Witch Hunter: Into The Outside by J.Z. Foster REVIEWED

Let's skip all the fun and games, the flowery narrative around my reading of a book for once, shall we?

The nitty-gritty, brass tacks and all that:

J.Z. Foster is destined for great things. I sense serious mainstream crossover potential after reading this, his debut novel, Witch Hunter: Into The Outside.

Richard Fitcher is a lonesome hack of a witch hunter. Looking to meet some new  friends, thinking he's getting involved with some LARPers, Richard ends up a hokey  hoax. He gets more than he bargained for when he's volunteered to help a down-on-her-luck newscaster and her cameraman shoot a story on a local Autumn festival in supposedly bewitched town. Things get quicky out of hand and the three are up against all sorts of supernatural beings. It's up to our faux-hero to get it together and become a real hero to save not only their lives, but the whole town from a very real bewitching at the hands of a wicked Warlock.

I had a great time with this one. It's a bit out of the realm of what I tend to go for when selecting books, a bit more light-hearted. The blazing action-packed approach, and getting a new, cool monster-a-minute thrown at the reader kept me turning the pages.

Foster writes like a seasoned veteran, with a knack for peppering humor and blazing action into his horror story...while reading this I couldn't help just seeing the potential for adaptation into a binge-worthy television series.

The vignette-like set-up of the book lends itself to that, with the sometimes funny, sometimes gruesome mishaps of chubby anti-hero, Richard Fitcher and his gang. It's practically ready to produce as a television series in it's episodic approach, with the interrogation room that much of the novel takes place in as the wrap-around...I can hear the narrator now..."Tune in next week to see if Richard, Ted and Beth defeat the Sankai!? Is the Wight friend or Foe!? Just who is Minges!? Next time on....WITCH HUNTER..."

It's this comic bookish nature, the episodic approach that makes it a fun ride. Moments of goopy monster action, funny exchanges between the characters, explosions and plenty more...it's a blast for a first-time novelist.

The tangential nature, as fun as it was, was a bit of a deterrent to keeping my full attention at times, but it's an otherwise great debut.

Outside of my reader-comfort zone, but a very enjoyable read nonetheless.

4/5.

I am definitely taking notice of J.Z. Foster and recommend that you do. He's got quite a year planned ahead, with two titles, The Wicked Ones and Mind Wreck, on the horizon for this year. Undivine Interventions will be watching his every move!

In fact, his next title, The Wicked Ones: Children of the Lost will be coming out next month! To coincide with the release, we will be giving away THREE COPIES of Witch Hunter right here! We will also be getting a shot to chat with Foster, see what gets this guy going.

Grab copy of the book here and keep your eyes on the blog for more reviews, the giveaway and soon, interviews with some of my favorite authors, including J.Z. Foster!