Nerds That Geek Book Review: 'Penny Dreadful'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

​Our identity is something we hold near and dear. It truly defines us, and it is made up of so much. Our name, our mannerisms, these are all things the people in our lives come to expect and things that strangers we meet for the first time analyze.  

In fact, our identity is so important to all of us, we will do anything we can to maintain it and never lose it. Yet, we sometimes wonder what would happen if we were to let go of it, to be free of the confines of our identities and assume new ones where we can disappear if only for a moment when the world becomes too much to bear. But like anything in life, there are dangers that come with such an act and perhaps the darkest depths of those dangers are explored in Will Christopher Baer's second Phineas Poe novel, Penny Dreadful. 

Phineas Poe has returned to Denver after his adventures in Kiss Me, Judas but something seems amiss about the city, and things are only complicated further when his old friend Detective Moon comes to him for help in finding a missing police officer named Jimmy Sky. With Phineas essentially being a ghost in this town he begins the hunt for the missing man, only to find that a new and disturbing trend is gripping the city; the Game of Tongues. It is a game of bloodshed and a game where identity means nothing, and power is everything and now Phineas Poe will have to play it in order to find Detective Moon's missing man.  

When it comes to this series of books, what I enjoy about them the most is the sheer fact that they are so unlike any other kind of story that I own. Phineas Poe is a wonderful anti-hero and after the dreary and disturbing Kiss Me, Judas I was wondering how Will Christopher Baer would top that story and Penny Dreadful delivers a powerhouse sequel that well...entrances and disturbs you in so many ways.  

One such element that makes this novel so fascinating is the entire theme of identity. For those involved in the Game of Tongues must assume a new identity, and a new life in many ways and it is an incredible journey of self-discovery for the characters and it forces the reader to question every single character's motives, and that's where this book draws you in. Because it also challenges you to wonder if there is something out there powerful enough to make you shed your own identity and take on another and that makes the book damn near impossible to put down. 

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