Breed

Mar 13, 2013 Lou rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, horror

When the old system lets you down and kids don’t seem to come to fruition couples look down many avenues for a solution and solace.
Adoption is one root or as like the couple in this story flying over to a dirty untidy strange doctor in the middle of a town unheard of to the masses to be guinea pigs in a new breakthrough in medicine is another. From the first impressions they had when they were introduced to this great doctor they should have fled on their heels for the exit door, his surgery and...more

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Dec 13, 2012 Giselle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror, adult

Horror has always been my thing. I get thrills out of being scared, and I love when a good mystery is involved as well. Breed definitely brings both aspects. These people start to get truly bizarre side effects from an out of country fertility treatment, and frankly it freaked me the heck out. The mystery part gets less "mysterious" and more "What is going to happen next?" during part 2, when we fast-forward 10 years later to the kids' perspective, and change from horror to more of a high speed...more Horror has always been my thing. I get thrills out of being scared, and I love when a good mystery is involved as well. Breed definitely brings both aspects. These people start to get truly bizarre side effects from an out of country fertility treatment, and frankly it freaked me the heck out. The mystery part gets less "mysterious" and more "What is going to happen next?" during part 2, when we fast-forward 10 years later to the kids' perspective, and change from horror to more of a high speed chase. I found this part exciting at first, mostly fascinating due to the unknown, but it does drag on after a while, seemingly becoming a chase that never ends with spurts of unnecessary drama that slows things down.

Looking back, part 1 of the book is what I deem my favorite. We get introduced to this couple who desperately wants a baby. So badly that they hop on a plane to visit a doctor in a new country who they hear gets ridiculously positive results. Little could they know that shortly after, they'd be acting strangely similar to animals. From almost amusing animalistic behavior to eating their own barf, this book goes from strange to positively disgusting. I know some may warn, in books like Anna Dressed in Blood, or I Hunt Killers that it's not for the faint of heart, so let me put this clear, this is nothing compared to getting a visual of someone enjoying licking their own sick off their fingers. This is just one example. I swear, this haunted me for days, causing loss of appetite and general nauseousness. I am not even kidding. I blame this book for days of discomfort! Nothing in the WORLD is grosser than vomit! I could watch a surgery while eating Spaghetti, but I can not deal with vomit. Even the word--vomit--is gross. Really, say it slow. Vo-m-it. *barf*

Grossness aside, it was like I couldn't stop from finding out what weird twisted thing these people were going to do next. It's pretty horrific, when you know the whole story, and kind of... well, it's effed up! How the kids had to live their lives, the way they were raised, what they have to fear. Once we get to the second part, we see that the side effects did not escape their children, either; although in a different manner. The premise itself makes a great horror tale, perfect for fans of the Stephen King novels in all their strange glory. After we get past the initial shock, however, is where I found it started to slip and became more like a non stop action movie. The ones that are fast paced, but still feel especially drawn out. Dramatic happenings that, instead of being exciting as it is meant, feels like insignificant detours; adding action and no substance. Ultimately, I grew bored of it shortly after the half way point.

This is for none other than those who enjoy adult horror novels. Its unusual story is bound to bring you in for a real mind-f*ckery, and it will probably make you barf. Who's in?

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For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

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Apr 21, 2013 Jennyb rated it 3 of 5 stars

Who would have thought that the guy who wrote Endless Love would write a horror novel? Well, he did, and not only that, he did a fairly decent job of it. This novel -- a "Rosemary's Baby"-esque creeper -- won't change your life, but it's a fun, decently written light read. It drags in parts (partial spoiler), as when pages upon pages are chewed up with the father chasing his errant children through the streets of New York and also at the end when the mother is trailing about Slovenia. It's also...more

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May 08, 2013 Craig DiLouie rated it 3 of 5 stars

In BREED by Chase Novak (an alias for writer/novelist Scott Spencer), Alex and Leslie Twisden lead glamorous lives in New York City, but they have been trying without success to have children for years–until they hear about a novel treatment from a Slovenian doctor. Soon, Leslie becomes pregnant with twins, but not without consequences as Alex and Leslie realize they are becoming increasingly animalistic.

Ten years later, adored but living in a house of secrets, the twins Adam and Alice find them...more

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Apr 28, 2013 Erik Carl son rated it 4 of 5 stars

I’m not huge into horror. Sure I like my zombie movies, werewolves, and general monster madness, but uberviolence does me in. I can’t help but think of the author’s issues.

When I received Breed, I wasn’t sure what I was getting.

The description of the book reads, “Alex and Leslie Twisden lead charmed lives-fabulous jobs, a luxurious town house on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, a passionate marriage. What they don’t have is a child, and as they try one infertility treatment after the next, yearning...more

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Apr 11, 2013 Hannah Lackoff rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was completely ridiculous- which was not to say that I didn't enjoy it. The plot is something out of an overdone B-Horror movie: A wealthy childless couple, having exhausted all other methods of procreation travel to a mysterious doctor in Slovenia who treats them with a number of injections to increase their fertility. The drugs work almost immediately, and nine months later the woman gives birth to healthy twins and their malformed sibling, who is immediately whisked away. But of cou...more

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Mar 24, 2013 Melissa Lee-tammeus rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: borrowed

I picked this up because it was recommended by the horror god himself, Mr. King. Then I found on that Novak (pen name) is actually the guy who wrote Endless Love (yep, that one). So, I figured with those credentials, why not give the horror genre another shot? I'd actually given up on it for a time - it seems blood and gore runs the show these days and not much surprises me. This had some of that but I have to admit there was one scene that had me a bit freaked out - is the crazy lady really in...more

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Feb 27, 2013 Shirleen Chang added it

