Body and Blood

I hate him a little right now.

Father James Keenan heard a disturbance in the church, so he put on his Kevlar blazer and grabbed the pulse rifle. Instead of thieves trying to steal from Sunday’s collection, he finds two literal ghouls trying to steal the consecrated hosts from the tabernacle. With the help of his 6’3” fellow priest (and former pit fighter) Akono Nwosou, the two creatures are barely beaten back. This is the opening scene of Michael Gallagher’s Body and Blood. There’s a bounty on all things religious, and every local temple and church is being raided, tags left on their doors. After this, nothing gets easier. Keenan and Nwosou have to wage spiritual and literal warfare against a demonic street gang, led by a demonic witch, operating out of the “Black Hollow projects.” But they have allies of their own. And this war is going to be Hell on Earth. This is the first book by Michael Gallagher, and I hate him just a little now. Aside from one or two difficulties in the last few pages, this book is damn near perfect. There’s no preaching, except for an occasional doctrinal element that acts as a plot device, then it can go on a few sentences too long. Body and Blood has a colorful cast of characters, from our two main characters, to the parish secretary, who looks like Jeanine from Ghostbusters, only armed. Along the way, we have the motorcycle gang whose members all bring their Abuela to church. There is also the Russian restaurant owner who the demonic gangbangers try to strongarm. Our villains are represented by two characters. The gang leader Ojo is the primary point of view character for the dark side, and he follows the darkness, despite being wary of it. He is entertaining, and he gives us a perspective of why anyone is following the witch of Black Hollow. The Witch herself looks like Mister Roger’s grandmother, until you scratch the surface to the eldritch horror beneath. Personally, I enjoyed the assassin-for-hire who is the little man who wasn’t there, and makes dad jokes. And seriously, do not mess with the parish secretary. Body and Blood is a fun novel that will grab you by the throat and not let you go until it’s finished. It is a fun, entertaining romp through a near-future world where things are slowly going to Hell in a handcart, but no one here is going down without a fight. Original review at Upstream: https://upstreamreviews.substack.com/p/bbmg