I picked this novella up straight after enjoying the first so much. As it is the second, there’s less need for a setup and more about developing the characters.
Ford and Neuland are paranormal mercenaries—one living (Ford), one undead (Neuland); one of them kills the undead, the other kills the living. Now with Tilda Rosenbloom, after work in California (told in the previous book, The Pale House Devil, reviewed HERE), the three are in New York City, where previously Ford and Neuland had to leave after a ‘job’ went wrong.
They are given an opportunity to redeem themselves in NYC if they take on a job for free – hunting down, and killing The Flesh King, a gruesome killer who is stalking the city, leaving a macabre and bloody trail wherever he goes. Of course, there’s a time limit – the underworld powers-that-be want the problem sorted in a week before it draws attention to themselves, and of course by using Ford, Neuland and Tilda there’s no link back to them should things go wrong.
Caught up in a twisted set of conspiracies and bloodletting, the monster hunters step up to do what they do best once more – take down the unstoppable evil.
As this is the second novella, there’s less need for a setup and more about developing the characters. (Having said that. I think that you can read this one without having read the first. Kadrey’s a skilful enough writer to give you enough background detail as you go along without slowing down the plot.)
In this one Tilda really comes in to her own, progressing from the rather shy young innocent of the first novella to a character who is an important part of the team. The other two are expanded upon too – here Neuland becomes more analytical and experimental, a near-version of the tropish mad scientist, working on the poisons, spells and potions that they use in their work.
As before there are some scenes from the point of view of the horror lurking in the New York streets, but this time (unlike in The Pale House Devil) I was much less sympathetic towards them. Someone that kills people by leeching their flesh from them is not a nice person to know, and Kadrey shows this effectively.
The horror element is not subtle, yet skilfully done and actually not quite as gruesome as it could have been. There’s enough ick to give you a memorable impression without extraneous detail – this is a novella so there’s no room for excess, but there’s enough creepiness to possibly make you look twice if you go outside at night…
The sign of a good novella for me is if they are memorable and don’t outstay their welcome – perhaps even making the reader want more. This was certainly the case here – the trio are a likable group who I engaged with quickly and soon wanted to do well.
All in all, this is another good read, also read in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyable. Like before with the first novella, think of it as a rather gruesome version of The X-Files, with a nicely paced plot, engaging characters, humour and icky bits.
I’d definitely read more of these – I hope there will be some more to follow.
© 2025 Mark Yon
Paperback | Titan Books
THE FLESH KING by Richard Kadrey
October 2025 | 144 pages
ISBN: 978 183 5412 435
