Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Publication date: 20th April 2026
Content warnings: paedophilia, rape, death of parent, homophobia, racism

“Time marches forward. Mostly.”

I read Jason’s first book, Mystery of a Dromedary, at the end of last year, and the premise fascinated me. So knowing his second book was set before the first book made me curious once again! I had mixed thoughts throughout reading this but glad I pushed on to the end. It’s a weird, unpredictable and unexpectedly thought-provoking read. Definitely a good palate cleanser book for me! So happy to be sharing my review of Song of a Dromedary by Jason Mahoney.

About the book

Something is terribly wrong with Vernon Rivers, a young boy whose parents have taken him to every specialist they can think of. At the end of their rope, they finally take him to see a priest, who determines the only remedy is an exorcism. Before the big night, his father, Kirk, has his first of many encounters with the paranormal: an encoded message telling him he must intervene in the exorcism, and to his wife’s dismay, Kirk obeys.

Throughout his childhood, Vernon, a musical phenomenon, shows signs of demonic possession in benign ways. But as the danger grows more apparent, Kirk engages with his own outrageous and time-distorting obstacles to save him – and discover the unfortunate truth about his prodigious son.

The beginning

I was hit by this author’s witty writing from the start just as I was with book one, and I was looking forward to seeing what book two was all about! This one is set before the first book, more of a prequel, where we see a young Vernon Rivers with his parents, Kirk and Harlow. They’re seeking help from a priest; can he perform a demon removal ritual, an exorcism?! The idea of Vernon having something more than just an imaginary friend fit in with how Mystery of a Dromedary played out and I was really looking forward to seeing where all Vernon’s problems started. The priest carrying out this ‘exorcism’ made me feel a bit uncomfortable and I could kind of see what his motive was straight away… But this is where strange, intriguing things start happening. Before the night of the exorcism, Kirk has a paranormal encounter, something telling him to intervene. And honestly, thank god he did… I questioned Kirk and Harlow’s parenting at times and their relationship with each other was odd. Kirk seemed to have a strange love/hate relationship with his wife.

“He walked back through the living room as if he were a ghost observing from a separate realm; he was no longer an interactive entity in his environment.”

“Weird” is the only way I can describe the opening to the book, but it certainly piqued my curiosity. Vernon’s ‘demon’ is introduced as Darry, and I was excited to see how Darry plays with Vernon’s life, how it would change him. Obviously, the exorcism did nothing at all apart from traumatise Vernon and his father. His school life proves to be difficult too, and his teachers are concerned about his attitude, despite him being an exceptional student – talented in music, just like his father. Of course, it’s Darry making an appearance, not Vernon playing up for the sake of it. But there was still the fact that we don’t know what started all this. Was he just born with this alter ego inside? I felt a bit confused throughout the opening and some things didn’t really click, but I wanted to give it time. There were some parts of the writing that I couldn’t get on with, with one of my main issues being the dialogue. There were sometimes pages of pure dialogue with no breaks, and I got a little bored in parts unfortunately. My interest dropped when characters were talking to each other!

The middle

Now, I know I said things were weird at the start, but things get even weirder 😅 I was trying my best to keep on top of it all but again, I found myself getting confused at times. Even so, I still seemed to be curious all the time, which was the main reason I kept reading! Kirk has a bit of a funny turn. After thinking he’s blacked out for days, months at a time, he understands that he is stuck in a time loop. (Yep, bear with me…) He gets a sense of power, knowing that he can change things that haven’t happened yet, predict things that are due to happen. This was really fun to read, even though he seems to accept what’s happening a little too easily. If it was me, I’d be in a constant state of panic, thinking I was losing my mind! The plot seemed to jump all over the place and it really was the most unpredictable read, but it kinda worked? I literally couldn’t tell you what would be the next thing Kirk would do or experience, and even though at times it seemed the most random book in the world, I didn’t hate it. I did feel that Darry was forgotten about at times, which was a shame!

“Goddamn. Please let this situation be temporary. Jesus Christ. Can we just go back and do this all over?”

