Previously, on The Shadow God:

La finale!

And now:

Welcome back. Did you miss me? I missed you.

This is the wrap-up, the place where we take The Shadow God apart and talk about why it does and doesn't work. If you're new to this series, I recommend you go and start from chapter one. Or not. Do as your prerogative tells you.

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Previously, on The Shadow God:

Tennis!

And now:

The chapter has a new POV: Craig's previously mentioned friend, Mark. And it begins with the narrator summing up his character again:

He was fascinated with two things and two things only. Sports and girls. Though, he wasn’t very good at either. His coordination was a little off in one and he lacked knowledge in the other. Regardless of the way anyone viewed it, he was in bad shape.

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Sorry this post is relatively late; it's not for no reason, though.

Managed to fall off my bicycle and break a finger. I spent most of my day in the hospital. Doc says I might need surgery.

Good times.

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Previously, on The Shadow God:

I always feel like somebody's watching meeeeeeee.

And now:

We open the chapter once again with the dynamic duo, the power pair, the brilliant buddies, Detective Underwood and his partner Eubanks.

Underwood glared at him. “Don’t tell me what I should and shouldn’t do. Remember, you’re under my authority. You came to me a year ago to learn how to be a detective and why was that?”

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Previously, on The Shadow God:

The Shadow God!

And now:

The chapter begins and we find ourselves with Detective Underwood and company. It seems Father Spiers has reported that the boys broke into his church earlier.

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Previously, on The Shadow God:

Todd killed a man! Maybe.

And now:

Sorry for the late chapter yesterday, folks. I was busy visiting three different hospitals and a physiotherapy joint. I didn't even get to eat until around 6 PM. Not a good time!

Anyway, we open the twelfth chapter of this masterpiece of a book with Craig running from the hospital to Mark's house, which takes him half an hour. Pretty impressive.

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Previously, on The Shadow God:

A whole bunch of murder!

And now:

Before we begin, I just want to warn everyone: this chapter contains a depiction of a sexual assault. I'm adding this warning in so it doesn't take anyone who might not be okay with that by surprise. I'm not going to show any of it, but please skip this chapter if you need to. I'll provide a summary of the key points in the beginning of the next chapter for you.

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Hello, ladies. Gentlemen. Folks. May I call you my friends? Welcome back to my cabinet of horrors.

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Previously, on The Shadow God:

Mark killed a man!

And now:

Okay. So. The big news I mentioned yesterday. You ready for it? Because I was ecstatic to find this.

Here we go.

I previously linked the Google Books preview of Aaron Rayburn's second novel, Spiritual Sorrow. Well, I was looking through that again, and I noticed that at the end of the preview is an author's note. So I took a peek. And, believe me, you are not ready for this:

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Previously, on The Shadow God:

The boss rush!

And now:

Craig awakens in the blue sky-ed, green pasture-ed, cave-nearby-ed scenery of his dreams.

Maybe THIS is a dream, Craig.
No, it wasn’t. He could tell it wasn’t because each breath he drew felt like sucking in clean, crisp oxygen from a tank. It was the freshest air he had ever breathed. It infiltrated his lungs, filling them with a kind of innovativeness he had never felt before.

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Previously, on The Shadow God:

Three for the price of one!

And now:

The chapter opens with Craig and the Blood Bros burying the old man's body in Mark's back yard.

“What if he comes back?” Todd asked, his voice taking on a frightened edge.
“Look,” said Mark. “I can assure you this ain’t no Pet Sematary.”

Oh, believe me, I've noticed.

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Previously, on The Shadow God:

Murder most foul!

And now:

We open the first real chapter with... tennis.

It was only a matter of minutes before Mark Williams made himself look like a fool in front of the camera. Todd Harris borrowed his dad’s video camera for the day, deciding that it would be a good laugh to record Mark’s horrendous tennis skills.

At least it isn't baseball.

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Previously, on The Shadow God:

Just stay dead, would you?

And now:

Only five chapters to go, folks!

We begin with Craig and Todd, who have just exited the library. Even after all they've been through, Todd doesn't want to go to the Dead Woods.

Seriously, though, when your dad was talking about his dreams, did it never occur to you that the woods he was seeing might have been the spooky, cursed woods?

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Previously, on The Shadow God:

Not a whole lot!

And now:

I am excited to announce that we are now one-fifth of the way through the book.

Yeah.

Craig wakes up in the morning and begins to get dressed. He's going to meet his father today. His mother enters the room and gives him a look.

“That poor Kristy,” said Susan shamefully.

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Previously, on The Shadow God:

Bloodborne disease brothers for life!

And now:

Before we begin today, I have something to share. I noticed something interesting in one of the reviews for The Shadow God:

The back cover copy reads [...] The author photo [...] His bio[...]

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Previously, on The Shadow God:

A lot of crying!

And now:

Health update: surgery went well. I can't feel or move my arm. Now I'm really typing with one hand.

The chapter begins with Craig's mother, Susan, finding him curled up on the floor next to his closet, covered by a blanket. Nice of the pillar to give that to him; wouldn't want him to get too cold.

Someone's there to see Craig. It's Kristy, his girlfriend.

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Previously, on The Shadow God:

Indecent exposure!

And now:

Craig and Mark are on the road, headed for Spiers' church. Craig decides now's as good a time as any to ask Mark what his sister knows.

Mark kept his eyes on the road, even though he wasn’t driving. “Oh, yeah? Like what? Like how she wants to fuck you or something?”
“No, something a little more serious.”
Mark turned toward him and shrugged. “What’d she say?”

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Previously, on The Shadow God:

Sledgehammers!

And now:

We resume our tale of woe and misery with Craig and Todd on the ground, Detective Eubanks pointing a gun at them. He wants to know what they know.

The detective kept his pistol poised on Craig. “My … partner …” Eubanks wiped his mouth. “My partner …” he began again.
“Are you talking about Underwood?” Craig asked. “What about the prick?”
“D-d-deeead!” Eubanks spat, wiping his mouth again.

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Previously, on The Shadow God:

Ugh.

And now:

Quick summary of the previous chapter for anyone who skipped: Craig and Todd got away from Detective Underwood. Mark crossed the moral event horizon. Mark and Kristy were killed by Ridley.

Let us speak of it no more.

This chapter is called "A History Lesson", and begins with Craig once again dreaming of the same place he always seems to dream of:

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Previously, on The Shadow God:

Spelunking!

And now:

The chapter begins where we left off: Craig and Todd have just discovered that the cave they were exploring leads to Father Spiers' church.

Craig opens the door a little and peeks inside. He sees that almost the entire town is there, sitting in the pews, facing Father Spiers and a man Craig doesn't recognize but who is surely Ridley.

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