Temper

A Novel

By: Nicky Drayden

Narrated by: Mirron Willis

In a land similar to South Africa, twin brothers are beset by powerful forces beyond their understanding or control in this thrilling blend of science fiction, horror, magic, and dark humor - evocative of the works of Lauren Beukes, Ian McDonald, and Nnedi Okorafor - from the author of The Prey of Gods.

Two brothers.

Seven vices.

One demonic possession.

Can this relationship survive?

Auben Mutze has more vices than he can deal with - six to be exact - each branded down his arm for all the world to see. They mark him as a lesser twin in society, as inferior, but there’s no way he’ll let that define him. Intelligent and outgoing, Auben’s spirited antics make him popular among the other students at his underprivileged high school. So what if he’s envious of his twin Kasim, whose single vice brand is a ticket to a better life, one that likely won’t involve Auben.

The twins’ strained relationship threatens to snap when Auben starts hearing voices that speak to his dangerous side - encouraging him to perform evil deeds that go beyond innocent mischief. Lechery, deceit, and vanity run rampant. And then there are the inexplicable blood cravings....

On the southern tip of an African continent that could have been, demons get up to no good during the time of year when temperatures dip and temptations rise. Auben needs to rid himself of these maddening voices before they cause him to lose track of time. To lose his mind. And to lose his...Temper.

©2018 Nicky Drayden (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Frenetic, hilarious and poignant.

This book was absolutely wonderful. It was surprising and illuminating and engaged all of my senses. The narrator is absolutely fantastic and adds volumes.

Nicky Drayden -Weird,Twisted,Brilliant - I Love It

Nicky Drayden is Weird and Twisted and Brilliant and becoming one of my favorite authors!
I Love her stories and her characters!

What in the zagnut was that?!

“Should I call the sanitation department. Because it feels like you’re talking a load of s.”
This was not the gritty, sci-fi, supernatural horror story I was expecting. The beginning was especially high school, with yo mama jokes and animal sex euphemisms, and focusing on two twin teens doing the stupid things teens do.

“Is that a wax p in your pants or are you ready to get this exorcism started?”
Then it morphed into Goosebumps level horror … with weird sex focused … everything that reminded me of Benny Hill or any 70s sitcom with a laugh track. There’s a steady increase in death and comic level horror as things go Werewolf in London meets Kafka’s Metamorphosis … only in South Africa.

“You blackmailed her?”
“It’s the best kind of male.”
The humor was kinda dark but more Rocky Horror Picture Show warped- although I admit that my RHS vibes may have been from the Tim Curry-like narration that was smarmy and OTT and told the story with a wink and a nod.

“Science became something you did alone, in shame, under the covers of night- maybe with a few close and trusted partners if you yearned to share your titillating theories of chemistry, biology, astronomy … and if your were feeling particularly dirty, you might partake in mechanics as well.”
There were a lot of cool concepts that never quite came together for me, like the divide between the majority following a mythical vice/virtue religion and the minority practicing science in secret.

“We are more than the sum of our virtues and vices.”
The core mythology of a world of twins bearing inversely related numbers of vices versus virtues was enticing. But, apart from one tiny info dump in the second half, I had more questions than answers about the hows and the whys and the what in the zagnut did I just listen to?