t just Howard’s livelihood—it was his life. So when the Reaper is taken away from Howard, it stands to reason, then, that Howard’s life would begin to unravel—and unravel it does, in spectacular, bloody fashion. Brian McAuley effectively portrays Howard’s unraveling, taking readers inside his mind as he begins to change…experiencing everything from periods of lost time to auditory hallucinations (he swears he can hear the Reaper’s chain jangling sometimes) to sparks of rage and an inexplicable hunger for meat—a shocking new development for Howard, a devoted vegetarian. Has Howard somehow become host to the vengeful spirit of the villain he portrayed on screen for all these years? Or is this nothing more than a manifestation of Howard’s grief over the loss of the job that has meant so much to him? Readers will be hooked as Brian McAuley expertly blurs the lines between fact and fiction, playing with little hints of supernatural possibility that add a chilling and darkly playful layer to this page-turning tale.

This thriller would be effective enough were it only a story of an aging actor grappling with the loss of the career that has defined his life—but McAuley doesn’t stop there. Instead, he chooses to add into the mix a glimpse into the life of the man whose presence in Howard’s life is causing him so much stress to begin with: Trevor Mane, a heartthrob actor who, despite having no familiarity with or particular love for the Reaper franchise, accepts the job replacing Howard as the iconic villain. For Trevor, taking up the Reaper’s mantle is a necessary evil. He’s no fan of slasher movies, but he doesn’t have much of a choice in the matter; after a stint in rehab and a very public battle with addiction, Trevor’s career is floundering, and the Reaper’s rusty chain is the lifeline he has so desperately needed. But Trevor has gotten more than he’s bargained for with his new gig. As Trevor and Howard’s paths cross, Trevor finds himself the target of Howard’s (or, if Howard is to be believed, the Reaper’s) rage. Grappling with his own demons while also grappling with Howard’s demons isn’t exactly what Trevor signed up for, and he soon finds himself on a path that seems to be headed straight for disaster. Howard and Trevor are, in their own rights, cautionary tales: both men illustrate the dangerously high price of fame, one as his career seems to be fading into obscurity, the other as his career is poised to reach new heights. Unfortunately for both actors, the slasher genre isn’t known for happy endings—and before CURSE OF THE REAPER is up, these two men will go through hell…and might not make it back. 

CURSE OF THE REAPER is many things, but at its very core, it is a delightfully self-aware—and occasionally self-deprecating—homage to slasher movies. And what would a movie about movies be if it didn’t include, well, a movie? Above and beyond my favorite element of this story was the authenticity with which author Brian McAuley brings to life the Reaper franchise itself. Beginning with the first installment in the Reaper franchise, Night of the Reaper, McAuley uses expertly-placed “script excerpts” from each film to lead readers through his own novel. The chronological progression of these excerpts brings the Reaper franchise to life in all its bloody, darkly funny glory. McAuley captures the progression of so many slasher franchises to brilliant effect through these little excerpts—and yes, it does include an installment where the Reaper goes to outer space. More than once, I caught myself thinking about the Reaper films as if they were actual movies; I had to remind myself I couldn’t go stream these movies after finishing the book, and, if I’m being honest, that was my number one qualm with this book itself—I desperately want these Reaper movies to be real, because I would binge-watch the heck out of them. (Brian, if you’re reading this: we want Reaper movies ASAP, please and thank you.) CURSE OF THE REAPER captures that irresistible blend of gore, tension, and self-aware, playful humor that makes slasher movies so much fun. This is a thriller that manages to not take itself too seriously, while also taking very seriously the business of paying tribute to an iconic genre of film.

There’s no better time of year than October for a little slasher watching—or reading—fun, and if you’re in the market for a thriller book that will conjure up the experience of watching your favorite slasher movie, Brian McAuley’s CURSE OF THE REAPER is the book for you. This bloody thriller doesn’t take itself too seriously, and it’s all the better for it; this wickedly entertaining tale captures the spirit of the slasher greats, making for a tribute to the genre that works just as well as an entry into it as it does an homage. A huge thank you to my friend @gareindeedreads for recommending this one to me—I loved it.

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Book Details:

CURSE OF THE REAPER by Brian McAuley

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Talos (October 4, 2022)

Language ‏ : ‎ English

Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 336 pages

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1945863803

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1945863806

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