Review: A superb paranormal thriller.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 9, 2014
Terry M. West's thriller  Dead Aware is a supernatural detective story, presented in screenplay format, that caught me off guard by managing to succeed where many screenplays do not. More on that in a moment.The story introduces us to Dunlavey, a private eye with the ability to see the dead all around him. Dunlavey is a burnt out shell of a man, a decent soul who uses sex, drugs and booze to blot out the horrors that isolate him from the world he occupies.We learn that his talents are often useful in helping him solve cases and it is in this capacity that he is drawn into the investigation of the particularly nasty series of murders which constitute the core of Dead Aware. As the investigation continues, events grown darker and more disturbing, involving Dunlavey on a personal level and threatening to destroy everything he cares about.I'm not a particular fan of the screenplay form but, to my surprise, reading this piece was a fluid and addictive experience. Put simply, once I began , I found myself unable to pull myself away until the final fade out.The key here is West's prose. This is possibly the most literate screenplay I've ever read. Even in the stop and go style of a screenplay, West's command of the language is as powerful as ever, evoking vivid imagery while propelling the narrative at a clip. As is usually the case with this author's work, he tends to take cliche's and switch them up to great effect.  The concept of a detective or other character seeing the dead isn't new- titles such as Dylan Dog, RIPD and the The Ghost Whisperer all come to mind- but nothing is borrowed here.  West makes it completely his own and it all feels fresh.Dunlavey is painted as a haunted, flawed human being with a basically good heart. He engages in lurid debauchery, but there's a reason for his excesses and - rather than fault him - I found myself sympathizing with this wounded man who is forced to walk a psychological tightrope that would drive other people insane.In fact, a refreshing  aspect of Dead Aware is that West gets right the element that most screenplays get wrong: The relationships. Amidst the horror, gore and action,  my favorite passages in the story were the ones where Dunlavey was engaging in a spirited and frequently funny patter with his lover  Roxy, a  sharp, sexy woman of the night who appreciates Dunlavey for who he is and has fun verbally sparring with him,. I also enjoyed the back and forth between the weary private eye and his eager, uber-geek  building superintendent Gavin. As was the case with his superior effort "Cecil and Bubba Meet the Thang", West demonstrates his uncanny knack for giving what could be stereotypical characters a lot more depth than you'd expect. It's an attribute of his writing that elevates it to a higher tier and,  I suspect, a quality that brings readers back time and again.This is a fun, energized, creative and intelligent read. It has an engaging protagonist and well drawn character relationships. It also pays its dues as a full blast  horror tale, replete with all manner of ghastly ghouls and a lot of the red stuff. Astute fans will also catch the connection to some of West's other work during a scene set in a subway.The Bottom Line: I had an absolute blast with this and recommend it to any horror fan.