“Breed” by Chase Novak is one of the best horror novels I’ve ever read. It’s a classic, yet also original. It fits into a horror novel because it describes the scenes in a gory matter and the situations are thrilling.
This novel is about two high-class couples named Alex and Leslie Twisden. Alex is a lawyer, running his own lawyer’s office and Leslie is a sales woman who travels the world. While they may be successful financially, they haven’t been successful with fertility in three years. They’...more “Breed” by Chase Novak is one of the best horror novels I’ve ever read. It’s a classic, yet also original. It fits into a horror novel because it describes the scenes in a gory matter and the situations are thrilling.
This novel is about two high-class couples named Alex and Leslie Twisden. Alex is a lawyer, running his own lawyer’s office and Leslie is a sales woman who travels the world. While they may be successful financially, they haven’t been successful with fertility in three years. They’ve spent a quarter of a million dollars trying many remedies and all the tricks they know in attempt of having a child, but still ended up childless. Alex refuses to adopt a child because he wants one from his own blood, so he can pass on his bloodline, as his last name is very important to him. His ancestors were one of the first to settle in America. On one seemingly ordinary evening, they meet up with another couple, whom they have been long time friends with. Alex and Leslie see that the wife is finally pregnant, even though the couple has tried for eleven years. Alex and Leslie want to know their secret, and so it takes them to a journey into a doctor’s office in Slovania. But the doctor’s office doesn’t look anything like one and after painful procedures, Leslie does end up pregnant. Twelve years later, the twins start questioning why they are locked up every night and why they hear bone crunching noises coming from their parents bedroom. Curiosity crawls against their skin; when they found their answers, they are in fear. This sends the family down a spiral of chases, miscommunication, and distrust.
The book is written in third person, but switches back and forth of the characters in the family, as each one goes through their own situations. This is Novak’s way of creating a strong cliff hanger. So many situations of the people will rush through the reader’s mind; the situations are overwhelming, but incomplete, urging the reader to keep on reading. Novak describes the antagonists as horrific, but all of them have a hint of innocence in themselves; the fact that the parents did everything for love:

“ “Don’t tell me what to do! My children are missing.” Leslie picks up the vase filled with dead reeking flowers and throws it against the wall, smashing it to pieces. Her face in contorted, her eyes two red wounds. She lunges for the sink and begins to empty it, smashing cups glasses plate and platters. “My babies! My babies! I have to have my babies!” ”(Novak 199).

I would recommend “Breed” to anyone. The way the author describes the scenarios in the book is very vivid, as if you were practically watching a movie. A horror novel is better than watching a movie if you don’t like scary faces physically coming at you. The best way to describe “Breed” is that it is genuinely frightening. The author’s intended audience are those who love a good scare. It honestly gave me shivers down my spine. I took this book everywhere with me, but when I read this book at night in my bedroom, I was terrified to go to sleep and at the same time, I couldn’t put it down. You know you’re truly enjoying the book if you’re suffering with that kind of irony. In fact, that’s the best kind of horror book.(less)

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Feb 27, 2013 Monique rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: disturbia-murder-and-nightmare-book, wanksters-one-star-books

Umm I dont know if I read the same book as others but I was totally unimpressed here after so much promise I renewed this book and actually spent an unheard of week of precious reading time plowing through this and alas found myself unspooked, uninterested and just happy I got through it (wow I used a lot of words with the letter u--tee hee) okay so yeah it was not at all what it is hyped up to be, I mean hyped by Stephen King,THE horror master nonetheless..Sigh, what potential and I have to rat...more Umm I dont know if I read the same book as others but I was totally unimpressed here after so much promise I renewed this book and actually spent an unheard of week of precious reading time plowing through this and alas found myself unspooked, uninterested and just happy I got through it (wow I used a lot of words with the letter u--tee hee) okay so yeah it was not at all what it is hyped up to be, I mean hyped by Stephen King,THE horror master nonetheless..Sigh, what potential and I have to rate it the one-star specifically because I was so disappointed..Okay so the story is about Leslie and Alex Twisden, a hollowed out rich couple never really fleshed out as characters who have it all: wealth, great NY home and love yet feel empty without a baby.. To help fulfill this dream they spend years trying things and spending all kinds of money, attending meetings with no luck until they meet a couple in their same situation who are miraculously pregnant and they ask for the number to the doctor who helped..Pause this also was a weird little scene as the man in the other couple would not give him the doctor unless he was promised a job LOL, blackmail for a baby tsk tsk..okay so I must admit here the story had real intrigue for me I was so curious about the doctor and his practices in the eerily foreign Slovenia in the dark mysterious rooms of his offices and if the novel went more into that and the changes that happened after I would have loved it..but hmmph you only get snippets of that then the novel gets weird, drawn out and silly..Leslie and Alex immediately get pregnant and have beautiful twins but start to change soon after the vague injections by growing hair, losing their ability to function as humans and craving meat, specifically the meat of their children..As they descend into meat eating animal-like creatures I feel you kinda miss the effect, this book is reviewed as being gross- well crazy me wanted more gore, blood, monstrous transitions-a few incidents of eating hamsters, arms and dogs are not going to scare me off..I also feel like the author skipping ten years of the story, adding in an insignificant "third child" and the community of other children with parents like theirs in Central Park and along with a bunch of other unanswered questions not worth pondering made the story not only unbelievable but unenjoyable. It's not worth any more review LOL...(less)

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Jan 28, 2013 Stella rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, 2012

Not my usual read, but from the Kindle sample I downloaded it looked interesting so I purchased the book.

And as I was reading, I got increasingly annoyed with the author's reference to Slovenia. I get it that he was trying to create a setting of a small, remote, backward country with no laws where experimental medical treatments may be done on humans - but Slovenia??!!

The author assumes everyone is as ignorant as he is and repeats several times that nobody has ever heard of Slovenia. Really? Wh...more Not my usual read, but from the Kindle sample I downloaded it looked interesting so I purchased the book.

And as I was reading, I got increasingly annoyed with the author's reference to Slovenia. I get it that he was trying to create a setting of a small, remote, backward country with no laws where experimental medical treatments may be done on humans - but Slovenia??!!

