THE INSANE GOD by Jay Hartlove – Cosmic Horror, Paranormal Mystery, LGBT+ Fiction

Sarah, a transgender schizophrenic teenager, has spent the past seven years in a psychiatric ward. When all her symptoms of schizophrenia disappear after receiving a special necklace from a nurse, she must learn to live in a world that moved on without her, in The Insane God by Jay Hartlove.

She receives strange visions of two opposing gods in battle with each other, which Sarah and her brother Nate work together to understand. The reality of these visions threatens to endanger the lives of everyone on Earth unless they change the course of an eternal battle.

The Insane God touches on topics such as mental illness, mental health, gender identity, and racism.

While the author tells a complex story with these subjects, he doesn’t fully address them all to a satisfying degree.

What Hartlove does well with The Insane God is create a surreal horror novel. Sarah and Nate quickly accept their strange new reality, contending with surreal visions of these monster-like gods in a cataclysmic struggle of the cosmos. The Insane God will appeal to readers who like their expectations subverted.

Sarah shows remarkable strength in keeping herself together despite everything she has to endure. Because she is dealing with present and past struggles, her character development suffers within the confines of the story’s length and pace. The chapters that focus on Sarah generate the most interest through strong emotional engagement. Her gift is given by the necklace she wears; Sarah can just take it off and walk away from the conflict, but she chooses to face the gods, hoping that she can make a difference.

The Insane God is fast-paced, driving readers on with an excited curiosity to know what strange thing will happen next.

As the story reaches its climax and Sarah’s dreams are rapidly defying the laws of time and reason, it seems the threat is insurmountable. Will Sarah be able to fulfill her part in the workings of the universe? A strong current of humor balances this horror, even until the end.

Jay Hartlove’s The Insane God is a surreal science fiction journey that struggles at times to find its rhythm, but nevertheless tells an enthralling story like none other. Readers will be left wanting to see Sarah continue to grow, hoping that her story does not end here.