I Call Him HIM

Forest Troutner - 5 stars
Here is my review of “I call him HIM” by Scott W. Kimak
Masterpiece, is that a word I can use? When reading a book what do you consider a masterpiece? For me it’s a book that I can’t put down. A book that moves me and yanks me emotionally to my limits. And that is exactly what Mr. Kimak does in this phenomenal read. He has created a futuristic world as grim as you can possibly imagine. It is a dark and horrific place filled with sorrow. I hope to God it isn’t a foreshadowing of things to come. With all the crazy things happening in our world today it has left us with different opinions on politics and religion, but one thing I am sure all of us have in common is the love for our family. But what would happen if that was torn away? How would it impact you? Could it change you into something else?
This is the dilemma facing HIM. He is an unnamed warrior that never speaks. No one knows his name and that’s why they simply refer to him as “oh that’s him over there.” He is a man lost in pain, slipping deeper and deeper into darkness. The only thing he lives for is revenge. But then something happens. He meets a very special little girl and everything starts to change. Is he her savior or is she the one saving him?
Mr. Kimak has masterfully turned the written word into an art form to show you the bond between these two characters. You can visualize his pain and the love that he has for this child. I’m not ashamed to say that this book made me cry, but it also made me laugh. There is a side character named Bill that is absolutely hilarious, adding a needed element of joy to punch a hole in the darkness. There are two other characters that also play major roles and you easily fall in love with.
The main theme of this book is hope and I think that’s something all of us need in our lives in 2020. No matter how bad things may seem or how hopeless the future may look, we can’t give up. That’s what the characters in this book teach us. They live in a place a thousand times worse than we can imagine but they don’t lose faith. Sometimes just one little girl can make a difference and show us the way.
As I said in the beginning, I couldn’t put this book down. I read the entire thing from cover to cover in one day. I didn’t want to stop to eat. I didn’t want to stop to sleep, and I didn’t. My body begged for sleep but I wouldn’t listen. I told myself “Just one more chapter and then I’ll go to bed.” But one chapter turned to two, and two into three, and the next thing you know I was approaching the finish. I had to know what was going to happen. In the seventy years I’ve been on this planet, I’ve never had a book do that to me. So yes, I can say without doubt it’s a MASTERPIECE.