The author assumes everyone is as ignorant as he is and repeats several times that nobody has ever heard of Slovenia. Really? Where are those "nobodys"? (everyone I know has heard of it, everyone in Europe has heard of it, and I am pretty sure anyone who has ever followed any news has heard of it)

Then he describes their airline as "something called Adria" (it is a national airline of Slovenia, so why "something") and is amazed that there is no first class on a 45 minute flight from Munich to Ljubljana (there usually isn't on such short flights).

I could sort of deal with all that, but then he is surprised (appalled) that there is no passport or customs control on arrival. A simple Wiki check would have explained that (Slovenia is a part of Eurpean Union and so is Germany, so when arriving from Munich there is no passport control! Duh!)

Anyway, while Slovenia is a small country, it falls under the same laws, rules and regulations as Germany, France or any other Eurpeaan Union country. (which is why the doctor wanted euros as opposed to dollars, but author seems to find this very strange and repeats it several times)

For a while I wondered if the author is actually kidding, but I don't think he was.

That annoyed me as much as his "foreshadowing" (it was so obvious it was almost funny) - a father wants to eat up a child because he is so cute, gobi fish eats its young, blah, blah.
So I had to conclude only a few pages down the track that eventually, somehow, those parents will want to eat up their own children. But I already didn't care about the characters who can't use the Internet and check out Slovenia.

P.S. I am not Slovenian, just someone who has heard of it. (less)

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Jan 23, 2013 Brandon Cardona rated it 5 of 5 stars

Now, this thing was creepy as hell. It seems that Chase Novak (Never heard of him before) is a fan of a lot of horror stuff, as this story has hints of vampires, warewolves, psychotic killers, canibalism, and a good dose of Peter Pan, and the movie The Lost Boys. I also saw hints of The Omen, and Rosemary's Baby in it. It tells the story of a young couple who want to have a child but can't become pregnant. After exhausting all options available, they turn to some Dr. in Slovenia, who has a 95% s...more

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Jan 19, 2013 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Alex and Leslie Twisden live in a gorgeous, humongous house in Manhattan and lead very privileged lives. Only one thing is missing: a child. Alex is significantly older than Leslie and they are having problems conceiving. They have tried every infertility treatment they can find no matter how ridiculous sounding or expensive it is, including in vitro fertilization, various medicines, homeopathic remedies, and various diets. Leslie wants to give up and just adopt, but Alex is persistent. After pr...more Alex and Leslie Twisden live in a gorgeous, humongous house in Manhattan and lead very privileged lives. Only one thing is missing: a child. Alex is significantly older than Leslie and they are having problems conceiving. They have tried every infertility treatment they can find no matter how ridiculous sounding or expensive it is, including in vitro fertilization, various medicines, homeopathic remedies, and various diets. Leslie wants to give up and just adopt, but Alex is persistent. After practically being robbed just to get the information, one of Alex's friends gives him the information for an Eastern European doctor with a revolutionary new treatment that has a huge success rate. Even with Leslie's misgivings, they travel to Slovenia and get the painful injections. Success! Conception follows swiftly and twins are born. Fast forward 10 years. The twins Adam and Alice are terrified of them. They are locked in their rooms at night and keep terrifying secrets for their parents. After they can't take any more, they run away and inadvertently discover the secret behind their parents' behavior and their own nature.

Breed is a fascinating and addictive read. The concepts are interesting, even if I have to suspend disbelief. The fertility injections Alex and Leslie received changed them and made them more savage and animalistic. They are starting to lose language, becoming more violent, and struggling against the urge to eat their children. Although the science behind this is shaky at best, these parents are frightening. I definitely feel the constant fear of their children and the undercurrent of uneasiness and hostility everywhere. They are terrified of telling anyone about their parents, but their inaction could also mean their deaths. Their will power is the only thing between their children and a horrible, gruesome death. It begs the question if having those children is really worth becoming cannibalistic monsters for. There are plenty of other options that can be explored before resorting to questionable, untested treatments that could contain anything. Even though they go through all this madness to make their lives complete, it ironically and utterly destroys their lives. They lose the ability to work in public, sell or destroy all their valuables, and allow their house and the surrounding property descend into disrepair. This is a new spin on the classic story of getting screwed over because of messing too much with nature.

Some flaws mar this otherwise addicting novel. The science behind the treatment and its effects are dubious and I had to force myself to suspend disbelief. If it were just explained as magic, it would have been much less annoying. The other thing that bothers me is the weird, unneeded subplots. A third baby was born, but pronounced dead and a nurse adopted him, raising him as her own. This subplot just didn't really go anywhere, became confusing as it went on, and made the book less focused. This space in the book could have been used to further develop the meaningful characters or the plot.

Breed is a thought provoking, creepy novel. There are some really memorable scenes that would look awesome on a movie screen. I would love to read a sequel to Breed focusing on how the treatment affected the children (of all the parents who used it) and how they will shape the future. (less)

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Dec 28, 2012 Victoria rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-with-dogs, horror, mystery-thriller, twins

With an eye-catching cover and an intriguing title, I had high hopes for this horror novel - and surprisingly, it more than lived up to them! I really enjoyed this strange and absorbing tale. There were a few odd moments of point-of-view, and I really would have preferred a different narrator than the omniscient one. More fear would have perhaps been generated if the perspective of narration originated from a more focused and central source. The ending came all together too quickly and abruptly,...more

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Dec 13, 2012 Diane rated it 3 of 5 stars

Horror is not a genre I often read. I used to read Stephen King (Cujo), and Peter Straub's Ghost Story scared the heck out of me. I don't read any of the vampire/werewolf novels that are so popular now, so I'm not sure what drew me to Chase Novak's Breed.

