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The Void

3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 · rating details · 29 ratings · 23 reviews

A man is trapped in his own mind. Confined to a hospital bed for years, his family and friends believing him all but dead; somehow he can still hear. And he listens, he keeps breathing, keeps thinking, as those around him suddenly condemn him to death. With a life destined to end, he recounts his battlefield experience of death and violence, his own struggle with drug addi...more

Paperback, 134 pages

Published April 19th 2012 by CreateSpace

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May 21, 2012 Leigh rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: goodreads-first-read

This book was totally amazing! I could not put it down and finished it in one day. I felt as though I took this terrifying journey with Max as he experienced it. It really makes you think about what happens when someone is in a coma. Are they locked inside? Did they already move on? This book shows you what it might be like if you were stuck in your body, unable to move, talk or make anyone aware that you are still there. Such a sad story. I received this book for free through a Goodreads First...more

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May 10, 2012 Elizabeth rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone who likes suspense

Recommended to Elizabeth by: Bryan Healey

This was a great narrative!! I couldn't put it down!! Even having three kids nine, four, and one I *MADE* time to read this book, because the suspense was amazing!

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May 07, 2012 Jennifer Defoy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reads

I've read two of Healey's books before and I LOVED them. This book took my expectations and blew them out of the water.

Within the first few pages I was crying like a baby, and it didn't let up much from there. I read this in one sitting, as I just could not put it down, I was so attached to Max right from the word go. Healey's ability to write with so much emotion is truly amazing to me. He has this ability to grasp my attention and not let go till the last word.

The story deals with something ve...more

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May 01, 2012 Peter rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: llbr

Imagine yourself in a coma, dead and unconscious to everyone around you for the past six years, and then suddenly able to hear and think. But that’s all. No sense of smell or sight or touch.

Beyond what is given me by those around me, I can experience nothing but what I am able to cobble together using old memories and my old knowledge and my old beliefs and ideals, and the product always lacks the pull of the sonorous echo of Jenny’s ever melodious words, drifting into my ears like rose petals...more Imagine yourself in a coma, dead and unconscious to everyone around you for the past six years, and then suddenly able to hear and think. But that’s all. No sense of smell or sight or touch.

Beyond what is given me by those around me, I can experience nothing but what I am able to cobble together using old memories and my old knowledge and my old beliefs and ideals, and the product always lacks the pull of the sonorous echo of Jenny’s ever melodious words, drifting into my ears like rose petals against a stiff breeze. Her voice makes me see color, see music, to see a lively painting, rolling fields of yellow and green cast across a blue, formless sky; she reminds me that there is a world, and at least part of it still cares that I am here.

This is The Void, a world narrated by Max Aaron in this short novel by Bryan Healey. In it, Max’s narrative alternates between processing his current surroundings and reflecting back to major events in his past, with a couple of dreams thrown in, in a kind of stream of consciousness style. There are no line or chapter breaks. The dominance of single-sentence paragraphs makes for a quick pace.

The transitions between past and present come unexpectedly and are key to making the experiences related by such a passive protagonist interesting for a reader. A certain word or phrase from a visitor launches Max’s mind to his past, whether to his time in the military, meeting his wife, Jenny, watching the birth of his son, or the purchase of the car that son now wants.

I remember buying that car; it was a beautiful, sunny Saturday, driving to the address that I found in the newspaper, boasting a cheap sports car for sale.
I needed a new car.
“Good afternoon!” I smile at the man.
“Howdy!”
“I hear you have a car for sale?”
“Indeed, I do,” he beams and motions for me to follow him into his garage. Briefly, I consider that maybe he is going to kill me, and I wonder if I would be able to defend myself…
But then his garage door opens, and before me is the most gorgeous hunk of metal and leather that I have ever seen, glistening with the little sunlight suddenly available from the outside opening.
It was black, convertible.
It smelled magnificent.
I would have paid him whatever he asked…
“He always loved that car.”
I’m glad he’ll have something from me…

What solitary sadness Max must feel hearing people speaking about him. Their obliviousness of his limited consciousness makes them say things in his presence they wouldn’t otherwise. It works well as a device because it’s not distracting; instead, one wonders how he can endure the impact of their words alone. This is most distressing when his wife and son make the decision to pull his feeding tube to let him die. But more powerful was the one-way interaction between Max and a night nurse, Sarah, whose own tragic circumstances affect Max even more deeply, it seemed.

