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John Baltisberger

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Blood & Mud Kindle Edition

by John Baltisberger (Author), Tim Murr (Editor) Format: Kindle Edition

4.5 19 ratings

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Austin Poet and author, John Baltisberger, (ARTIFICE OF FLESH, THE CONFIGURATION DISCORDANT) makes his St Rooster Books debut with a powerful kaiju novella full of Jewish mysticism, death, and destruction.

When a good man is senselessly murdered during Chicago's Gay pride event, Satan summons a horrifying monster of old, releasing both his anger and the monster in defiance of Heaven and humanity.

BLOOD & MUD includes an essay on Jewish occultism and mythology, revealing the rich tapestry of mystery and history that inspired Baltisberger and this harrowing novella.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This story is spiritual warfare the Righteous weren't expecting. I'll never look at the Devil the same way again...Deep, complex, timely, bloody, muddy, and violent. I took my time reading and enjoying this one."
-Jay Wilburn, author of Vampire Christ

"A unique horror perspective on traditional mysticism layered with over the top action sequences leavened with moral thinking on the nature of sin and the inherent value in mankind itself."
-Paul Lubaczewsky, author of A New Life and Cult of the Gator God

About the Author

The Mad Austin Poet, when not writing Kaiju Horror poetry, John can be found reading through the slush piles and submissions as the editor of Madness Heart Press. He spends his time squirreled away fervently working on the next book, only taking breaks to record episodes of Madness Heart Radio and Wandering Monster, or to eat, or to play with puppies. John lives with his patient and gorgeous wife Desiree, and maniacal and powerful daughter Aziza.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08BKXT6SS
Publisher ‏ : ‎ St Rooster Books; 1st edition (June 20, 2020)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 20, 2020
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2287 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 90 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ B08BF44PB9

Best Sellers Rank: #2,650,793 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #2,413 in Jewish Literature (Kindle Store)
- #5,450 in Jewish Literature & Fiction
- #27,453 in Two-Hour Literature & Fiction Short Reads

Customer Reviews:
4.5 19 ratings

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John Baltisberger

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John Baltisberger is an author of speculative and genre fiction that often focuses on Jewish Elements. Through his writing, he has explored themes of mysticism, faith, sin, and personal responsibility. He lives in Austin, TX with his wife and his daughter.

Though mostly known for his bizarre blend of Jewish mysticism and splatter, John defies being labeled under any one genre. His work has spanned extreme horror, urban fantasy, science fiction, cosmic horror, epic verse, and he has even written a guide for mindful meditation.

While relatively new to the writing community, (his first book was published in 2018) John has become known for his work in verse, having worked in both extremely short works and massive novella-length poetic epics. He continues to work to push himself to explore new avenues of expression and horror literature.

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4.5 out of 5

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J.N.Cameron

Beautiful! Intense! Horrifying!

Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2020

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What a fantastic whirlwind ride! If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading John Baltisberger, one of the emerging names in literary horror, then make this your first read. Baltisberger has successfully merged multiple traditions and genres to create a masterpiece. And if you think it’s just mythical sword battles, angels, demons, and golem horror, then you’re wrong. I don’t want to give spoilers, but this novel is so much more—it’s a deeply philosophical and spiritual creation and worthy of your attention. I’m drawn toward original, well-written stories, and this one met my expectations and more. I sincerely hope that the author gets the recognition for this that he deserves.

One person found this helpful

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RonV2

Intriguing

Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2021

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I know little of Jewish mythology and found the story fun, though confusing at times. Many of the names I have seen or heard without understanding them. I learned things I didn't know I needed to learn. This is always the sign of a good piece of work.

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Matthew Henshaw

A quick, rollicking, and thoughtful read!

Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2021

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A rollicking read, combining elements of giant monsters with Judaic philosophy. I really enjoyed the angelic encounters in the story, especially the first one with the hero, Jake. The messages of forgiveness and compassion were also extremely well done, with a beautiful epilogue I won't spoil. I also highly recommend reading the essay after the novella, as it week educate and enrich your enjoyment of the book!

Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2021

"Blood & Mud" (2020, 2021) by John Baltisberger is an odd contemporary novella about Satan, fed up with humankind’s sins, creating a giant Golem to kill and destroy everything in its path. Satan’s actions are countered by his fellow angels and independently, a Jewish soldier named Jacob. I learned a few things about Jewish culture and myths from the book while still being entertained, but making the Golem a seven-story-tall giant removed some of the meaningful drama for me. Sean Duregger’s narration held my interest. Recommended. At my request, I was given this free audiobook and have voluntarily left this review.