A cross between Rosemary's Baby (a classic horror novel I did read) and the vampire/werewolf genre, Alex and Leslie Twisden, two perfectly lovely Upper East New York City residents lead a wonderful life: fulfilling jobs, a happy marriage, an enj...more Horror is not a genre I often read. I used to read Stephen King (Cujo), and Peter Straub's Ghost Story scared the heck out of me. I don't read any of the vampire/werewolf novels that are so popular now, so I'm not sure what drew me to Chase Novak's Breed.

A cross between Rosemary's Baby (a classic horror novel I did read) and the vampire/werewolf genre, Alex and Leslie Twisden, two perfectly lovely Upper East New York City residents lead a wonderful life: fulfilling jobs, a happy marriage, an enjoyable social life. Having a baby would make everything perfect.

Alex is heir to a fortune, and they live in his family's incredible townhouse. After trying for a long time unsuccessfully to have a baby, the support group they belong to is starting to grate on them. Throwing money at the situation hasn't helped, but when they run into a former support group couple on the street and see that they are pregnant, they beg the couple to share their secret.

They get the name of a doctor in Eastern Europe, and off they go. When they get there, the situation is very scary and Leslie doesn't trust the doctor. But Alex convinces her to take the treatment and Leslie becomes pregnant.

Fast forward ten years and we meet their twins Alice and Adam. Every night the children are locked in their bedrooms, and they hear frightening, animalistic noises coming from their parents room. As the noises become more disturbing, Adam convinces Alice that they must escape or something horrible will befall them.

Leslie and Alex have been almost reclusive, unable to work, and their home has fallen down around them. The once beautiful showplace looks like homeless drug addicts live there. They live like animals, and any animals in their path had better scurry.

When Leslie and Alex find their children have escaped, the chase is on. Adam makes his way to a trusted teacher's apartment, where Alex tracks him. Alice ends up in Central Park and finds a group of mysterious children who have some kind of connection to her.

The children's ventures into the scary underbelly of New York made the hair on my arms stand up. Alex is always on the trail, one step behind them and when he finds them hell breaks loose.

I wasn't really satisfied with the end of the novel, however. I wasn't sure how it would end, but the end seemed a bit abrupt to me.

This is a violent, scary, disturbing, grotesque novel, one I never would have normally chosen to read, yet I couldn't stop reading. Novak (a pseudonym for writer Scott Spencer, who wrote Endless Love) knows how to keep the reader turning the pages.

It's the kind of book where you find that you have to force yourself to breathe out, and any little noise will make you peer into the dark corner of the bedroom fearing what you may find. Read this one with the lights on.

Although there are young protagonists in the book, this is not a book for young teens.
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Dec 10, 2012 Rick Urban rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. At turns stomach-turning and harrowing, Breed straddles the divide between literary and penny-dreadful, telling the story of two upper-crust New Yorkers who desperately want a baby to continue their lineage, and get what's coming to them, and a whole lot more. The author, Scott Spencer (here writing under the pseudonym of Chase Novak), has both affection and contempt for his spoiled and selfish parents, who fall down the evolutionary ladder in their desperate attempt to maintain their bloodline...more

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Nov 25, 2012 Pavarti Tyler rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this from the author at Book Expo America 2012. No promise of a review was made and certainly no promise of a positive review.

Review: The premise of Breed is phenomenal. It's basically exactly what I've been dying for someone to write. Genetic manipulation taken to it's most extreme and the terrifying effects this can have on one's humanity. I was full of high hopes when I started. Between a slug by Steven King and the author's track record (National Book Awar...more Disclaimer: I received a copy of this from the author at Book Expo America 2012. No promise of a review was made and certainly no promise of a positive review.

Review: The premise of Breed is phenomenal. It's basically exactly what I've been dying for someone to write. Genetic manipulation taken to it's most extreme and the terrifying effects this can have on one's humanity. I was full of high hopes when I started. Between a slug by Steven King and the author's track record (National Book Award Finalist) it should have been amazing. Plus, the cover is gorgeously creepy in it's simplicity.

Unfortunately, Breed doesn't live up to it's potential. Written in 3rd person omniscient, Breed is difficult to engage with. The writing is often bloated and self referential, giving the reader the feeling of being talked down to. Novak (pen name for Scott Spencer) takes great pleasure in both condemning the upper class lifestyle of the NY Elite while simultaneously writing in the wink-wink nudge-nudge style of someone who likes to remind you they are on the inside.

The best sections of Breed are written in 3rd person close POV (which the whole book should have been. This would have removed the authorial voice which is the primary problem with the writing). Cynthia, Amile and Michael are by far the most engaging characters (both plot wise and due to writing style) but are the least attended to plot lines. Instead we are hounded (hehe) with descriptions of how hairy the parents are and chasing. It was kind of like reading a Jon Woo film script, where there is always one too many car chase scenes.

Breed isn't a bad book, it's primary issue is that it's a phenomenal book buried under layers and layers of monotonous repetition. I couldn't get the idea of Breed out of my head. It is truly horrific and possible, which is always the scariest element in a good horror tome. My frustration over the book is because of this, because it could be so good. It could be insightful and intelligent and deeply disturbing. Instead, it spends a lot of time making sure you think it's insightful and intelligent.

Overall, you should check Breed out, if only because of the places it will take your imagination. Novak is truly inspired in his originality and concept. Rarely is something so unique conceived, especially in the horror genre. Make sure to take your daily dose of salt though, and don't get too invested, otherwise you'll end up as annoyed as I am. I mean, I still don't know what happens at the end! All I can hope for is that there will be a second book in the world of Breed which is actually take the time to explain all of the hanging questions.(less)

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Nov 02, 2012 Book Twirps rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Alex and Leslie are a wealthy couple, living a luxurious life in Manhattan. They seem to have everything they could ever want — except a child. After several failed attempts at fertility doctors, the couple travel to Slovenia when they get word that there is a doctor there who can pretty much guarantee they will get pregnant. The procedure they both undergo is very painful, but it works. Leslie finally manages to get pregnant and gives birth to triplets. Two of the children, Adam and Alice are b...more Alex and Leslie are a wealthy couple, living a luxurious life in Manhattan. They seem to have everything they could ever want — except a child. After several failed attempts at fertility doctors, the couple travel to Slovenia when they get word that there is a doctor there who can pretty much guarantee they will get pregnant. The procedure they both undergo is very painful, but it works. Leslie finally manages to get pregnant and gives birth to triplets. Two of the children, Adam and Alice are beautiful and healthy, but the third, Bernard is monstrously deformed and is taken away by the nurse.

