Incel: Retribution – Matthew A. Clarke

Decades have passed and infamous incel, Wayne Cabel, is a free man! Now going by the name Eric Davison, he’s determined to put his past behind him and be a productive member of society. He even has a girlfriend now! But all his progress is tested when a superfan comes calling….

Retribution, like its predecessor, was a very hard book to get through. Clarke takes readers on a deeper dive through an extremist incel’s psyche and the struggle between knowing your thoughts are wrong and giving in when it’s easier than fighting. He even had me going there for a minute, thinking that maybe Wayne could turn over a new leaf after all, but alas…..it was not to be.

What was the most interesting part to me was wondering what would have happened to Wayne had he not met his superfan groupies. Could he have continued to grow and leave old ideals behind without such a stark reminder of his past being shoved in his face, or was it inevitable that he would return to violence and hateful vitriol?

I really have to admire Clarke for being so diligent in researching this book. The care he took with it and the attention to detail really drove home how scary these ideals are when pushed to the extreme. Another fantastic book written by an author who is happily becoming a must buy.