Review: A Satisfying Ending
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 17, 2014
In the fascinating and horrifying world created by Jason Gurley in Greatfall, the major architect of evil was allowed to slip away, slithering into the darkness of the deep earth to survive in some unimagined way.  Now, with The Book of Matthew, Gurley completes the story and answers the question of what happened to this monster.In deft strokes, sketching in six paranoid decades and a few brief interludes of happiness, the author creates a life for Matthew beyond the days of Greatfall.  He tells us just enough about how the villain managed to survive, and to recreate himself, in part.  Delicately balancing the immortal guilt for his deeds with Matthew's urge to survive... a weak urge, tested regularly... the author doesn't allow this character to explain himself or to make everything all right.  Because nothing could.It's hard to end stories in a satisfying way, and it's particularly hard with tales that include great evil.  What is enough to punish those who have done such demonic wrongs?  Only their own horror at what they have wrought can come close.Leaving us with a nuanced portrait of a man once the master of ritualized murder, Gurley has done the very difficult very well.  And he left Matthew right where he belonged.