After losing his mother to a brain tumour, Trevor King feels totally alone in the world. Someone needs to pay for her death and Dr Mellick, Trevor’s work colleague and family GP, is the man he holds responsible. Trevor’s yearning for vengeance leads him to concoct a vicious plot to frame the doctor for multiple murders. Trevor skins the corpses, turning them into elaborate art pieces after being inspired by a mysterious textbook. But as the skins of the flayed victims come to life and continue the killings for him, Trevor wonders whether he is in too deep.When Dr Mellick goes missing Trevor becomes convinced the doctor is planning a similar scheme to bring him down.But as Trevor discovers the truth of his mother’s death and his own life, this murderous path becomes more of a calling.
Morgan K.Tanner first came on my radar after reading Tales From the Realm Vol 1 by Aphotic Realm which featured his amazing story, The Almost Cannibal. That story really stuck out for me despite being in an anthology of really superb stories. His writing blended perfectly dark horror with comedy, I’ve read a few of his interviews and he’s a really funny guy. So when I saw that he had released his debut novella, Army of Skin, I couldn’t wait to take a look.
I think its worth mentioning the cover, designed by M.R. Tapia. It’s amazing! It’s really representative of the care and artistry that’s gone into making this outstanding book.
This book is an example of why I love novellas! From the very first page I was hooked and knew I was in for a fun ride. I read this in one day and was completely enthralled throughout. There’s no boring back story just action. The plot moves really quickly in ways you can’t anticipate.
This is the tale of Trevor King who is seeking revenge against his late mother’s doctor. He delves deeper and deeper into hell in his attempts to bring Dr Mellick to justice. The weird thing about Trevor King is that he comes off as a nice guy, but he does these terrible things which at times makes for uncomfortable reading. The characterisation is brilliant as you watch Trevor descend into utter madness. In this book, no one is as they seem. Its hard to talk too much about the plot without giving away spoilers but it’s exhilarating.
The ending is truly amazing, everything really comes together in one almighty final chapter! Whilst reading this book I had many questions but they were all answered in the very brutal ending. Morgan K.Tanner shows that he can make people laugh with one hand and completely terrify them with the other.
This is an awesome debut and I can’t wait to see what he writes next!