so eerie

This gave me goosebumps. I'm not superstitious but this made me enough weary to skip over the incantation just in case. I really liked the whole "sold their soul to because musical genius" aspect.

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Wow!

This was definitely one of my favorite audiobooks of all time! Demon and metal music. What an entertaining combination! Full of metal references and ties in to recent events perfectly. Written my one of my favorite authors and perfect narrator for the book. I'd rate it higher than 5* if I could.

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Heavy Metal and Blood

What would you do to make your dreams a reality? What would you give? What would you do for a Klondike bar?
(Scratch that last one)
What a ride. Jay Bowerer’s book Cadaverous is everything I wanted from a heavy metal horror book. The imagery, the graphic content, the music! It all formed together to give the reader one hell of a ride.
In this story, we meet Gaige. He is a 17-year-old who dreams of becoming a rock star! I mean, who hasn’t? That was always my dream too! After watching a fateful Ozzy concert in his hometown, that dream takes a wild turn. Given the opportunity to become the greatest musician ever, Gaige seizes it and what follows is a bloody carnage of a book that made me finish this in two days. I even had to listen to it at work because I wanted to know how it ended.
Read by the wonderful Joe Hempell, the audio version of this book was also excellently done and kept me engaged the entire time.
Let's get to the meat of the story
Setting: This story takes place in a small town. I love reading a well-written, coming-of-age story about kids who want to escape the small town life and make it big. I give this a five.
Characters: The characters were well-written and, especially the character of Gaige, made you really get to know them. With an abusive father, an alcoholic mother, and a sister who couldn’t care less, you really feel for Gaige, and can almost understand the measures he took to escape his small-town life. I give this a five.
Story: this story was extremely well done. I was quickly engulfed in it from the first page and was left wanting more when the story ended. I also give this a five.
Overall, this story gets 5 stars from me. And the added playlist link at the back of the eBook has become something I will listen to from now on.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Wicked fun.

This sick and twisted story was so much fun. I didn't want to stop listening once I started. It was a quick read which kept me wanting more. It left me wondering what I would do to get everything I ever wanted.

Cadaverous is a wild and demonic story about teen, Gaige Penrod, who wants to be the best musician he can be. Him and his friends have a garage metal band and are hoping to hit the big time. Gaige goes to an Ozzy concert and sees an unexplainable dark presence upon the stage that appears to reach out to him. He then becomes obsessed with learning about the occult. In the pursuit of fame he make a wicked deal with the shadowy figure. He soon realizes he must go to great lengths to keep this entity in his pocket.

Jay Bower did an amazing job with this story and I am excited to read more form him.

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Wild ride!!

Jay Bower + Joe Hempel = chef’s kiss!!
This was such a fun and entertaining book. You have demons, heavy metal, blood baths and a Faustian deal. Perfect for horror fans.

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A Deal with the Devil

Gaige Penrod is a typical teenage boy when he gets the chance to attend a concert held in conjunction with a solar eclipse. At the time of the total eclipse, he "sees" black tendrils coming from the stage as Ozzy performs and feels something happen inside him. But, nobody else seems to have noticed anything.

Gaige and his friends have a heavy metal-type band and his big desire in life is to become great. After picking the name Cadaverous at the suggestion of his friend/band member, Gaige explores the meaning of this name and "meets" the entity known as Paimon. Gaige is determined to rise to legendary status at any cost and that's where the trouble begins

I have read a lot of Faustian tales where a musician makes a pact with the Devil (or some type of demon) and this is a great addition to that genre. Gaige and his girlfriend, Lisa, seem to have no qualms at doing the bidding of Paimon in order to get what they want.

The author has written the book in a unique way as posts to a blog written by Gaige. The story unfolds through these posts and the reader experiences the carnage along with Gaige. The warning about the incantations used and the ending also added a different touch to this story.

The narrator, Joe Hempel, is one of my favorites for the horror genre and his performance for this book is perfect (as usual). This book could be considered as a YA book, but there is plenty of gore and a few scenes that might be inappropriate for younger readers.

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Rock n Roll.

How far would you go to be a star? The characters in this book will not stop. Offering sacrifices, or self harm, no price is too high. This book never lets up in the third act. The narrator is fantastic and really helps you understand the conflict in the characters.

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The most dangerous band in the world …

I had been trying to find a good Faustian themed book to read for awhile now and along comes Cadaverous. Even better I was lucky enough to receive an Audible code from the author. I absolutely loved this book! This was a very original twist on an old trope, well written, engaging, memorable characters and plenty of gore with some twists and turns I didn’t see coming. To me all the great horror novels all do one thing, they get you invested in the characters and then do some really screwed up stuff to them. There is plenty of that here. If you are a horror fan this book needs to be on your radar. I will definitely be reading more of this authors work.
I also really enjoyed the performance given by Joe Hempel and feel it added to my enjoyment of this book.

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2 people found this helpful

Nostalgic and dark

Gaige Penrod yearns for the light of musical greatness. A self-taught metal guitarist with a dream of being the greatest, he finds himself drawn to a concert celebrating an eclipse, where he is overcome by an otherworldly presence that changes him forever.

The first part of this story felt so nostalgic. I saw myself as a teenager, going to outdoor concerts at Alpine Valley and listening to my boyfriend's band practice in our friends barn. I could totally relate to Gaige and his friends as they hung out, practiced music, and navigated thru life.

As the story propels forward, Gaige becomes entangled with a dark force and obsessed with fame, and no sacrifice is too big to fulfill his destiny. I loved the ominous ending of this story, with events that are still to unfold in April of 2024. It feels so real that it has me cautiously awaiting what's to come. Lol

Joe Hempel is a favorite narrator that did a fantastic job on this story as expected.

The ebook has a Spotify playlist link!

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Wicked!

I just finished listening to this book and it was excellent 👌. I loved every second of it. Excellently written & performed. A must read!

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