REVIEW: Gwen, In Green by Hugh Zachary

It was the plants that made me do it! I swear, it was the plants!!! 

Gwen and Gordon are a madly in love couple, living in a secluded homestead complete with a personal pond filled with clear water for swimming, plentiful plant life surrounding their compound, and woodland to get lost in. Its peace is something Gwen cherishes, until her world is turned upside down by greedy developers hellbent on destroying everything she's come to love. 

The change in Gwen's mood is apparent on a number of levels but the most surprising for Gordon is Gwen's attitude towards sex. She's insatiable, almost like she's been possessed by another woman, not that he's complaining, and aside from a few strange outbursts here and there (Gwen randomly talking nonsense for instance), he largely remains in a state of ignorance until the axe Gwen bears falls squarely on his shoulders... 

From prude to sexpot, the change in Gwen is a culmination of a strange allure to the flora surrounding her secluded home and the need to 'feel alive' as parts of the land are cleared by developers. Dead wood must be replaced by wood of another kind! In me! (paraphrased of course). 

The sexual tones of the novel are pitched perfect at adolescent teens and honey old men looking for a summer score - from nothing sexual to nympho; Gwen's wanton ways are a lure for many a horny male, which often ends in death. 

However, Gwen, In Green, is more than a book about voyeurism and weird married nymphomaniacs; there's a bigger picture at play - cosmic even! Yep, Gwen's ties with the soil, flora and fauna for that matter, go deeper than a strange kinship with plants, such as the Venus Flytrap being touted as an extraterrestrial, the seeds of which having traveled light years to Earth from, you guessed it, Venus! But only if the other characters in the book would understand...sadly they don't.

Gwen, In Green, is a lot of fun. It reads as a B-grade horror novel with some comedic overtones (not sure if by design but nevertheless it works) and colorful characters (primarily Gwen) who are a joy to read. I strongly recommended adding this Paperbacks From Hell re-issue to the collection.