Now that Leslie and Alex have their children, they expect to be a normal family, but there’s something wrong with them. Over the last several years, they have become increasingly violent, and have an unquenchable thirst for rodents, and eventually human flesh. The twins are desperate to find answers to what is happening to their parents, and in the process, escape an even bigger threat to their existence.

This book was…interesting. Okay, let me be honest. It was kind of gross. I know it’s a horror story, but I prefer my horror less grisly. The story itself was pretty interesting, and actually moves at a decent pace. It was only the first few chapters where I felt it dragged a little. My biggest problem was that I didn’t feel like I really connected 100% to the characters. I didn’t really care about Leslie or Alex, and once they turned extremely violent, I was put off even more. The kids were likable and I did feel for them. I mean, they are trying to find out why their parents have become what they have. Imagine finding out the whole reason they are the way they are is because they wanted so desperately to bring you into the world. I do feel there was a real missed opportunity with the third baby and the nurse. I really wanted more from them. I think that would have added a bigger punch. In the end, I felt that bit kind of fizzled.

The book flows well, and the writing is solid. I think a lot of die-hard horror fans will either love or hate this one. For me it was a good read, but a little too gory.(less)

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Oct 25, 2012 Vegantrav rated it 4 of 5 stars

******SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW******

Desperately seeking fertility, Alex and Leslie, as a last resort, seek the help of Dr. Kis in far off Slovenia. He injects both Leslie and Alex, painfully with a large syringe, with a mysterious serum. Shortly thereafter, they become ravenously hypersexual, and Leslie is soon pregnant and eventually gives birth to triplets: Alice, Adam, and a genetic monstrosity, Bernard, whom we are initially led to believe is euthanized but is actually spirited away by a devo...more ******SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW******

Desperately seeking fertility, Alex and Leslie, as a last resort, seek the help of Dr. Kis in far off Slovenia. He injects both Leslie and Alex, painfully with a large syringe, with a mysterious serum. Shortly thereafter, they become ravenously hypersexual, and Leslie is soon pregnant and eventually gives birth to triplets: Alice, Adam, and a genetic monstrosity, Bernard, whom we are initially led to believe is euthanized but is actually spirited away by a devoutly religious nurse.

Life, following Dr. Kis's treatments, is never the same for the yuppie Manhattan couple. Both Leslie and Alex grow ever more hirsute, ever more lupine, ever stronger, ever faster. They never actually metamorphosize as in the classic werewolf tales into wolves, but their behavior and tastes (they develop a taste for rats, squirrels, raw meat, dogs, and even human flesh, and most horrifically, they start to yearn for the flesh of their own children) become more and more wolfish as they become less and less human, even gradually, though not completely, losing their capacity for language. The driving force in the narrative occurs when, at ten years of age, Alice and Adam, starkly frightened by their parents' behavior and afraid for their own lives, run away from home.

Breed is a classic tale of horror with a few elements of humor scattered about and a great deal of violence and terrifying suspense. There is no happy ending here, but scary stories wouldn't really be scary if, in the end, everything all worked out for good. This is a dark novel but one that is highly entertaining.

An interesting philosophical and psychological issue arises in this novel: Alex and Leslie gradually, due to their injections from Dr. Kis, slough off the mores of the mass of humanity, becoming uncivil, vicious, bloodthirsty (literally), cruel, and violent. We know that these changes in Alex and Leslie are not their fault: they result from the changes wrought by Dr. Kis's injections. Knowing this, we readers should be sympathetic toward Alex and Leslie, for we know that they are not really responsible for their actions--the unethical, even evil, Dr. Kis is responsible--as their very selves have been transformed by chemical-biological forces beyond their control. Still, as we watch in horror their increasingly wolfish behavior, we cannot help but hold them responsible, yet they are not acting truly freely, and so it is not really fair of us to impugn them for their actions when they are not in full control of themselves; nevertheless, we do so. This brings home the point that, regardless of what we believe about free will--even, in fact, if we don't believe in free will at all--we cannot escape the human tendency to assign responsibility to an individual for actions that that individual carries out even if the individual is acting in ways she or he would prefer not to due to factors that have rendered her or his free will impotent.(less)

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Oct 23, 2012 Jason rated it 2 of 5 stars

