Red X

Reviews

“Demchuk’s unconventional approach to storytelling holds readers close, speaking directly to them and sharing in the terror.”
—Quill & Quire

“Can a horror novel be too disturbing? David Demchuk’s Red X begs that question, not because of any excess of gore or violence but because of its singular and unflinching dark vision. That’s a good thing — too much contemporary horror fiction plays for easy shocks and even easier sentimental tears, and Demchuk is clearly after something deeper.” 
—Toronto Star

“[Red X is] a book full of heart and righteous fury, an urban nightmare with some retro-horror stylings that sidesteps that genre’s usual pitfalls of splatter and pessimism to deliver a story of emotional heft and guarded optimism. While it’s relentless and can be incredibly disturbing, there are also moments of beauty, hope, and a certain melancholy. It’s a complex, disturbing, challenging, and compulsively readable work that commands your attention, and indeed deserves it.”
—Tor Nightfire

“[S]traight-up brilliant.”
—Xtra

“[Red X] is an important work for the horror community.”
—Cemetery Dance Publications

“…it feels special to have something specifically marketed as queer horror and written by a queer person. This is one of the most impactful books I’ve ever read and is my favourite of 2021 so far.” —Horror Obsessive

“Demchuk does what few authors can do – make you scared, sad, angered and repulsed all within a single sentence.”
—Kendall Reviews

“With Red X, Demchuk flexes many of the skills he honed throughout his career as a playwright and scriptwriter. As he pieces the men’s stories together with his own experiences, he gradually spins a long thread of history that, finally and consciously, situates things in the realm of the supernatural. Yet much of the novel’s effectiveness lies beyond plot, in mood and structure and tone, and especially in place: outside of Michael Ondaatje’s In the Skin of a Lion, there may be no work more deeply rooted in the psycho­geography of Toronto.”
—Literary Review of Canada

“Demchuk paints a vivid picture for anyone who knows the periods described, and he takes great care to craft his fiction based on the reality of Toronto at that time.”
—Think Queerly Expand reviews