A Blackened Heart, A Blackened Soul by John Ward is a horror novel that will kick you in the face and ask if you liked it, then give you another kick. When the horror is delivered, it is mean and raw. The overall story is tragic and about how haunted you can be by loss. The story draws many connotations from the Bible and the battle between good and evil. The story reminded me of Josh Malerman’s Incidents Around the House meets Smile. The Exorcist is a clear influence, and so is A Nightmare on Elm Street. Ward mentions both titles within the novel.

A Blackened Heart, A Blackened Soul is John Ward’s adult novel debut. He has written eight middle grade novels so far in the Scareville series.
The story is split into two parts: A Blackened Heart, which takes place in 1998, and A Blackened Soul, which takes place in 2023. The first part was amazing. I was creeped out, and the scares are effective. The pacing of the story is excellent. Then part 2 slows the pace way down, a little too much. The pace mirrors the protagonist. In part 1, it is juvenile and fast, and in part 2, it is slow and mature.

The ending of this book is wild. I personally loved it. The book goes there and does not look back. In fact, it looks you in the face and says, “Do you like that?” The way it ends sent shivers down my spine.

Trigger warnings are a sensitive subject, and this book has them. John Ward does have a blurb at the front where he talks about it. He has listed the trigger warnings on the final page and says it is there if you need them, but knowing their impact on the storytelling. I read the book without the trigger warnings. I know what I can handle, and there was a scene that made me emotional. I think the scene was written well and accomplished what it set out to do narratively.

A Blackened Heart, A Blackened Soul by John Ward will be published on January 16, 2025, by Crystal Lake Publishing.

Why Did I Read A Blackened Heart, A Blackened Soul by John Ward?

I received an advanced readers’ copy of A Blackened Heart, A Blackened Soul from Crystal Lake Publishing, as I am a member of their street team. The cool thing about this book is that I was listening to the Horrifically Well Read, Bled, and Said podcast, where they were interviewing John Ward and talking about this title. I thought it sounded great and right up my alley as a reader. I remember thinking that I wished I had a copy. Five hours later, Crystal Lake Publishing sent me a copy without me even asking for it.

Plot Summary:

John Tinsley’s life is about to get upended when a car accident takes away his mother. If that wasn’t horrible enough, an evil spirit marks him, determined to break him. John fights the demon as a child and later as an adult over his soul. Can he beat it? Or will it claim John’s blackened soul?

What I Liked:

Part 1, A Blackened Heart, has such great writing. I was terrified by what was happening. I loved the characters of little Johnny, his grandmother, and Father Rosario. I cared about them, and that made the situation that much more horrific. I think this part works best because of John Ward’s middle grade writing background. The creeping dread and the setup horror that you get in middle grade novels all work perfectly here and prepare you for the true horror. The grandmother being followed by the spirit or demon was the scariest part, followed by the scene after it. That scene was intense.

Part 2 had some highlights. I loved Megan and the joy she brought. I had some issues with her choices, but loved the effervescence she brought to the story. The ending of this book was great and held nothing back. It reminded me of a Brian Keene ending.

The multiple perspectives worked pretty well for the storytelling. There were only a couple of instances where it hindered the story. I was never in doubt about whose perspective we were following.

I also loved the Philip Fracassi homage with the restaurant named Fracassi’s. I liked that Ward mentioned Goosebumps along with his own middle grade series, Scareville.

What I Disliked:

The multiple perspectives worked for the most part, but I did not need two sides of the first meeting. One side was enough. I briefly thought that showing the second perspective meant the demon was setting them up from the beginning, but that was not the case.

Megan makes a big choice in the book, which I was fine with, but I wanted her to think about it more, maybe work it out in her head. It felt like it happened too fast. The way John deals with that choice also left me wanting more emotionally from him.

The pacing in part 2 was a bit too slow. I kept wondering why the demon was slow playing it. The first part was so perfectly paced that I really felt the slowdown in part 2.

Recommendation:

John Ward has written a heck of a book. If you like your horror stories creepy, gory, and vengeful, then A Blackened Heart, A Blackened Soul is for you. I don’t tend to get scared in horror novels, but part 1 worked for me. It reminded me of Incidents Around the House, a book that also unnerved me. A Blackened Heart, A Blackened Soul is a strong adult horror debut. I recommend my followers check this novel out.

Rating:

A Blackened Heart, A Blackened Soul by John Ward. I rated it 4 out of 5 stars. Part 1 was hands down 5 stars. The scares, the emotional impact, and the pacing were all top notch. Part 2 was a solid 3.5 stars. I wanted the pacing to be tighter, the scares before the ending to be stronger, and the character choices to be more emotionally driven.

I think John Ward will only get better. Reading this book and seeing how he handled eight-year-old John has made me curious to check out his Scareville series. John is attending Authorcon IV, which I will also be at. I hope I get a chance to tell him how much I enjoyed the book.