Epeolatry Book Review: The Vermin Sleep by James Watjen
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Title: The Vermin Sleep
Author: James Watjen
Genre: horror
Publisher: Nightmare Press
Publication Date: 23rd July, 2024
Synopsis: Haunted by a traumatic childhood with an abusive father and a mother’s death, Alex Fulmer, struggles to find his footing in life while targeting pedophiles scattered throughout Chicago. Alex eventually lands the job of his dreams as a set builder on a children’s television show. Everything seems to be going great until he discovers a director’s sinister intentions towards a child actor and becomes entangled in a dangerous game of vigilante justice – a game that could lead him into the horrors he knew as a child, and into the pit of the vermin he despises.
The minute you start reading this story, you won’t want to put it down. Alex Fulmer has been through a lot – a helluva lot – something no child should ever have to endure, but sadly for Alex, he did. Mourning the loss of his beloved mother, left to be ‘raised’ by his monster of a father, it’s a miracle Alex made it out of his childhood alive. As a young adult, Alex meanders through life, playing house and landing mediocre jobs, all while keeping his trauma at bay, but that changes the day he sees something on a job site that makes his blood run cold, and dumps him on a gruesome path.
James Watjen’s debut novella, The Vermin Sleep, is a cracker of a debut, and one that a reader won’t be forgetting anytime soon. Watjen’s introduction is as real as it is heartbreaking. Readers will not only instantly fall in love with and sympathize with Alex, but they will cheerlead as he picks his way through the scraps of life and makes a go of things. As Watjen steers his protagonist down a path that is not going to end well no matter how you look at it, you still can’t help be a cheerleader. That is how well Watjen has developed and written this main character. Alex is someone you want to pull out of the book’s pages and hug. All of his emotions, thoughts, and doubts – all of it – are real – and you feel it with Alex. Watjen has also delved into the other characters with the same smooth and descriptive brilliance, with special mention to Stacey (who doesn’t make an appearance till later in the story), but she is written with the warmth and care that you know Alex needs. How long does the care last? Well, the reader will have to find out.
Watjen’s writing is smooth and consistent, with both flow and description, and there is no unnecessary flowery writing or confusion with over-the-top descriptions. There is enough gore, heartbreak, and phycological trauma for even the most hardened horror reader to enjoy. The story will stay with you long after you’ve finished.
I really, thoroughly enjoyed this novella. The unique theme, smooth flow, and story description along with the compelling storyline – as hard as it is to read at times due to the horrific reality of the subject – makes this a must read for anyone looking to add more horror and trauma to their reading library. And really…who isn’t?
/5
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