It’s not all so gloomy and there are light moments. A bit of suspense too. Several memories of reveal incidents of danger or peril. With each, you wonder, was this the event that put him in the coma? The answer does come but for me it was rather uninspired, like the rest of his previous life, which was rather unoriginal in dramatic terms. Perhaps that was on purpose to ensure his current circumstanes take precedence.

The big moral issue of the right to ‘pull the plug’ in such a situation is, curiously, not explored. Perhaps by accepting the possibility of Max’s ‘Void’ an argument could be constructed against mercy killing on the basis of his consciousness. The mercy, then, would be for the family as Max would be content continuing to live indefinitely within his memories and hearing. But he accepts their decision gracefully; what choice does he have? Perhaps there could have been an outsider fighting to keep Max alive. This lack of actual conflict creates another void, a literary one.

But I can appreciate why this route wasn’t taken. It would have made for a far different story, one that would have struggled to sustain the style, and risked becoming too conventional. As it is, The Void is an interesting and creative piece. But because of its narrow scope and shortness, I’d hesitate to call it a novel.

I read this from an ARC epub file, which contained proofing errors and inconsistent line spacing; i.e. the excerpt above was double spaced in the book while other sections were single-spaced. I assume these issues will be resolved by the time this review is posted and The Void is generally available.

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Apr 20, 2012 Kevin rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 23, 2012 Valentina rated it 4 of 5 stars

I received a preview of this book months ago and loved it, which is why I was thrilled to get a chance to review it in its entirety.
This is a heartbreaking story. It’s difficult to write about topics such as these, about sicknesses that affect entire families, but it is even more difficult to write it from the sufferer’s perspective without falling into melodrama. For me, this book’s author did a wonderful job of achieving a truthful, sensitive yet not overdone storyline. The way the book is se...more

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May 08, 2012 Dustin Rhodes rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemp-fiction

She believes I am all but dead.
But I can hear her…

A man is trapped in his own mind. Confined to a hospital bed for years, his family and friends believing him all but dead; somehow he can still hear. And he listens, he keeps breathing, keeps thinking, as those around him suddenly condemn him to death. With a life destined to end, he recounts his battlefield experience of death and violence, his own struggle with drug addiction and depression, and coming to terms with his own mortality, the impor...more

1 like · like · see review

May 07, 2012 Jade rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wow! This was an intense book. It reminds me of an old book called ‘Johnny Got His Gun’.
Bryan Healey’s writing is amazing! You drift so easily from Max being in the ‘void’, to a memory, and back to the ‘void’ … it’s kind of incredible how well Mr. Healey does this! Since it jumps back and forth through time in his thoughts, it seems like it should be jerky, but it truly isn’t!
It’s gripping and emotional and maybe makes you ponder things you’d rather pretend would never happen, but do. You reall...more

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Jun 02, 2012 Zannie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: general-fiction

I received this book by way of goodreads giveaways. (Yay, thank you!!). :-)

This was a quick read... and I really enjoyed it. The main character, Max, is in a coma throughout the entire book and it was really interesting to "hear" from his point of view. (makes you wonder!!) There were a lot of flashbacks that were tied in. The transitions into the flashbacks were very smooth - so much so, that sometimes I wasn't sure if I was in a flashback or "real time" - so I had to reread a few pages.

The o...more

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Jun 11, 2012 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

Yay! Got this book from Goodreads Giveaway!

I was fascinated by the book right away when reading the description from the Giveaway page. What an interesting idea; a narrative coming from a man in a coma.

I will admit that several parts of the book actually brought me to tears because Healey did a great job of putting us into the character of a frustrated comatose patient. I imagine that it would be quite irritating to hear all but not be able to feel or express.

I enjoyed the read very much and...more

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Jul 04, 2012 Matthew rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-reads

Fascinating meditation on life, death, God and family. Unique first person narration, jumps around nicely but coherently. Read it in a couple of hours and was sad when it ended but got me thinking about my own life. Nicely done novella!

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Jun 04, 2012 Meganm922 rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: requests-completed

I won this book via Library Thing Early Reviewers Program.

Absolutely amazing novel. I couldn’t put it down. I even cried a bit through certain parts, which doesn’t happen to me often. This is a novel that truly makes you think about hard subjects.

The narrative was very easy to follow. I got into Max’s head quickly and easily, which is what made it so difficult to get through emotionally. I felt for Max the entire time and couldn’t really distance myself from the story because the narrative just...more

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Jul 20, 2012 Geri rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: won

I got this book free through Goodreads First Reads.

