The Acolyte by Nick Cutter

(Publisher: ChiZine Publications, 2015)

I received a free copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

 
 
1984 meets Fahrenheit 451, meets the Spanish Inquisition and crime noir.
 
Brilliant, brutal, mildly horrifying; at times savagely funny…I think I have another favourite author in Nick Cutter.
 
In a country ruled by fundamentalist Christians, Jonah Murtagh is an Acolyte, an officer of the Faith Crimes Unit in the City of New Bethlehem – a unit which enforces religious conformance and operates outside the law.  Jonah’s involvement in an investigation into a series of terrorist bombings, expose him to the machinations of the extremist theocracy.
 
I could not put this book down.  At times I was horrified and at others I laughed out loud at the biting satire of Cutter’s writing.  The scariest thing is that I can see how you could extrapolate our current world into this dystopian vision.
 The characterisations are wonderful and the story is fast paced.  Cutter’s writing and use of imagery immerses you in this harsh world and two of the scenes made me grimace in their savagery; it takes a lot to make me do that. I loved every minute of it.  
 
This has to be one of the best books I’ve read in a long while.
 
Five out Five Stars.  Brutally Awesome.

Release Date: May 5th, 2015.