It being October I thought I would read a "horror" novel and who better to suggest such a novel than Stephen King, the master of horror himself. Mr King said that this novel was the best he has read since Straub's Ghost Story. After reading this novel I have to wonder if King thinks that most everything that has been written since Ghost Story is garbage and that his expectations are very low indeed.
Breed is written by Scott Spencer (Endless Love) under the pseudonym of Chase Novak. He sets the...more It being October I thought I would read a "horror" novel and who better to suggest such a novel than Stephen King, the master of horror himself. Mr King said that this novel was the best he has read since Straub's Ghost Story. After reading this novel I have to wonder if King thinks that most everything that has been written since Ghost Story is garbage and that his expectations are very low indeed.
Breed is written by Scott Spencer (Endless Love) under the pseudonym of Chase Novak. He sets the tale among NYC's elite--private school--rich. A subject he , obviously knows little about. It is easy to hate the rich and for an author to pander to the masses (let's face it most people are not rich.) Unfortunately, hating your own protagonists, makes for very uninteresting characters. That is the major problem with this novel.
He also seems to hate NYC and this comes across quite clearly as he berates everything from the people to the police. The city, itself, is a character and maybe he should have picked the area he lives in (upstate NY) to create some warmth to a very frigid novel. There has to be some contrast in these types of novels where something in the book is sympathetic.
The main characters are the Twisden's an Upper East Side, old money couple, who want to have a baby. The theme here is that the rich have to go to great lengths to make themselves viable. They are impotent, their city is inept and little by little the veneer is pealed away to show the monsters that they really are. He tries to make his characters likeable, but, since he does not like them he fails at this.
After awhile he begins to write about their offspring who must run from the monsters that begin to emerge from the parents. These characters are also uninteresting, as are, the other hopeless offspring of other rich, impotent parents. None of these characters are really developed and they go nowhere and by the end of the novel I felt betrayed by the author who took me on a meaningless journey.
One character, Mrs Twisden's sister, Cynthia, is an interesting character, but Spencer leaves her off with no conclusion (perhaps a sequel ?). Her character has the best moments as she makes her way down a staircase to face the horror that her sister has left behind, in the cellar, of their townhouse. I cared what would happen to her, I was invested in the character and that was the only moments that the author gives us to have a real thrill. There are moments of gore (a cheap way to try to scare), and of attempted humor, but, basiclly, a poor attempt at the genre.
I struggled with the idea that, perhaps, I am being too hard on the novel, because King gave me great expectations--that may be true-- but mostly I felt this was a flat, under-developed novel and I would be better off rereading Peter Straub's Ghost Story or King's Salem's Lot; two of the best horror novels I have ever read.(less)

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Oct 16, 2012 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars

Look, if you are looking for Nabokov this isn't the book for you. BUT...if you are a fan of highly entertaining and elegantly moving prose, then this is the read for you.

The story is pretty good and the ending is, like some other reviewers have noted, pretty damn good. But what is amazing about this book is that the flow of the writing and narrative is unrelenting. I could not_put_it_down. I was consumed by it.

I am a writer and reader who likes to be entertained. I have very low tolerance with...more

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Sep 25, 2012 Kristen My Bookish Fairy Tale rated it 5 of 5 stars

Breed is a chilling and horrifying tale. It is terrifying and not like anything I have read before. Breed is definitely not for the faint of heart.

Breed takes you on a disturbing tale of one couple`s journey to have children. They will do anything and I mean anything to have kids. After all hope has been lost, or so they think, they hear of a doctor who has a magical ability to get women pregnant. Even after all of western medicine has failed them, this doctor seems to know the secret.

What star...more

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Sep 17, 2012 Roger Miller rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm not a fan of horror novels -- I'm usually too squeamish and don't see the point of freaking myself out with the tortured product of someone else's dystopic vision. I heard the author of "Breed" interviewed on NPR and was impressed. I look into his earlier novels (written under his real name, Scott Spencer) and realized he's been nominated multiple times for the National Book Award. That told me that "Breed" isn't some piece of dreck -- and it's not. It's a fast-paced, shocking, relatively be...more

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Sep 09, 2012 Jimmmunchel rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. `BREED by Chase Novak

It is no secret that Chase Novak is a pseudonym for bestselling author Scott Spencer. He is best known for his novels ENDLESS LOVE which was made into a popular film with Brooke Shields and A SHIP MADE OF PAPER.
Now, venturing into a realm with very few peers except for the likes of Stephen King, Dean Koontz and Dan Simmons, the horror genre, BREED is a majorly updated version of ROSEMARY’S BABY fueled for the new century.

Known for the classic novels A SHIP MADE OF PAPER and...more `BREED by Chase Novak

It is no secret that Chase Novak is a pseudonym for bestselling author Scott Spencer. He is best known for his novels ENDLESS LOVE which was made into a popular film with Brooke Shields and A SHIP MADE OF PAPER.
Now, venturing into a realm with very few peers except for the likes of Stephen King, Dean Koontz and Dan Simmons, the horror genre, BREED is a majorly updated version of ROSEMARY’S BABY fueled for the new century.

Known for the classic novels A SHIP MADE OF PAPER and ENDLESS LOVE (which became a major motion picture starring Brooke Shields and James Spader), Scott Spencer has reinvented himself. Chase Novak has emerged from the cocoon and has presented the novel BREED.

Alex and Leslie lead charmed New Yorker lives. They have everything but what they desire most, a baby. Alex comes from an affluent family and Leslie considers herself his ‘trophy wife’ due to the age difference between them. After exhausting every medical procedure known to the medical community, they are at the end of a long, weary crossroad to adopt or not?

One day while walking in Central Park they encounter a couple they knew to have the same fertility issues. The woman is pregnant and Alex, hesitant but desperate offers the husband a job in his law firm to procure their secret. Something the casual couple has no desire to divulge but for a price.

Fast forward ten years and Alex and Leslie are the proud parents of twins Adam and Alice. Beautiful children with a few family secrets. Children locked in their rooms at night by their parents, petrified of the noises that echo throughout the brownstone during the night. Ravenous parents with a hunger for their own children.

I loved this horror novel because it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Gruesome and funny at the same time is a rare talent for most writers. Knowing that the premise may or may not be plausible is half the fun of reading this class act novel of ingenious horror.

Jim Munchel/Co-Manager of Books
Books A Million
(less)

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Sep 09, 2012 Mike rated it 1 of 5 stars

There's a lovely, creepy, under-seen film set amongst the wealthy in NYC -- Birth , like the best horror, burrows under the skin with an ability to make the utterly familiar seem uncertain, make you question who people are or what lies underneath, to twist our understanding of relationships inside out.

There's also a hacky, overblown, high-profile film set amongst the wealthy in NYC -- Wolf , like the blandest horror, relies upon some stock disuptions of the normal (and normative), finding fairl...more There's a lovely, creepy, under-seen film set amongst the wealthy in NYC -- Birth , like the best horror, burrows under the skin with an ability to make the utterly familiar seem uncertain, make you question who people are or what lies underneath, to twist our understanding of relationships inside out.