Max is in a coma. Has been for years. Everyone from his wife Jenny to the different nurses and doctors that come into his room think he's a vegetable but that doesn't stop them from talking to him. Sometimes telling him their secrets. What no one realizes because he can't respond is that his mind is still active. He relives events that have happened to him when he is alone and recognizes the different people around him and carries on his side of...more

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Apr 05, 2012 Rob rated it 4 of 5 stars

First, I have to say thank you to Bryan for sending this to me as an ARC to review. I went to high school with Bryan and read his last two novels and enjoyed them very much. This was no exception. "The Void" is a journey through one man's mind while he is in a comatose state. I loved the way the story was told from the mind of Max and what he went through. I see the theme of addictions show up a lot in Bryan's work and he writes about them so well and effortlessly. The inner workings of someone'...more

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May 22, 2012 Carol Brannigan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: er-arc

This was a bit off the normal reading style for me. I'm still not quite sure what genre it would classify as either. I did "enjoy" the book - if one can enjoy such a book. I thought it was thoughtful and gave an interesting viewpoint into what a coma might possibly be like. The pace worked very well even though it was unusual- but in a coma time very well could cease to exist. It was a good effort by the author to tackle what is a very atypical story- quick read and worth the effort.

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Jun 12, 2012 Deanna rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I received this book in a Goodreads Giveaway and really enjoyed it!

It was at times hard to read because I was thinking of myself in this situation and thinking I'd just want to die. I mean to have to be stuck in that body laying there and not able to show ANY emotion while people are talking to you and telling you things that should receive a reaction would be difficult to say the least! To have to relive memories (good or bad) alone with no one to talk to would slowly drive me crazy! I don't w...more

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Sep 18, 2012 David rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: owned-books, won

I won this book in a giveaway a while back. I picked it up and read most of it in one sitting. I only took one break and then finished it. I thought it was a very good story and I enjoyed it a lot. I really liked the style that it was written in also. I give it 4 stars for being an overall great book. It wasn't life changing but it was certainly very deep and thought provoking.
Bryan Healey really captured the emotions of the characters throughout their situations excellently. I think overall he...more

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May 25, 2012 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars

Hmph. Interesting book. It actually made me feel claustrophobic at times, as though I were as unable to move and speak just as the main character is. The author moves seamlessly between the past and the present, which is a difficult thing to pull off, I'm sure. Cool book. Easy to read. Only took an hour and a half for 130 pages. In fact, one of my only complaints is that it was too short. But it's worth the read :)

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Aug 19, 2012 Megan rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

This book was simply put and easy to read. However, it failed to keep my interest. I kept reading hoping it would grab hold of me and suck me into the fascinating idea behind the story.

Paragraphs were short and I often wanted more from them; wishing for more depth. However, I liked how the author transitioned from one setting to the other (the current void to a memory). I'm not sure which edition I received but I did notice a few punc...more

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Aug 13, 2012 Sophie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

The Void is a fantastic book. Once I started reading I couldn't put it down. The book was well written and grabbed my attention from the very beginning. The heartwrenching emotional story made me reflect on what it would be like if I or a loved one was in a coma and just how awful it must be if you are alive and can still hear but no one else knows it and there is nothing you can do.
I received this book through the goodreads first reads giveaway.

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Apr 30, 2012 iamjenai rated it 4 of 5 stars

review soon

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May 24, 2012 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, oac-print, rebuilding-apt-damaged-books, oac-kindle

Read and reflecting. Definitely a have to search within to gather together my thoughts for the deeper understanding of the story. If my feelings are in sync with what the authors intent on portraying to his readers is. Although, I think we all may have found our own unique connection to the story and characters. Will consult with my heart and my notes (which I have only ever done once before). Review pending.....not rating just yet, but enjoyed this very much.

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Jul 23, 2012 Kelley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

Copy provided via Goodreads.com giveaway

A really well written stream-of-conscienceness about what it may be like to lie in a vegetative state. The novel jumped back and forth between present and past tense in a way that made sense and was easy to follow. As Max lies in the state between life and death, he hears those around him discuss his condition as well as their own conversations they have with him. I found it fascinating.

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May 16, 2013 Michelle (Shelley) marked it as to-read

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Apr 22, 2013 Shyama Menon marked it as to-read

Apr 06, 2013 Mohammad Shirali rated it 3 of 5 stars

Apr 01, 2013 David Brown marked it as to-read

Mar 25, 2013 Jordyn B marked it as to-read

Mar 15, 2013 Vilde (vforvilde) marked it as to-read

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