From the Bookshelf of Splatterpunk…

For the Better

Daniel J. Volpe

Start date: October 1, 2024

Finish date: November 30, 2024

Discussion: Buddy Reads

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Jul 04, 2024 Pisces51 rated it it was amazing

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"FOR THE "FOR THE BETTER" [2024] By Daniel J. Volpe
My Review 5.0 Stars

I have referred to this novel as a “Prequel” to the author’s classic “Left to You” (2021). In the opening pages of this outstanding addition to his prior novel “Left to You” Volpe states that it is not a “Prequel” but “More Like a Mid-Quel”. The author elaborates that he always felt that there was one part missing from the first book. Specifically, how did Josef live for decades with the demon, Belphegor, in captivity? What d "FOR THE "FOR THE BETTER" [2024] By Daniel J. Volpe
My Review 5.0 Stars

I have referred to this novel as a “Prequel” to the author’s classic “Left to You” (2021). In the opening pages of this outstanding addition to his prior novel “Left to You” Volpe states that it is not a “Prequel” but “More Like a Mid-Quel”. The author elaborates that he always felt that there was one part missing from the first book. Specifically, how did Josef live for decades with the demon, Belphegor, in captivity? What did Josef do to keep himself younger so that in “Left to You” he is nearing 120 years old?

So, Volpe explains, “For the Better” is in fact a midquel which picks up right after Josef kills Kollmer and is left with Belphegor in his control. Thus, it covers Josef’s life with the demon, how he coped with loss and grief, and what were the lengths he went through to survive in this chunk of time that is omitted from the outstanding novel “Left to You”?

In keeping with the author’s explanation and motivation the reader picks Josep up in the year 1952. The Splatterpunk Book Club has read “Left to You” so the readers are presently expounding upon how terrific and memorable “Left to You” happens to be. I loved it. That said it actually did trouble me when I thought about the period of time that Josef had Belphegor in captivity. It is widely believed and bandied about that “Left to You” may be Volpe’s crowning achievement and an absolute classic.

I agree totally, but I will say that “For the Better” is simply “out of this world” good. Volpe has earned considerable literary gravitas with these two exceptional works. I would implore you to read “For the Better” the minute you finish “Left to You”. It fits the other masterpiece like a key in a lock.

As the description for the novel illuminates, in his Splatterpunk Award-nominated novel “Left to You”, 70 years of Josef’s story goes untold. In “For the Better” Volpe unlocks the door and lets you glimpse and try to absorb what it was like for the tortured Josef, and how he waged his personal struggles with Hell on Earth. It advances the question of to what extent would you go if you thought it was “for the better”?

“Left to You” was originally self-published by Volpe in 2021, because I read that version. My review in 2023 (when I read it) clearly indicates the date published. I mention this only because I purchased it, and it was later published in 2024 (this year) and my copy of the original self-published release is in the ether somewhere. It certainly is not in my library.

I am not going to include occurrences in “For the Better”, let alone “spoilers” because I want your reading experience to be as rewarding and gut-wrenching as mine. Josef wondered:

“When death finally came for him, how would he be judged? As a monster or an angel?”

I must admit that I would not have what it takes to make all of the decisions that Josef made, but one must consider that he had suffered great losses, been imprisoned in the Death Camp of Auschwitz, and been forged by fire into the figure of a survivor with a will to match. How would I judge him? That is the million-dollar question.

EVERYONE HAS DEMONS…BUT NOT A HIGH-RANKING DEMON FROM THE FIRES OF HELL ...more

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May 25, 2024 ChanaReadsHorror rated it really liked it

In "For the Better" we get the gaps filled in from the time jumps and works as a "mid-quel" for Left to You.
There are some time jumps in the first book from that we really kind of let our imagination fill in the gaps, and this one fills in those gaps for us. It shows us how the older gentleman in the first book has handled the gift he was given and what he's done with it. It really dives into what he has to do morally to come to grips with it and while he is using it.
If you loved, "Left to You" ...more

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