There's also a hacky, overblown, high-profile film set amongst the wealthy in NYC -- Wolf , like the blandest horror, relies upon some stock disuptions of the normal (and normative), finding fairly familiar Id-iotic impulses running under everyday life, but the film is swollen by a false sense of saying something--as if the pulpy pleasures of genre need better set design, as if the gloss provided by the bigshot talent behind the film will turn leaden convention into gold.

This novel is far more like the second example than the first. I compare it to films because--despite a tedious expository fussiness--it seems so explicitly to be written with cinematic conventions. (At one point, as dad Alex digs through an apartment abandoned by the parents who told he and his wife about a new fertility treatment, and now something BAD has happened to them, he opens a drawer and "[t]he blade of a straight razor greets him with a sinister wink of reflected light." That "of reflected light" spells out the image, rather than trusting language.)

And yet the novel balloons from a potentially sleek, lurid little exercise with the kind of bloated extrapolations that think the thrust of action and convention need better set design to be taken seriously. When one character is thrown through the air, to end flight impaled on a statue's sword, we get four paragraphs of the character thinking, realizing what has happened. Don't get me wrong here: I happen to like movies where people are thrown the air and get impaled on objects. The fact that this impalement happens in the novel is pretty far from surprising, yet the drawn-out sequence only works if we readers are surprised by the sudden occurrence of a pulpy contrivance in the midst of "character" and "good writing."

I disliked this more than others may, because I long for more great uneasy horror OR for more well-made reiterations of the generic potboiler. I kind of hate when a cheesy potboiler comes across like, pinkies in the air, some kind of recuperation of trash. This bored the hell out of me.(less)

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Sep 03, 2012 Kim McGee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Good old fashioned scary horror story that should not be read by anyone who is pregnant, thinking about becoming pregnant, knows someone who has had fertility treatments - ok, I think you get the idea. Breed is Rosemary's Baby meets The Jungle Book. A wealthy couple yearns for children to make their lives complete and have the means to try some really out there fertility treatments in Slovania. What they don't know is that these wonderful shots contain something more than vitamins and begin to t...more

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Aug 23, 2012 She-Wolf Reads rated it 4 of 5 stars

I’ll start with a caveat. I’m no big fan of horror. I tend toward science based sci-fi. Arthur C. Clarke being at the top of my list of favorite sci-fi writers. So, when I was asked to review an advance copy of Breed by Chase Novak (the pen name for Scott Spencer), I was apprehensive. I have very little background or interest overall in the genre. And, after reading the sticker on the cover offering a quote by the King of Horror himself, Stephen King, who hailed Breed as “the best horror novel I...more

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Jun 19, 2012 Greg rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, horror

If you want a fairly entertaining book to read in it's entirety on a three and a half hour train ride this would be a fairly good choice.

Stephen King, in superlative tourette's he seems cursed with when blurbing a book, calls this the best horror novel since Peter Straub's Ghost Story. I haven't read Ghost Story so I can't say it's the best horror novel written in the past thirty two years (I doubt it though, just a feeling) but I don't think this is the best horror novel written in the past th...more If you want a fairly entertaining book to read in it's entirety on a three and a half hour train ride this would be a fairly good choice.

Stephen King, in superlative tourette's he seems cursed with when blurbing a book, calls this the best horror novel since Peter Straub's Ghost Story. I haven't read Ghost Story so I can't say it's the best horror novel written in the past thirty two years (I doubt it though, just a feeling) but I don't think this is the best horror novel written in the past thirty years.

Does anyone take Stephen King blurbs seriously anymore?

The book is about a couple of can't have kids. She's a mid-west transplant working in publishing. He's the sion of some old money family. They have lots of money and a great life but no kids. She's willing to adopt, he wants to pass on his fine pedigree genes to continue the blue-blood line.

After trying everything, they find a doctor in Slovenia who guarantees to make them fertile, give them some injections and the couple go back to their hotel room and fuck like bunnies and nine months later, twins!

Something in the injection the parents get makes them sort of feral though and the kids start to realize that things are a little weird and scary around their house. So they do what any pair of ten year olds would do when they are starting to suspect that mom and dad might want to make a meal of them, they run away.

Chase Novak is the horror writing pen-name of Scott Spencer. He's one of those writers that I've never read but who seems to get at least nominated for a big award for each novel he writes. At times it feels like he is having a lot of fun writing this. He gets to say things that probably wouldn't fly in a literary novel, and I can't put my finger on why, but it feels like the author was having fun.

The novel is fun to read, but it's not especially scary. There aren't scenes of real tension in the story, and the grislier scenes are fairly toned down. Some nasty shit happens in the story, but the reader sort of needs to fill in some of the gaps if they want to gross themselves out with imagery. I'm sure it's scary as hell to be ten years old and believe that your parents want to eat you, but that fear was never viscerally felt.

Parts of the story are a little confusing, not narratively, the story itself is very straightforward, but why they are included. There are a couple of characters that are introduced and feel like they should have more of an important place in the story but instead they kind of drift to the background to resurface at times but without really being necessary. The character of Bernard is the one I'm really thinking of. The idea behind him seems really cool but he's not really used for too much in the story. This isn't a big deal, but in a horror / thriller type of novel the story should be streamlined for maximum impact.

