Counselor

Every villain thinks they're a hero. Tonight, Timothy Dune must be both. This is a night of secrets, of vengeance, of plots revealed and lost loves found. This is a world on fire, where war is forever, dark forces no longer need to hide, and a lost generation struggles to find purpose amidst the collapse. In the suburban ruins of Sponge Island, once an American paradise, the devils run. Tim has watched his idyllic home decay into a gentrified vista of private estates for vapid, hungry outsiders. His idealistic young soul disintegrates as he slowly loses everyone he loves-his father, swallowed by the poisoned ocean-his mother, victim of a broken heart-and then his girlfriend Tracy, to an overdose... or maybe suicide. Survivor's guilt is only compounded by Tim's belief that a childhood curse is the cause of all this loss and torment. After offending an unknown, alien god, he was doomed to spread chaos and death to anyone he loves. Years later, he's broken, angry, and alone. Barely clinging to sanity, a dormant sense of loyalty keeps Tim functioning, alive without a life. The Curse strikes again, sparing him but striking at Barry Cameron, his closest friend and Tracy's older brother. But this time, Tim can defy fate. To save Barry, he must fulfill a wish that will destroy their friendship forever. Too broken to live, but too angry to die, Tim summons his last shreds of honor to save Barry, himself, and Tracy's legacy, no matter the cost. But success demands help from dangerous friends and foes-Julio, a one-eyed, psychotic genius, a local legend on a secret mission involving Tim's childhood nemesis, Lucas Boil, a sadistic veteran who delights in tormenting Tim's fraying mind. Tonight, Tim must be hostage to weird strangers, trusting liars, gazing beyond the veil into the cosmos, facing the gods who ruined his life. Julio's own mission leads him further from Barry but closer to a redemption he's run from since Tracy's death. Counselor, a new novel by Victor Giannini, is a raw journey into the human heart. Reality bends to the point of breaking as the gang fights toward a new nightmarish dawn. This is the devil's run, and it demands a sacrifice. Can Tim save his friends, when forced to choose which ones must die?