By JAMES HAVOC (Incunabula; 2026)
The late James Williamson was known in the literary world as James Havoc, the name under which he penned two outrageously depraved works of fiction, RAISM (1989) and SATANSKIN (1995), and the graphic novel TEENAGE TIMBERWOLVES: LUST FOR LIGHTNING (2009). SEVEN COFFINS FOR THE KILLER, Williamson/Havoc’s final novel, emerged “From the Annals of Western Horror” and was supposed to be the first entry in a multi-book sequence. It was published around the time of Williamson’s 2026 demise, meaning that, unless the subsequent volumes have already been written, the “To be continued…” promise on the final page is destined to go unfulfilled.
The Havoc treatment involves a steady stream of gore and dismemberment, related in incredibly dense, adjective-packed sentences like “They rose up looking like tar effigies galvanized by a dread diabolism practiced in the deepest recesses of the known world, nightmare incarnate vomited forth from behind the veils of calamitous sleep.” SEVEN COFFINS FOR THE KILLER is a short book, comprised of two page chapters contained in a 125 page whole, yet it takes enormous effort to read—especially given that set-up is the incredibly involved, involving gangs of supernaturally endowed marauders in 1800s California, opposed by an undead prostitute known as the Killer.
The fact that the novel has a narrative at all sets it apart from Havoc’s other books. Not that the narrative in question is terribly gripping, with the dispassionate tone and languid, landscape centered descriptions suggesting a warped rewrite of BLOOD MERIDIAN, although Havoc goes much farther in the bloodletting and depravity quotients. It’s all fairly compelling for those willing to put up with the many annoyances; exceptional it’s not, but in the Havoc cannon SEVEN COFFINS FOR THE KILLER ranks as above average.
There are also some attempts at contemporary relevance, with one of the book’s nastiest and most prolonged passages devoted to the torture experienced by a character named Trump. Obviously Havoc/Williamson isn’t around to clarify his intentions, but I tend to think the real-life linkage here is far from coincidental.