Freak
Ron Sanders
Diane Kasperski
If you would like to take a surreal ride on a wild rollercoaster, Freak
is the book to read. It starts out in the bizarre house of Marilyn
Purly. Ms. Purly is a recluse who has her walls and windows all painted
black. She is hearing voices and in a trance-like state but with it
enough to let Nicolas Villenov in and with it enough to unlock her
front door when he was not in the room. A raid by police catches
Villenov in the act of raping Marilyn. He's arrested and yet after the
event no one remembers it. They have the taped evidence but none of the
officers remember any events other than barging in on a couple looking
at a photo album.
The secret: don't ever, ever look Villenov in the eye……... They say
eyes are the windows to the soul, well if that is the case Villenov's
soul is pure evil.
He hires an attorney, Lawrence Abrams, with an impeccable reputation.
Mr. Abrams despises Villenov the moment he sets eyes on him. Larry
Abrams feels trapped in a case that he feels he shouldn't win but also
is terrified not to take.
The DA, Nelson Prentis, meets with Abrams and explains the bizarre
circumstances of Villenov's arrest also letting him know that his
client has escaped. Since newscasters have been broadcasting about
Villenov's arrest, dozens of women have come forward telling their
stories of rape by this monster. Prentis makes it his mission to get
Villenov put away.
Thus starts a rollercoaster ride of events scarier than any ever built.
Gruesome murders, suicide, and chaos reign wherever Villenov goes. In
reality he doesn't even have to be by a person or group of people to
cause havoc. As his anger level rises all hell breaks out around the
object of his thoughts.
He does get arrested again, goes to court and tells the story of his
father who he hated and the power his father had over everyone around
him and especially women. Villenov explains that his father was a
'freak' and each generation has stronger powers than the last.
To prove his point he asserts his telepathic power toward the judge
when the judge makes the mistake of looking directly into the
defendant's eyes. At the judge's declaration the trial is declared a
farce and Villenov goes free.
Ron Sander's builds the excitement and tension to an explosion of
events in the final chapters. The characters were interesting even
though I was a little disappointed that there wasn't a single
protagonist that could resist Villenov's powers. I guess though, that
just corroborates the total power he had over everyone as well as his
surroundings. He hated his father but in reality he had become just
like him. Hmmm, underlying message there? I don't really think that
there is but it is interesting to hear Villenov's diatribe about his
father and his lack of insight. The final pages are no real surprise
but it is a real trip to get there.