When Liam first sees Gary Adrion on the Chicago el, he is stunned by the young man’s beauty and immediately wants to photograph him for a hologram. He wants to capture the beauty he sees before him and preserve it forever – he has no idea that his hologram with capture much more than that, that it will capture a picture of Gary’s soul. Although he knows that his hologram featuring Gary is his masterpiece, Liam does not want to display it along with his other works for fear that the viewer would look into the work and see that he is in love with his subject. Instead, he presents the hologram to Gary as a gift.

Only twenty-one years old, Gary is very young and also very impressible. Befriended by “Miss Henrietta,” who is a beautiful cross dresser with questionable morals – he gets caught up in a life of sex, drugs, and hedonism. Although he sees his own beauty remain unchanged, he watches the image in the hologram slowly change, mirroring the development of his soul, and he realizes that the picture will bear the repercussions of his actions – not him. As years pass and he slides into depravity, the picture develops into something horrible, showcasing the demon that Gary has become.

A Face Without a Heart is yet another excellent offering from Rick R. Reed. This man knows how to seriously creep out his readers, and I love it. Although this is essentially a modern retelling of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, it is much, much more than a simple retelling of someone else’s story. For all that it very closely mirrors much of the story and theme of Dorian, this is still very original and extremely well-written.

Mr. Reed tells the tale from many different viewpoints, which gives a very well-rounded feel to the story. We are able to watch the development of Gary’s evil and madness from within as well as view it as a spectator. Without a doubt, Gary becomes an evil creature as this story progresses. He is at best weak-willed and vain and at worst a murderer, but somehow he retains just a touch of humanity. The reader will find themselves both loving him and hating him, making him the ultimate anti-hero.

I found A Face Without a Heart to be both horrifying and fascinating at the same time. Without a doubt, it is worth a read. And possibly a re-read as well.

Reviewed by: Whitney