‘Beast Of Burden’ By Judith Sonnet – Book Review

Judith Sonnet is one of my absolute favorite authors, so anything she writes is an auto-buy for me. But when I saw that her novella Beast of Burden was about demons and black metal, I dropped everything to read it immediately. And I have no regrets. Beast of Burden is available in ebook or paperback now on Amazon. 

Synopsis

After their bassist decides to quit the band, Geriatric Genocide is low on morale. They want to be the next big thing in metal, but the remaining members are just stuck at home. Growing old, but not growing up.

It’s decided that they will go into the forest for a photoshoot, which should lift their spirits…

But things go wrong for the band members (Virtue, Mort, and Rufus) when they are forced into a cave. A dark place, where something evil, ancient, and hungry lurks!

Beast of Burden was a crazy-fun ride of a novella. Young black metal band Geriatric Genocide is experiencing growing pains, as bassist Clyde ditches the band to get a “real” job. But when black metal lyrics suddenly become reality, remaining band members Mort, Rufus, and Virtue will find out how hardcore they really are. Words like “evisceration” sound pretty cool and make great metal lyrics, but it’s entirely different when you see it happen to your friend.

Beast of Burden is absolutely filled with top notch music and movie references and feels like it offers a lot of insight into Judith Sonnet‘s list of favorites. If you’ve never done a deep dive into the history of black metal, be prepared to do some Googling. As a black metal fan and occasional obsessive researcher, I was thrilled at all of the references and historical tidbits sprinkled throughout the story. 

But the best part of Beast of Burden is definitely the characters. As always, Judith Sonnet’s characters are full and realistic. There is nothing fake, flat, or phoned-in here. Mort, Rufus, and Virtue feel like people I know. In fact, I’m almost positive I went to high school with them. 

If you are looking for a quick read that still delivers on plot and character, look no further. Beast of Burden may be a scant 140 pages, but it really packs in the details, and a gut punch of an ending that you will still be feeling days later.