Out of Stone

Out of Stone, the fourth book by john g rees revolves around a young character and her adoptive Aunt, whom we meet in Halocline, the second book from this prolific writer. Twenty years have passed since the revolution that freed Romania from the yoke of Megacorp and a tyrannical, cruel and insane despot. The country grew and prospered. Slavery and slaughter during the revolution, however, left the country with a nationwide epidemic of PTSD. Most dealt with it. A few unfortunately, did not. This opened the gates of hell once again. A metaphor, actually, for they never really had closed at all. Our protagonist, Sechra Kcirb, against the odds, survived the barbarically horrendous revolution, at which she had a front row seat. What was witnessed in her early years hardened the tender areas of youth. The seeds of hatred fell upon the fertile soil of her mind, giving her strength to endure the madness. Her life on the run from the madness of the revolution was replaced with one of privilege, education and art. As her talent blossomed, so did the darkness that so early in life reached out for her. Her adopted aunt, Karuna Danesti, raised the young Sechra. Her love for the child kept her from seeing the darkness within the girl’s work. Through her art, the girl turned woman, and was able to relieve herself of some of the memories life had bequeathed her. Notoriety and fame would come from her ability to carve stone, touching her life, changing it forever. The hatred, anguish, and horror at seeing her family and community brutally tortured, slain, and placed in chains, created an evil that hid away deep within her child’s heart, where it still remained. This thing, this hatred, this evil would use the girl it bonded with so long ago, to bring it to life again. It wanted to live amongst men. The first few pages set the hook of the story. Then, we get deep into our characters’ heads to understand the nightmare their lives have become. More than one antagonist exerts pressure on the tale. Hatred, evil, greed, revenge - rees’ usual nemeses, once again rear their ugly heads to wreak havoc on mankind, being truly the sources of all that ails us.

john g rees' early years were spent in a funeral home in Indiana, his father, the mortician and his mother, the makeup artist, who also operated the local ambulance service. Fertile ground, huh?