Last Burn in Hell

by John Edward Lawson

Kenrick Brimley, the state prison’s official gigolo, hangs over a lava pit on trial for his life in a strange land. He will reveal the course of his life one misguided step at a time for his captors. From his romance with serial arsonist Leena Manasseh to his lurid angst-affair with a lesbian music diva, from his ascendance as unlikely pop icon to otherworldly encounters, the one constant truth is that he’s got no clue what he’s doing. As unrelenting as it is original, Last Burn in Hell is John Edward Lawson at his most scorching intensity, serving up sexy satire and postmodern pulp with his trademark day-glow prose.

172 pages, Paperback

First published April 12, 2005

About the author

John Edward Lawson is the author of 16 books of fiction and poetry, and numerous chapbooks. Over 500 of his poems, stories, and articles have been published in magazines, anthologies, literary journals, and newspapers worldwide. He has been called “The forgotten black man of horror,” but he also regularly publishes science fiction, bizarro, mystery/thrillers, and literary fiction.

John was a winner of the 2001 Fiction International Emerging Writers Competition; in addition to being a finalist for the Stoker Award (2006, Superior Achievement in Poetry) and the Wonderland Award for Bizarro Fiction (2007, collected fiction), other award nominations include two for the Dwarf Stars Award, the Elgin Award, the Pushcart Prize, two for the Rhysling Award, and honorable mention for the 2015 Wonderland Award.

As an editor John is co-founder of Raw Dog Screaming Press, recognized by the Horror Writers Association in 2019 with their Specialty Press Award. He spent four years as editor-in-chief of The Dream People online literary journal of bizarro fiction and poetry. Other editorial projects include three print anthologies, four e-anthologies, and freelance work for such companies as National Lampoon and Double Dragon Publishing.

You can encounter John traveling the USA for book tours, panel discussions, speaking engagements, and leading workshops for organizations and universities. Topics he specializes in are entrepreneurship, productivity, publishing, writing, and disenfranchised communties in the arts. When he’s not on the road you’ll find John managing Broadkill Writers Resort where he regularly hosts writing retreats and specialized workshops at the beach on Delaware Bay. He is also founder of AllAccessCon, an event organizing company for making virtual and hybrid convention space available to attendees, vendors, and event sponsors.

John currently serves as vice president of Diverse Writers and Artists of Speculative Fiction. Other organizations he is a member of the Horror Writers Association, International Association of Innovation Professionals, Internet Marketers Association, and Nonfiction Authors Association.

Since a young age John has been involved in the visual arts. As a photographer John’s photography has been used as cover art for books, in marketing campaigns, and as home decor. He has also participated in the production of numerous short films, including award winners Party Girl and Uberman: An Experiment in Consciousness. Director Jayson Densman collaborated with John spawning a trilogy of PoVids derived from his poetry. His music project, Rage Inducer, has released seven singles and EPs with several more recorded and ready for distribution.

As a storyteller reviewers have compared John to J. G. Ballard, Clive Barker, Donald Barthelme, Ray Bradbury, William Burroughs, Wes Craven, David Cronenberg, R. Crumb, James Herbert, Shaun Hutson, John Irving, Franz Kafka, Sarah Kane, HP Lovecraft, the Marx Brothers, Carlton Mellick III, Monty Python, Vladimir Nabokov, George Orwell, Chuck Palahniuk, Johnathan Swift, Walter Tevis, and Kurt Vonnegut. If any of this sounds good to you please consider investigating his books.

Reviews

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know those crime movies you stumble upon late at night? The ones that were made (you assume) somewhere in the late 1990s? There's lots of action, backstabbing, double crossing, and sex? It's the movies that usually star some B actors you see everywhere but can't name. You know the type. The ones that aren't art films or heavy-handed attempts at making a "serious" film but rather fun crime romps through the desert, through Mexico, in and out of dangerous situations? Sexy women, strong men, strong women and action. Lots of action. Well... this is what LAST BURN IN HELL is like.. except the plot is warped with a keen sense of weirdness.

The feel of the novel reminds me of those films (which I love). Like a cross between TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, N.M., RED ROCK WEST, ... and other such neo-noir films.. except LAST BURN IN HELL (director's cut!) has a sense of humor.. and a sense of the bizarre that'll satisfy fans of the odd, the surreal, and the strange.

I won't go into the director's cut angle. Actually, okay, I will. It's a gimmick but a good one. Deleted scenes, alternate ending, and even a soundtrack (well, no, you can't really LISTEN to it but still..).

I'm fairly sure that this is John Edward Lawson's first novel. If it is, well, then pat yourself on the back for even considering reading this. It's exciting, funny, weird, and fast-paced. All good ingredients for an entertaining read.

PROS:
Humor. It's funny.. but not really absurd funny (well, not too much). It takes a lot of shots at pop culture and that makes for some good laughs.
Organization. There are little chapters and blurbs here and there (like a top 10 US singles chart.. which ties in later with the story). They're clever and funny.
Plot. The story moves along and the reader encounters many different characters in many places. If this was a movie, it'd be one where you wouldn't be bored for a minute.

CONS:
Confusion. Especially towards the end. I'm guessing that because the author writes a lot of poetry, he may be use to setting the stage using obscure imagery. That works in poetry but in fiction, it can sometimes make it difficult for the reader to figure out just what is really going on. I don't consider myself an unintelligent person but by the end, I wasn't too sure what exactly happened. I get the gist of it.. but there are just some details and events that confused me. Again, some people may not feel this way. Regardless, it shouldn't stop you from buying and reading this book.

CONCLUSION:
You should read this book. It's fun and entertaining as hell. The fact that it says "Director's Cut" should clue you in to the fact that it flows like a movie albeit one with some weird twists and turns. The set-up is original; the characters are original and/or humorously based on real-type people.

This is a "bizarro" book that you shouldn't miss.

[Screamingbutterfly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent debut novel... errr movie... by John Edward Lawson that will be sure to entertain you along the way. Lots of interesting characters who all have something to hide.

But I wasn't completely satisfied.

The novel progresses in a linear fashion until the end when we get a flashback, leaving you in the dark about the details of the narrators past until the very end. When things finally get revealed, I still felt in the dark about some things, especially Leena's motives.

The novel lacks the brutal surrealism I love so much about his short stories. While the story is definitly bizarre in many aspects, otherworldliness isn't introduced into the end, and by that time it's almost like a cheap trick. Just not what I was expecting, or even hoping to expect for an ending.

I think we'll see better from Lawson in the future. Still this is a decent debut novel. Anyone looking to read a fresh voice from an up-and-coming novelist should check this out.

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this is one of those books where you say, it wasn't at all what I expected but then you can't really remember what you expected. It was strange and the first chapter or so was really surreal and hard to follow but eventually it evened out.

I can't say the story's plot was all that exciting but it was a fairly enjoyable read. I liked the rap parts, they were hilarious and all the pop culture references. The swiming thing was kind of strange. I couldn't tell if it was there because the author was a swimmer or if he thought it would add depth to the character or as a tool to explain how the main character survives multiple action scenes involving water. (but did the action scenes come about because he was a swimmer or did the idea for the swimmer thing come about because of the action scenes - see what I mean?).

I really thought this one might be an extremely post-modern (in a bad way) read, but instead it was fairly straight forward (but very strange).

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hilarious tongue-in-cheek (or maybe teeth?) escapade that escalates to riotous proportions. The improbable happens and even if you don't believe it, Lawson will make you want to.

Note: I edited this book.