When you search for information about astral planes, it’s often described in romantic tones related to an interconnected collection of celestial spheres populated and traveled by angels and spirits—either on their way to being born or after their deaths. But what if there was a more sinister side to these astral planes?
What if the angels don’t watch so closely, and rogue angry spirits haunt one of these astral planes, consuming weaker souls and growing their power to manipulate life beyond the veil where the living reside? J. F. Newman explores this concept in superb detail in his latest release, “Through the Never.”
Spoiler-free Plot Summary
“Through the Never” centers around Clive Tucker, a narcissistic murderer, and his fate, which is intertwined with those of Jill and Kirk Samson. Clive is bound to Jill through a gruesome murder and thirst for vengeance, and he is bound to Kirk through Kirk’s love for Jill.
Clive brutally murdered Jill Samson’s mother and father many years ago. He was clumsy about it and inevitably caught, sentenced to life in prison. His time in prison has allowed his narcissism to take full control of his thoughts and feelings and to fester— he feels no remorse for the murders and hungers after the vengeance he wishes to take out on Jill.
Clive’s stunted psychology cannot fathom that he was sent to prison for doing a terrible thing; instead, he believes he went to prison because Jill couldn’t keep from identifying him as her parents’ murderer, and she deserves worse than death for that betrayal.
And what happens when a man of such perverse and warped humanity is unleashed on the spirit world? He continues his manipulations and murders, of course. And this is where the true horrors of “Through the Never” are executed.
It is up to Kirk Samson, and whatever friends he can pick up along the way, to put an end to Clive’s demonic ministrations. For when the dead can reach out and touch you in your dreams, no living person is truly safe. “Through The Never” takes you on a tour of the haunted grounds of Savannah and the astral planes of the in-between of life and death.
My Take on Through the Never
If I am being truly honest, there was a moment early in the read, within the first hundred pages, where I seriously considered dooming “Through the Never” to my DNF (Did Not Finish) list. This related to the rape and murder scene depicted in the chapter titled “A Room with a View.” I had to walk away from this book for a few days to sort out my thoughts and feelings around it because the scene totally transcended the fun of horror for me and took me somewhere disturbing.
On further reflection, I think my reaction of feeling viscerally unwell and extremely anxious after reading the chapter related to the fact that a female main character was the victim of my greatest fears as a woman.
I did go back to the book, mostly out of hope that reading on would eventually reveal the fun, thrilling, and suspenseful side of horror that I adore. Thankfully, this was not a repeated scene in the book, and I found myself enjoying the rest of the story with a single exception. There was a moment of inconsistency between chapters where the name of a character was interchangeably Cole Thorn and Colt Thorn.
“J. F. Newman’s ‘Through the Never’ weaves a gripping tale of vengeance, horror, and otherworldly landscapes, delivering a haunting exploration of the astral and earthly realms.”
For a novel that seemed to be otherwise well-edited, this inconsistency had me flicking back through chapters, completely jarred out of the story, and obsessing over details.
What I found drew me in about this book was Newman’s depiction of “the grayscale world” – The Never – and his exploration of death and dream states. Newman’s choice of language and descriptive factors always ensures that the reader is clued into the fact that the characters are now in The Never—a world drained of color and vividness. The level of detail that went into the creation of this veiled world is incredible, but it’s not delivered to readers in a big information dump; rather, we learn little bits and pieces about it as the story goes on.
Many characters take a long while to adjust to being in The Never, not realizing where they are. By having readers be able to identify these moments of danger before the characters, the suspense of the narrative is built up to almost maddening levels at times.
Likewise, the shifting of perspectives throughout the chapters and subchapters also allows readers to be privy to essential elements of information before characters, giving the read a very addictive feel, as we simply find ourselves thinking, “What happens next?” knowing that certain characters are in danger and other characters have malicious intentions.