I thought Kirk’s mental state was explored brilliantly throughout the book. He has good times and bad… and then some pretty terrible times. I did feel sorry for him at some points, but in others, he annoyed me to death. I can’t say I particularly liked him as a character, but he was definitely quirky, I’ll give him that. As much as I tried to make sense of everything Kirk was going through, I found it difficult. There were some really random plot points scattered into the book that didn’t really add anything to the story, nor did they move things along. It could have been a much shorter book! Saying this though, there were some great scenes as Kirk revisits the same moments over again, learning new information, growing his confidence, discovering more about himself and his capabilities. The book does get very clever with its timelooping (is that even a word?) and there was something exciting and refreshing reading familiar scenes in a slightly different light, with a different outcome each time.

The end

I understood this book was more about Kirk’s life, but it did seem Darry had been well and truly forgotten about. Or maybe the exorcism had worked after all? I was struggling to see how Ernie from book two came to be, and I really hoped this would be explained. It was what I was most excited for when I started the book! At this point in the book though, I was so engrossed in everything Kirk was doing and this whole wild story grabbed me more in the latter half of the book. He works tirelessly for his son, uses this mad time loop to save his life (and get involved in all sorts of shenanigans along the way.) But THEN, after I’d lost all hope… Darry!! I loved the switching from Kirk’s to Vernon’s POV, how it’s clear that Darry is still there, inside him. And what made me want to squeal with joy was the explanation of Ernie. I’m not sure why I doubted that all this would come together, but I was so happy with the direction here. But things turn dark. Quite saddening if I’m honest. But so incredibly powerful that it shocked me a bit! I could sense a dash of emotion in those ending chapters…

“Well, how does it feel? Bad boy Kirk Rivers, who spent his whole life flirting with Satan, is exactly the kind of guy God wants to spend eternity with.”

I didn’t imagine this book to be as thought-provoking as it was by the end. The way I found myself thinking about life, what’s important and what isn’t, was not what I expected at all. Kirk and Vernon’s bond, the love Kirk has for his son, the fact that he would do anything to protect him was so clear, so brilliantly summarised that I swear I had a tear in my eye at one point. The way Kirk makes sense of everything happening, the way he problem solves and has that eureka moment brought everything together well. He starts to finally understand his son, who he is, the two sides of him sharing a body. A prodigal son, perhaps? And if you’re wondering whether the ending is also as weird as the rest of the book, I can definitely say a massive yes. There was plenty of detail to mull over after I finished reading this! If you haven’t read this author’s first book, things tie up very nicely after this and it leads into Vernon’s story well. You can read them in any order! If you’re looking for something a little bit different, this is a strong contender.

Overall thoughts

Song of a Dromedary is pretty hard to sum up in terms of genre, but if you like a bit of magical realism and maybe even a time loop in your books, this weird and wonderful story may hit the spot. Where book one focused on Vernon Rivers and his chaotic alter ego, Ernie, this second book is set in the past and mostly shines the spotlight on his father, Kirk. Kirk and his wife, Harlow, think there is something seriously wrong with their son. So wrong in fact, that they make plans for an exorcism. But before this planned exorcism to free young Vernon of his ‘inner demon’, Kirk has a strange paranormal encounter – he knows he must intervene. And from then on, things get a bit wild.

I struggled with this at the start. There was a bit too much happening for me to get my head around and so many scenes didn’t seem to add anything to the story or move it along. I also wasn’t the biggest fan of the dialogue and how sometimes it never seemed to end. But there was something about this author’s words that kept me reading. His writing is witty, quirky and all sorts of weird, and when a time loop is introduced, allowing Kirk to revisit events over and over again, it was here where my interest was piqued. Who doesn’t love a time loop?!

The latter half of the story felt so much more than Kirk experiencing life in such a way. It’s so thought-provoking, exploring Kirk’s relationship with his son, doing what he can to save his life, his desire to protect him. His resilience and strength really shines through, and his complex character really is pushed to his limit. It was unexpectedly moving in places. I would have liked to have read more about how Vernon’s alter ego came to be and even explore more of the chaos from this other part of him, but even so, Kirk’s journey was more than enough for one book 😅

You can grab your own copy of Song of a Dromedary on Amazon* right now.

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