Editorial Review: Shock Pepper: Part 1 by Blox Widdle Manor
Witches, magic potions, kidnappings, protests, murders, and more are all inexplicably intertwined in the twisted world of Shock Pepper.
It all starts in 1930 when a man unexpectedly emerges from the koi pond in a family’s back garden, only to almost immediately be murdered by someone lurking in the bushes. As strange as this is, things only get stranger from there. Shock Pepper: Part 1 is the first book set in the Shock Pepper realm, which, according to the author, is a multiverse where a planet very much like our own Earth exists. It is here where the story is set, or rather stories, as the narrative of this book is spread across multiple fascinating storylines.
As this is the first book in what will be a series, most of it is spent on introducing the myriad of characters and the bizarre chain of events they encounter. As such, it doesn’t offer much in the way of a resolution for these stories, but the author promises that subsequent parts will explain how their stories all intertwine with each other or how they end. Of course, this means there are plenty of cliffhangers in Part 1, but the stories are all so intriguing that it’s hard to put the book down.
Things are not what they seem in the Shock Pepper realm, and the author makes good use of this to craft some truly bizarre tales. One of the central stories is about a man named Sam who is fed up with his life. Sam agrees to meet a witch, who according to his friend Adrian, can provide him with a potion that can put him to sleep for ten years. Sam drinks this potion, believing it will help him get through a tough situation, while Adrian promises to look after his sleeping body. Unfortunately, Sam wakes up three months later in the hospital with a supposed head injury and a pregnant wife he does not remember. Adrian assures Sam that the witch story is all a hallucination due to his injury, but Sam is not so sure.
Sam’s tale is just one of many in Shock Pepper, and a few of the others are even more bizarre. From an incompetent police officer named Jeff, who becomes embroiled in a murder mystery, to a Bangalore inspector investigating a kidnapping, the stories cover different people, locations, and even timelines. Each of these storylines could have been a full-fledged book in its own right, as they are filled with complex characters and engrossing stories. However, by combining them the author has ensured that the book keeps readers' attention right to the very end. True to its name, the book doesn’t shy away from shocking content like violence, so it’s probably not for the faint of heart.
Overall, Shock Pepper: Part 1 is a novel that grabs you right from the start and remains entertaining throughout the multiple viewpoints and storylines. The fact that it is set in a different realm allows the author to blend the ordinary with some very unusual elements, which makes for a very unpredictable and edge-of-your-seat reading experience. The cliffhanger endings are to be expected for such a convoluted storyline, but if this book is anything to go by, future installments are going to be wild.
