The Ballad of Old Joe Booth tells the creation myth of the cosmic horror that comes to be known as Old Joe Booth. As someone who is not familiar with the rest of the Bedlam Bible books, this was an accessible glimpse into the world that has made me eager to find out more.
The prose has a warm, inviting rhythm that which juxtaposes nicely with the grim and hellish scapes that are being described. Although it did get repetitive in parts, I felt that this only added to the feeling of listening to a biblical passage. However, I could understand how some people would find this rhythmic repetitiveness to be soporific, and it can be a little difficult to concentrate on, or at least a little too easy to let the mind wander and miss something.
I enjoyed the way the book was split into the four seasons as we follow the life of Joe Booth. It flowed quite smoothly from something very reminiscent of a biblical creation passage to something more akin to an Arthurian legend. The content itself, and particularly the descriptions of denizens of this hellscape, also put me in mind of William Burrows Naked Lunch. There was some very satisfying use of alliteration
The narrator of the audiobook, Connor Brannigan, clearly had a lot of fun recording this book. His voice is incredibly rich and smooth, and puts me in mind of Jack Fox, who narrated Asimov’s Foundation Series back in the day. He manages to bring in the seasoning of a Southern Gothic Minister without being too heavy handed with it.
Overall I would happily recommend this, particularly to fans of horror podcasts like of Old Gods of Appalachia or Malevolent.