Kelvin L. Reed
Author of "Guilt by Association"

Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2020

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Great story and informative. As an enthusiast of various mythologies, I've never really given the Jewish faith a shot. That changes now. Thanks John.

One person found this helpful

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Lisa Lee

Evocative. Horrifying. Riveting.

Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2020

Blood & Mud by John Baltisberger is an absolutely riveting story!

This novella is evocative, horrifying, and a truly interesting read. It is based on Jewish lore and offers an uncommon presentation of angels, demons, historic monsters, and our concept of evil. The story doesn’t just flow, it moves and pulls you along with it.

Blood & Mud is part creature feature and part folklore horror. If you want a horrifying creature, you got it, and all the horrifying lore that goes with it. The story is completely entertaining, in a horror genre sort of way. Additionally, it has a lot of subtle depth for a novella. It’s a story about evil and the perception of evil—and consequently, the perception of good. The story doesn’t just entertain, it speaks to me. It makes me feel, it makes me think, it makes me cringe. I am becoming enraptured by Jewish Horror.

The brief essay following the story is a fantastic addition and worth the read. It gives insight into why you see a different representation of those in the story. Very intriguing.

I will have this shelf-worthy book in paperback, and I will read it again and again.

One person found this helpful

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Christine

Christine's Horror Fiction Reviews

Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2021

Three words: Jewish kaiju horror. Yes, you read that right. Yes, we're talking full-blown old-time old-school Old Testament stuff here. Religion, theology, and mythology. Angels, and I mean scary wrathful inhuman angels and archangels, with the fiery swords and wholesale slaughter.

And yes, we're also talking giant stompy city-leveling monster wreaking total havoc here. It's a golem, but not the standard slab of animated clay. This golem is made of the blood of the innocent, and the sins and hatefulness and awfulness of mankind. Of which, sad to say, there's a lot. A lot a lot. The more the golem kills, the more raw materials it absorbs into its mass, so the bigger it gets, which very quickly becomes a problem.

The last-straw event leading to the golem's creation is when a kindly old Jewish man and Holocaust survivor, who also happens to be one of the world's few true holy men, dies trying to help others in a celebratory pride parade. At that point, Satan decides he's had enough. He gets unjustly blamed for a lot of humanity's evil anyway, so decides it's time to live up to his reputation.

This, of course, doesn't go over well with the other powers that be, who are mobilized to stop Satan even as the mortal military scrambles to try and deal with the unprecedented situation. So, there's angel-on-angel combat, there's National Guard and Air Force throwing everything they've got at a seemingly impervious and unstoppable force.

My only quibble is my usual and predictable one of wishing it'd gotten a little more edit-type attention, but I'm peevish that way. As I've never been terribly familiar with Judaism and all its lore and mysticism, the Kabbalah, etc.; I found this book as fascinating from that scholarly perspective as for its no-holds-barred carnage and destruction. Educational AND entertaining! Can't go wrong there!

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Christina Eleanor

Horror with a Jewish twist!

Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2020

This is a truly horrifying story that incorporates Jewish folklore and monsters told from a perspective that we normally don’t see. The opening chapter was gripping and took me back to the time of the Holocaust. Baltisberger is fantastic at descriptors! I felt the pain, suffering, and fear throughout the book. He made me feel as I was in the story watching as things unfolded. It was a very powerful story for me to read which is why I needed to wait a few days to write this review after I finished the book! I loved the essay at the end of the book that explains the folklore and meanings from the story. That essay wrapped this story up in the pretty bow it deserves!

Satan has come to earth to “take away the sin of the world.” Other celestial beings intervene and try to reason with him. One human makes it his mission to stop the man who walks along side the creature. This is a page turner that you will get drawn into and not want to stop!

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Enrico Signoretti

another great hit!

Reviewed in Italy on July 21, 2020

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I've been following John Baltisberger for a while now and I love his style and the new ideas he puts in his books.
This books confirms his talent and I strongly suggest you to read it. Unfortunately I'm not in the Jewish culture and mythology some times i lose some of the details, but the book has a fast pace and is very easy to read. There is also a part at the end that gives some more context on it, which made me wanting to know more.

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