Body Surfing

Great book for fantasy lovers who want a more mature fantasy to get away from the common TEEN Fantasy.

Peck, Dale. "Body Surfing: A Novel", Atria, 2009. A Supernatural Thriller Amos Lassen Set in upstate New York, Dale Peck's new novel, "Body Surfing", is a supernatural thriller about a race of extremely sexual demons known as Morgan. They looked for human victims and took temporary possession of them. While the victims are possessed they gain powers by which they can recover from injury. Jasper Van Arsdale discovers this when his best friend, Q., is taken by Leo, a perverse Mogran and drives them and their girlfriends into the side of a mountain. This fast-moving novel is full of twists and surprises. The Mogran have grown out of the collective unconscious and their story is sexy and unsettling. What is so interesting is that we are taken to a new world which greatly resembles the world we live in. As the Mogran inhabit the bodies of humans wreak havoc on Jasper and Q, two typical high school boys who live for parties and girlfriends. Q. suddenly begins to act recklessly and Jasper is concerned. When both of their lives were put in danger, it seems sure that Q. is possessed by something very sinister, At the same time in Khartoum, Ileana tracks a man who leaves behind a trail of blood and bodies and in turn there is a great deal of strife. She is supposed to stop him; she is belongs to an elite group of hunters trying to decipher a mystery that drives people to commit terrible crimes. When Ileana and Jasper come together their friendship is tested and become involved in a violent battle. Peck's novel teems with the occult but with a new twist and there are new looks at metamorphosis. This is nothing like anything you might have read by Peck as this novel looks at pop culture vampirism. The focus of the novel is on a race of evil beings (the Mogran) that can slip into the bodies of people and take over their minds so that they cause violence to those around them while they take on the appearance of the host body but replace the mind with their own. Genre-wise the novel falls into two categories--horror and thriller. We visit malevolent places where evil exists and violence brings on more violence. It is well written even if not totally believable.

Let me begin by confessing that "The Law of Enclosures" is my favorite book of all time. It, too, involved some wonderful "cutting edge" experimentation. I've seen some reviews for this book that seem so "closed-minded." Expand, imagine and enjoy the otherworldly landscape Peck creates in "Body Surfing." I loved this book and I particularly enjoyed the fact that it's OUT THERE. Quite honestly this novel has the potential to be a wonderful series because Peck has so expertly created another world with new rules. EXCELLENT READ.

This novel takes several interesting Occult ingredients and gives them a unique and interesting twist. New takes on metempsychosis (moving from one body to another), demons, and possession make this tale more than just a re-hash of the "same old". If you're looking for an interesting and entertaining book for this Spring, "Body Surfing" is one of the better new choices. Check it out.

Q and Jasper have been friends since their early childhood, but lately the former has been acting strangely out of control even for a high school student until he maneuvers matters so that Jasper dies in a car accident in which Q drove. Instead of reaching the pearly gates, the fires of hell, or a bureaucratic weigh station, Jasper finds himself inside the bodies of fellow teen Jarhead and then that of EMT Larry Bishop. He learns he was possessed by a Mogran (demons) demon who succeeded in converting Jasper into one of them. However, the teen retains much of his human traits and detests jumping from host to host because each time the mind of the body he leaves behind changes for the worse following their experience with possession. Khartoum based Ilena Magdalen was once possessed by a demon; under his control she committed atrocities that leave her thirsting for vengeance against the Mogran race As the Huntress, she is dedicated to the genocide of all demons on earth. When she learns her current target Leo is in upstate New York, she goes there to kill him and feels no remorse if his host dies too. For that matter transformed Jasper can also become a collateral damage victim. Q and Jasper prepare to fight this fanatic who fails to see how humanly different the former is. Demons are ephemeral spirits who need a body as they were once mortal and are addicted to human living. Q and Jasper are fascinating characters because each remains loyal friends even though Q killed Jasper. Ilena is totally eaten up with hatred and anger so much so the obsessed demon hunter is insane, which makes her the antagonist instead of the champion. On the other hand Leo is a Byronic antihero who cannot control his demonic addiction to human bodies. There is plenty of action in this urban fantasy, but it is the twist of the lead cast that makes BODY SURFING more than a peck better than the usual sub-genre offering. Harriet Klausner