REVIEW: Thomas S Flowers - Lanmo

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Shadow Work Publishing

Publication Date: 21^st February 2016

Pages: 53

REVIEWED BY NEV:

A copy of Lanmowas sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author, Thomas S Flowers, in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Shadow Work Publishing.

Thomas S Flowers is an author that, if you haven’t already picked up his stuff, is a new and fresh face proving that there is still young blood in this horror writing genre that can compete with the big boys that have been doing it for years.

Whenever a request comes through to read one of his books, I am not ashamed to say this, but, most other things get dropped so that I can pick his stuff up straight away. When Lanmowas released as a stand-alone story, there was only one thing I could do. Read it again and give it its own full review. This story really deserves it.

1964 Mississippi. John is a young black man canvassing for votes in the Delta during the fight for civil rights. He is pulled over by a local police officer and ends up in a lot more trouble than he would have hoped for that evening. Not only was he stopped by the local police, they were also the local branch of the Ku Klux Klan.

They thought they would get away with things. They didn’t bank on the powers of the good old southern voodoo.

Lanmo is a story that first made its appearance in the wonderful anthology, The Black Room Manuscripts from the equally wonderful Sinister Horror Company. It stood out in this anthology purely and simply for one reason; the superb writing. It is written in such a way that you cannot help but be caught up in the tension and pressure and the outright hatred of the times. You can smell the fear. You can smell the hatred. You can smell the emotion.

It is a story that totally embraces the times without going overboard. It doesn’t glorify it in any way. It does the complete opposite in fact. It makes you hate the perpetrators for what they are, vile, disgusting, ignorant and arrogant people who, quite frankly do not deserve to walk the earth.

Mixed in with the racism we have the flip side of the coin. The age old practice of voodoo. Lanmoclearly demonstrates the belief in the old rituals that was still held strong by the black population in the deep south even in the 60’s. It is to me the ultimate type of witchcraft. It honestly gives me the creeps because voodoo, more than most ancient cultures of supposed evil, is extremely believable to me. Don’t ask me why. It just is.

In Lanmo, Thomas S Flowers make it even more believable, if that is even possible. You get right inside the head of the victim. You get right inside the head of the witch doctor. It is scary scary stuff that will have your spine tingling. If I can give you one tip of something you must do while reading this story, it is this; sit in a seat that is up against the wall when you open it to read. If you do not, you will be constantly looking over your shoulder!

To summarise: Absolutely loved this story. Very atmospheric. Gives you a true feeling of the times and the horror of the times. Makes you feel ashamed in many respects. Very creepy. Thomas S Flowers writing is genius. With this being a short story, it is perfect to give you a feel of how he writes and how he can scare the pants off of you!

General rating:

★★★★★ big fat ones!

Horror rating:

★★★★★ big fat scary ones!

If you would like to help support Confessions of a Reviewer, then please consider using the links below to buy Lanmo or any other books from Thomas. This not only supports me but also lets me know how many people actually like to buy books after reading my reviews.

Thanks.

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Book Synopsis:

1964 Mississippi. John Turner, a young black man canvassing for votes in the Delta is pulled over by local police on a rural dusty road. After carrying out what they believed was their civic duty, the klansmen believed they'd gotten away with what they did to John. But they didn’t know the powers residing in those dark Delta woods. And they certainly didn't bank on southern voodoo.

CONFESSIONS REVIEWS THOMAS S FLOWERS

Dwelling (Subdue Book 1)

Emerging (Subdue Book 2)

The Incredible Zilch Von Whitstein

Reinheit

Interview with Thomas Part One

Interview with Thomas Part Two

Thomas S Flowers was born in Walter Reed Medical Center, Maryland to a military family. He grew up in RAF Chicksands, England and then later Fort Meade, and finally Roanoke, Virginia. Thomas graduated high school in 2000 and on September 11, 2001, joined the U.S. Army. From 2001-2008, Thomas served in the military police corps, with one tour in South Korea and three tours serving in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. While stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, between deployments, Thomas met his wife and following his third and final tour to Iraq, decided to re-join the civilian ranks. Thomas was discharged honorably in February 2008 and moved to Houston, Texas where he found employment and attended night school. In 2014, Thomas graduated with a Bachelor in Arts in History from University of Houston-Clear Lake. Thomas blogs at www.machinemean.org, commenting and reviewing movies, books, shows, and historical content.

Thomas is living a rather simple and quite life with his beautiful wife and amazing daughter, just south of Houston, Texas.