Michael Louis Calvillo

Michael Louis Calvillo came up with an absolutely killer premise in this novel. He was great at writing these high concept novels. The premise of the novel is that all women in the world of appropriate age menstruate all on the same day. They begin having dreams and visions of the Worm. This creates a big ruckus but nothing comes of it until nine months later when all at once the females around the world turn on the male population and try to kill them off. A biological change has come about them and whenever they see a male, they become enraged and want to kill them in the most violent way possible, regardless of their relationship.

The story itself centers on the Mendoza family. On the day of the change, Claudia, the mother, initially tries to protect her four-year-old son, Victor Jr. That changes when her twin daughters arrive at home and together they not only kill Little Victor, but do so by tearing him apart and eating him. Knowing that she can’t control herself, she takes her two daughters and leaves before her husband, Victor, arrives. Fast forward two years later, and Claudia and the girls are living in a compound. Women have taken control of the world and have imprisoned the men. Victor, who had been part of a resistance movement, finds himself arrested and goes to a prison near the compound. A female resistance movement grows and they try to use Claudia to test out a new protective suit that will allow her to be with her husband without feeling the need to tear him apart after they bust Victor out of prison. Things go horribly awry in the process.

Besides the cool high concept, the novel delivers in many other ways. The writing is really strong, something that I can appreciate as a fellow writer. The novel hits the write nerves. Claudia is the main character, but it’s hard to feel sympathy for her after she devours her own child, even though it wasn’t her fault and it was triggered by this Worm that has infiltrated all women. Victor, on the other hand, comes off as a much more heroic and sympathetic figure, transforming himself from a guy who works a nine to five to support his family to a warrior. The book doesn’t provide an explanation of how the Worm came into existence or how it infiltrates the female population or how the women are able to telepathically communicate with each other. An explanation would have served well. I also found a hard time believing that the women would have been able to take over society so easily. Granted, they had been plotting this attack for nine months and they certainly would have taken the men by surprise, but at the same time, without being sexist but just trying to be realistic, men are physically stronger, and have far greater numbers in areas such as law enforcement and the military including access to more weapons, etc. I also would have liked a happier ending. In all, this was a very enjoyable read that I would recommend.

Carl Alves – author of Reconquest: Mother Earth… (más)

In his brilliant debut novel, Michael Louis Calvillo tells the story of Charlie, a frustrated and disillusioned line chef who's just trying to fit into a world that he doesn't really like to begin with. He was born with a strange growth on the palm of his hand and eventually realizes that he can bring death just by touching someone. He also that his "purpose" is to destroy humanity. I don't want to give away too much plot, so i'll just say that the writing was superb, and the idea is very original. Like a few others said, it does start off kinda slowly, but if you stick with it you'll get your reward at the end. If you're looking for something other than the ordinary zombie, vampire, ghoust, etc, stories you should definitely give this one a try.… (más)

If you love horror fiction, and if you love short stories, this one is a must have for you. I had the pleasure of purchasing and reading this collection recently and have to say that it was quite enjoyable. Some of my favorites were the stories "The Box", "Consumed", and "The Shape of Things to Come" although I honestly enjoyed every story in the book. These stories really make you think. Its not your typical "Hack and Slash" type of horror. Yes, some of the topics written within here are "horrorible" some even "gory", but at the same time the writing...the way he describes it all is quite beautiful. This guy can flat out write. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.… (más)

"I Will Rise" is a strange tale from the beginning. The prose is a jarring mix of common, even gutter slang ("super cool", "Nothing super wrong", "soooo") and sheer weight ("ferocity of my utterance"), as if the writer is undecided on his own voice. The voice wavers between a musing reminiscence and addressing the reader in a more conversational tone.

If there wasn't a sense of repulsion from this almost-anti hero from the beginning the narrator's well described efforts to keep himself from masturbating through body-funk visualization in the first chapter should be enough. By the end of the first chapter we know that Charlie is a socially awkward, fat, oily, ugly man who is a victim of the media and society and of the parents who casually called him "a fucking nut job". He fakes seizures and steals, but won't let himself be sexually aroused because God is watching.

Calvillo's voice, the overwhelming main building block of the book, is intense and disarming. Certainly dispirited readers will find much to connect with. But the flow of thought style is distracting, obscuring a plot that doesn't begin until 50 pages in with a half hearted attempt at poisoning people followed by a confusing death and rebirth into being the reformer of mankind. There's a disassembled feel to the story, an expanded, and at times out of control version, of the feel of the cult movie Fight Club. "I Will Rise" absolutely captures the tilting, half-insane, anarchist feel but with more rawness and less refinement.

If readers can accept the hallucinations and ranting flow of thought style in this dizzying tale of horror and social degradation they'll likely list "I Will Rise" as one of their favorites, but definitely as one of the most memorable books they've ever read.

I Will Rise is available in print at major bookstores or ebook form from Lachesis Publishing… (más)