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The Red Son
"I am first and foremost, an artist. The murders are but provision." - The Family Man
In a world horribly altered by a mysterious, year-long phenomenon dubbed the Great Darkness of 1999, the Family Man - a serial killer for whom dreaming and killing are intertwined - wanders the strange new landscape searching for answers.
Haunted by the powerful Red Dream visited upon him by the enigmatic Shepard Of Wolves, the Family Man stumbles across a kill list containing the names of other monstrous killers, some even more infamous than he. They have been drawn into the Shepard's Game - the ultimate contest of killers - and the prize is worth every drop of blood spilled in its name.
As the Family Man resolves to strike the killers' names from his list and unravel the mystery of the Shepard of Wolves, his own personal war against the waking world demands a heavy price - he must rouse the demons of his buried past.
In a world horribly altered by a mysterious, year-long phenomenon dubbed the Great Darkness of 1999, the Family Man - a serial killer for whom dreaming and killing are intertwined - wanders the strange new landscape searching for answers.
Haunted by the powerful Red Dream visited upon him by the enigmatic Shepard Of Wolves, the Family Man stumbles across a kill list containing the names of other monstrous killers, some even more infamous than he. They have been drawn into the Shepard's Game - the ultimate contest of killers - and the prize is worth every drop of blood spilled in its name.
As the Family Man resolves to strike the killers' names from his list and unravel the mystery of the Shepard of Wolves, his own personal war against the waking world demands a heavy price - he must rouse the demons of his buried past.
430 pages, Paperback
Published October 26, 2019
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372 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 14, 2020
Mr Anzalone has a grusomely unique style and carries it beautifully.
I enjoyed this book in the same way that I might enjoy staring deeply into a dark painting by Goya or Munch and trying to decern its secrets. Captivating, slightly uncomfortable, and super cool.
Individually, each chapter seems to draw out a more interesting encounter between characters than the last, and while superficially it might seem like a straight forward story (involving a lot of epic fights between nightmare caricatures), at the same time the hidden details are certainly there, little snippets into the bigger questions of the world involved. On the rare moments where we are told up front about the ways the world works, it only serves to ask more questions before moving on to ignore them just enough to keep you wondering if there might be more answers overleaf. (Somewhat akin to the storytelling styles of the From software games is probably my best comparison.)
While this book has enough of a closed ark that it could be read on it's own, I don't see how one couldn't feel a compulsion to see where the story goes from here. Absolutely recommended.
I enjoyed this book in the same way that I might enjoy staring deeply into a dark painting by Goya or Munch and trying to decern its secrets. Captivating, slightly uncomfortable, and super cool.
Individually, each chapter seems to draw out a more interesting encounter between characters than the last, and while superficially it might seem like a straight forward story (involving a lot of epic fights between nightmare caricatures), at the same time the hidden details are certainly there, little snippets into the bigger questions of the world involved. On the rare moments where we are told up front about the ways the world works, it only serves to ask more questions before moving on to ignore them just enough to keep you wondering if there might be more answers overleaf. (Somewhat akin to the storytelling styles of the From software games is probably my best comparison.)
While this book has enough of a closed ark that it could be read on it's own, I don't see how one couldn't feel a compulsion to see where the story goes from here. Absolutely recommended.
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November 22, 2019Think Lovecraft. Think Tim Burton. Think Alice In Wonderland. Think DC Comics and Korean horror films. Fill your visions with insanity and blood and dreams. Then you’re starting to get close the world inhabited by The Family Man.
March 6, 2025
Really enjoyed this! Takes some digesting to figure some of the parts out, but is very satisfying. Worldbuilding is thorough but leaves enough up to the imagination to get personal. Lots of exploration of dream vs reality, life/death and straddling that line, knowing vs ignorance in various forms. Felt like the ending crept up a little abruptly. Really liked our main character a lot and want to hear more about him. (There's no way this is the end?)
The writing is kind of variable throughout-- reads like a working podcast manuscript in parts with some placeholder phrases etc (which makes sense-- started out listening to the podcast and swapped to the book when heard it advertised & I think the book definitely improved on the podcast) and heavy prose poetry with beautiful construction. Lots of explanatory dialogue but also makes sense in the context of a podcast. Would definitely recommend if you're into 'weird'! :)
The writing is kind of variable throughout-- reads like a working podcast manuscript in parts with some placeholder phrases etc (which makes sense-- started out listening to the podcast and swapped to the book when heard it advertised & I think the book definitely improved on the podcast) and heavy prose poetry with beautiful construction. Lots of explanatory dialogue but also makes sense in the context of a podcast. Would definitely recommend if you're into 'weird'! :)
February 4, 2020
If you’re a fan atmospheric, pseudo reality horror — Clive Barker, Thomas Ligotti — this book will hit the spot for you. The language is poetic and lyrical, and it paints an abstract picture that teeters on the edge of dream and reality. The violence portrayed in this novel is shown in a manner I had seen before, and I quite enjoyed the personification of both the instruments of bloodshed and the bloodshed itself.
It’s different, for sure, but the unique style of Anzilone is definitely worth checking out for fans of surreal horror.
It’s different, for sure, but the unique style of Anzilone is definitely worth checking out for fans of surreal horror.
November 29, 2019
I was gifted this book in exchange for an honest review. This book had me envisioning a world somewhere between Mad Max and Book of Eli. A man wondering alone seeking answers to his dreams. Dreams that tie him to people he is hunting. people like him, other notorious killers. They all have a list of the same names and each hope to survive until the end. Is it a dream or sick game they have all been trapped in to playing? What is the goal of the game?
May 10, 2020
Blood was the main theme of this novel that is set in a sometime nightmare/dream state. The family man is playing a game where serial killers are given a list to kill other serial killers...with the aid of his twin sisters who love to play with sharp knives and his father who's strength with his huge spine shaped blade make mince meat of those they encounter. Was a little too far out with the blood and gore that I lost track of what the point of the story was at times.
January 15, 2026
This book has been sitting on my shelf since binging it after finishing the audio version. I thoroughly enjoyed it, the pacing, and the plot and would recommend it to anyone fond of dark fantasy alternate histories, and especially of well interacting power systems
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews