Irrational Fears

Bloomsbury Review

The tangled web of overlapping threads from the past and present conjures up a tale of good and evil, truth and denial, love and hopelessness.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Former literature professor Jack Lowry has been in Hurley Detox before--twice before. But the power of positive thinking isn't for everyone, and after five months of sobriety Jack is back for another dreary round of group therapy led by counselor Wesley Parks, a man with the "emotional resources of a mollusk." Worse yet, Jack finds himself attracted to fellow patient Kerry Beckett and a hopelessly one-sided relationship he knows is doomed from the start. But the vicissitudes of recovery are nothing compared to the threat to life and sanity presented by The Clear, a local cult whose leader claims that all drunks are progeny of an ancient alien tribe and that they must prepare for cosmic battle during the upcoming Unraveling. At first, The Clear seems more nuisance than danger. Then people start disappearing. Hinkle, a fellow patient, manages to escape the cult's clutches, only to meet a nasty end, swallowed head-first by a malevolent toilet--and that's only the beginning. As in his previous novels (Zod Wallop; Resume with Monsters), Spencer follows characters already beleaguered by the mundane world as they reluctantly make a stand against vast supernatural forces. Black humor lightens the darkness, from the Lovecraftian overtones of an AA meeting where the usual slogans are replaced with "One Day at a Zigmuth" and "But for the Grace of Azathoth," to the Whole Addiction Expo, a twisted send-up of the New Age recovery movement. Those who prize droll humor and vivid characters along with supernatural fireworks will love this finely crafted fantasy. (Aug.)

Library Journal

Ex-professor Jack Lowry's latest visit to an alcoholic rehabilitation hospital takes a decidedly bizarre turn when a cult called The Clear introduces a new (and monstrous) dimension to the process of recovery. The author of Zod Wallop (LJ 10/15/95) mixes social satire and over-the-top horror in a caustic, darkly humorous tale of one man's war against both real and imaginary demons. Spencer's characteristic eccentricity (reminiscent of Philip K. Dick and Ken Kesey) illuminates his latest novel and explores the fine line between madness and sanity. A good choice for most fantasy or general fiction collections.

Kirkus Reviews

An AA horror story that turns the Twelve Steps upside downþand wallows in sluggish language out of H.P. Lovecraftþby the author of, among others, Zod Wallop (1995). Spencerþs tale, though amusing, lacks the satirical bite that Twelve Steppers deserve. Still, the author builds quite a gothic tale from his villain's demented discourse about AA as both a gift and a curse. Jack Lowry, an American literature professor now on his third rehab, finds himself falling for fellow drunk Kerry Beckett, an 18-year-old half his age. When Jack enters Hurley Memorial detox in Alexandria, Virginia, and is driven with a crew of drunks to a nearby church for an AA meeting, heþs met outside the church with demonstrators of a rival recovery group, called The Clear, which views AA as an abomination: its leaflets declare YOU ARE IN HELL and announce that The Unraveling is at hand. Candy-popping counselor Wesley Parks departs for a newer rehab, gets sidetracked into The Clear, and when he returns sits engrossed in deep conversation with his daily Jell-O. Then Kerry is kidnaped by Dorian Greenway, head guru of The Clear, who lives with his recovery coven in a hell-house whose carpets crawl with virtual snakes. Dorian professes rich ideas about alcoholismþitþs an ancient curse spread by Lovecraftian monsters, one of which lives in the swimming pool in Dorianþs basement and eats up AAs in a bloodspray. When Jack and fellow recovering alkie Ed Tilman sneak into the hell-manse to find Kerry, they come upon naked Clear recruits gathered about the swimming pool, with a bare Kerry apparently encased in a block of ice. And that's just for starters, before the death machinesshow up. The best scene comes early, with a monstrous toilet that swallows a drunk.