I'm sure people will like this book. It's a good fast paced novel. Perfect for a train ride, and I'm sure some people will find it full of win and provide some witty pictures captioned with some quote or other, or maybe they won't. But while I had fun reading this I can't think of it as much more than a pleasant and kind of grotesque diversion. (less)

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Sep 16, 2012 Tom rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror

I read the exerpt in the Guardian newspaper online, and I was both a little grossed out and intrigued. The story of a New York couple, for whom everything is within easy reach, cars, clothes, opera. Everything but an Heir for father Alex's stunning townhouse and fortune, and a wee darling cherub for Leslie to mother. However, a last resort trip to an unethical and creepy fertility doctor in Slovenia sets the couple, and subsequent family down a scary path. Twins Adam and Alice are born, and we m...more

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Aug 24, 2012 Kristin (MyBookishWays Reviews) rated it 5 of 5 stars

You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2012/08/...

When Leslie meets Alex Twisden, it’s pretty much love at first site. 17 years her senior, Alex is everything Leslie wants in a man: successful lawyer, wants a family, and absolutely adores Leslie. Leslie is quite capable on her own, working for an up and coming children’s publisher, and quite frankly, she’d have married Alex if he was cab driver (or other such blue collar profession.) But he’s not, and they’re deliriously...more You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2012/08/...

When Leslie meets Alex Twisden, it’s pretty much love at first site. 17 years her senior, Alex is everything Leslie wants in a man: successful lawyer, wants a family, and absolutely adores Leslie. Leslie is quite capable on her own, working for an up and coming children’s publisher, and quite frankly, she’d have married Alex if he was cab driver (or other such blue collar profession.) But he’s not, and they’re deliriously happy, comfortable in the luxury of Alex’s family brownstone, with portraits of his ancestors looking down on the hopeful lovebirds. Only one thing is missing from Alex and Leslie’s bliss: a baby. After countless fertility treatments, medical tests, and ultimately, numerous forms of quackery, “guaranteed” to increase fertility and give them the child they so desperately want, they turn to Dr. Kis, a supposed miracle worker in Slovenia. He is recommended by a neighbor and lawyer that, in exchange for information about the doctor that resulted in his wife’s pregnancy, demands to be given a job at Alex’s firm. Alex acquiesces, and learns about Dr. Kis, who supposedly performs miracles of fertility on his patients. When Alex pitches the idea to Leslie, she’s less than thrilled, having tired of the endless stress and strain put on their marriage by their efforts to conceive. She realizes how important this is to Alex, though, and agrees to go, after extracting a promise that this will be the last effort. So, the couple makes the journey to Slovenia, to the office of the strange, abrupt Dr. Kis, where a slavering pit bull stands guard, and where, little do they know, they’re about to undergo a very painful procedure. Said procedure surely achieves what Dr. Kris promised, but at what price? Turns out, it’s a big one. Huge. Soon the couple begins undergoing some terrifying changes, and by the time the twins are born (early), their lives have already become very different.

Cut to 10 years later: The Twisden house is in decline, falling to ruins, and twins Adam and Alice are kept to a very strict schedule. Dreaded are the nightly dinners where they watch their parents consume meat so rare that it’s blue and swimming in a puddle of blood (what Alex and Leslie call “gravy”). They are locked in their room on a nightly basis, and the noises that come from their parent’s room (of which Adam hears through a purloined baby monitor) are terrifying. The twins are loved, however, and Alex and Leslie haven’t harmed a hair on their heads…yet.

Adam is convinced that his parents are going to kill them, and is determined to take his sister and escape. He runs to a trusted teacher first, but his parents prove to be talented trackers, and he doesn’t remain hidden for long. Meanwhile, Alice has met a group of feral kids in Central Park that will reveal much more about their condition and what their parents may be becoming.

At first blush, Breed is pure horror, but it’s the author’s wry observations on elitist society and also Alex and Leslie’s slow loss of humanity that elevates this to something much more. Alex and Leslie adore their children, but cannot fight the changes taking place within them, and their struggle against those changes (in particular Leslie), is heartbreaking, and horrifying. The author turns the creep factor up to about 11, and it’s the first time in a while that after putting the book down, I may have been a little afraid of the dark for a few nights. By turns very scary, and heart wrenching, Breed will take you for a ride you’ll never forget, all the way to its shocking conclusion.(less)

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Jan 17, 2013 Michael Jenkins rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of Horror

Alex and Lesie Twiden have a fabulous life. They live in a beautiful neighborhood on Manhattan's Uppper East Side, with a great career. There is only one thing that is missing from their life, a child. Both of them has been trying and trying to conceive a child that they can love and nourish. When friends around them are preparing for babies, they are bewildered why they don't have their miracle baby. Leslie considers her options of adoption but Alex is not sold on that idea. Alex gets a intrigu...more Alex and Lesie Twiden have a fabulous life. They live in a beautiful neighborhood on Manhattan's Uppper East Side, with a great career. There is only one thing that is missing from their life, a child. Both of them has been trying and trying to conceive a child that they can love and nourish. When friends around them are preparing for babies, they are bewildered why they don't have their miracle baby. Leslie considers her options of adoption but Alex is not sold on that idea. Alex gets a intriguing idea about meeting a doctor that will make their baby dreams come true, but little does he know about the consequences.

They are both put through a truamatic experience with the doctor. Although they eventually have twins of their own, the side effects are foreign and strange to them. Lesie begins to have a stronger appetite for sex, passion and food. Not only that but she begins to grow hair in the most private places in her body. Lesie is not the only person that is experiencing this, Alex as well begins to grow hair everywhere, resembling an animal. When Lesie realizes that the doctor has done this to her, she is furious and wants to meet with him immediately. However Alex soon tells her that he has fled town,no where to be seen.

Ten years later, their children are terrified with the noises that come from their parents house.Convinced that their parets will have them for lunch, they are shaken with fear. Both of them has diverse personalties but they still manage to get along. Lesie thinks the greatest gift she received was when she conceived twins. Tossed and turn with nowhere to go,Alex must figure out if he is willing to accept his fate or think of a better way of living.

This was a horrifying and scary book. The first part was really good with developed characters and subject matter. However the second part was inconsistent in parts, it did not really follow the initial plot. Although this only received a three, it was a solid three and I will recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of horror.(less)

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