Heathen's Barrow: My Evil

By: Nash Nelson

Narrated by: Davey Jones

What is paradise without the vacation aspect? A way out. When 20 year-old Genghis Boy commits the unforgivable act of murder, he's visited by a sinister being. With an invitation to an unholy island known as Heathen's Barrow, Genghis learns that there are monsters even bigger than him...some even human! Will he survive?

©2021 Nash Nelson (P)2024 Nash Nelson

Raunchy mob jobs in a criminal underworld

Alternating between gritty and no-holds-barred storytelling and a drunken rambling, our narrator with an unfortunate name throws us head-first into his racially charged and violent life. A gruff exterior demeanor and a wickedly sinister internal dialogue guides us from the seedy underside of New York into the seedy underside of another plane of existence, where the dead keep walking and everyone seems to have an otherworldly ability. There are plenty of trigger warnings in this writing, so don't consider it a safe space by any means. The story isn't truly on any rails, but its haphazard meandering and graphic violence is also its most alluring trait. Narration leaves a lot to be desired, but the dialogue feel authentic and raw. Black noir at its core. [Disclosure: I received this title for free and listened at 1.9x.]

Dark and direct.

A short but intense story: guilt, fear, and a touch of the supernatural. I enjoyed the whole story. Davey Jones' narration gives it an unsettling feel that grabs you from the start.

A journey into the darkest side

A short and disturbing story: guilt, punishment, and an unsettling visitor. Davey Jones narrates with perfect tension that makes the story even more chilling, a story that kept me hooked the whole time.

Great performance and story.

A great performance from the reader, I feel that he nailed the voices of the characters in this story, especially the main character Genghis Boy, the story itself and characters had a lot of personality making for a very interesting read from start to finish.

Gritty Premise, Rough Delivery

Heathen’s Barrow: My Evil is an interesting concept with flashes of creativity, but overall it didn’t fully work for me. The story has potential—there’s a gritty, supernatural underworld and a protagonist who certainly has a voice. Unfortunately, several elements made it hard for me to enjoy the experience.

First, the language. I understand this is meant to be a raw, dark, noir-inspired tale, but the sheer amount of profanity felt excessive and unnecessary. Instead of adding grit, it became distracting and, at times, off-putting. The book also try to push the listener to sympathize with Genghis Boy, the protagonist—but that’s difficult when he’s portrayed as mentally unstable, violent, and simply not a good person. While morally gray characters can be compelling, this one leaned too far into outright criminality and derangement for me to connect with him.

On the audio side, the narration weakened the experience further. Davey Jones certainly put energy into the performance—perhaps too much. The delivery often felt over-acted, and there was a slight echo in the recording that made the production sound unpolished. For an audiobook, sound quality matters, and here it unfortunately detracted rather than enhanced.

The book isn’t without strengths. Fans of dark, gritty fiction might appreciate the atmosphere, and the supernatural elements introduce an intriguing twist. They would also enjoy the bold tone and noir style, so I can see how it might resonate with the right audience.

For me, however, the combination of excessive profanity, an unlikable main character, and uneven narration kept this story in the “okay, but not great” category.