Words of john g rees

john g rees is not your average author/publisher. He’s not your average conversationalist, your average martyr, or your average anything, for that matter.

Born in the Midwest, rees has traveled the world, working and playing, settling on the Big Island of Hawaii. He plied the waters around Oahu and other islands in the Hawaiian Island Chain as a commercial diver in the 80’s and 90’s, gaining experiential knowledge for that which was to pour forth from his head when he started writing.

Life continued for rees. There were several deaths, one being his father, another a close friend, that ‘inspired’ him to set words upon paper (actually tapping his laptop in his favorite chair).

When he was ready to publish his first novel, ‘anoxic zone’ in 2009, he formed his own publishing company in Hawaii, Black Water Books for the First Edition. With the second edition, ‘anoxic zone’ was a finalist in USA Best Books 2009 for the “Fiction – Horror” Category.

Next came ‘Halocline’ appearing in October of 2010. Again published by his own Black Water Books, ‘Halocline’ was awarded the 2011 Silver IPPY for Horror, bestowed by Independent Book Publishers this May.

Black Water Books is preparing to publish the third in john g rees’ series of near-future horror novels this fall. BLACK TIDE is a pre-quel of his first two books, ‘anoxic zone’ and ‘Halocline’, informing his readers of the early years of his main characters and how they became just what they are: REUSEABLE.    john doesn’t quite consider himself that far gone yet…

That’s another thing that sets john g rees aside as a writer – his mixed characters and allegories; one is never sure which is which.

One reviewer wrote that rees’… “has given literary birth to a genre of vampires that combines the original evil with the charming (albeit fleeting) lure of redemption.” His main characters are ‘reuseables’ – whom (most of them, anyway) are completely controlled by MEGACORP – the organization that runs and maintains most of the dark world in rees’ near-future novels.

His books grab the reader on that first page, tie a rope around your neck, and then proceed to drag you happily through some of the most disturbing feculent situations and disgusting dank circumstances, all with the author’s apparent amusing observational contempt of a writer who has been there and done that. (And apparently to the reader’s amusement and approval, as well.)

Besides your everyday greed and hunger for power, there are impalings, crucifixions, and many, many brutal murders. These are some of the embellishments of rees’ future world.

Rees has been there and done that. As a salvage diver, rees’ saw and did many things that those still in the industry don’t talk about. That’s one of the things about the commercial diving industry. It truly is dangerous. Much of his novels take place underwater, where seriously exciting  happenings occur. Rees’ travels have taken him around the world – he has seen many places, faces and cases with which to draw upon.

There are much more personal goings on, which he deals with nicely and there are some superb ‘marine archeology’ scenes that may make you want to puke! But you laugh along with the author at the foibles of our characters, which you grow to become interested in, very quickly! You WANT to know what happens to them all.

Prepare yourself to read his next book BLACK TIDE to know the inside story of the ‘reuseables’ and how much like them we really all are!

– M Posa