Steve Stred's Blog, page 4

Book Review: Starve Acre by Andrew Michael Hurley

Title: Starve Acre

Author: Andrew Michael Hurley

Release date: October 1st, 2019

I must admit, I’ve been keen to read this one since it was first released and when I first laid my eyes on that stunning cover. Over the years, it’s had a few different cover variations, but that cover with the red rabbit always kept whispering to me that I should read it and over the last six months or so, that whisper has increased in volume, growing almost to an ear-shattering scream.

One thing that had prevented me from reading it was that I’d always heard Hurley’s work was highly intellectual and that always scares me. I’m not a highly intellectual genre reader. I’m not someone who reads ambient literary fiction and easily grasps metaphors or symbolism when it’s not fully handed to me on a platter. When I do connect with a book like that, I’ll often take my time re-reading some passages, even making notes so that I can make sure my dumbass is seeing the deeper meanings within the surface words.

When it got to the point that I was certain this was going to be my next read, I reached out to my friend Gavin from Kendall Reviews and asked him about the book. He’d previously read it and loved it and frequently suggested I read it. He assured me that this isn’t one of those hard to get into books, that it was very accessible and with that re-assurance, I took a trip to Starve Acre.

What I liked: The story follows Richard and Juliette Willoughby, who’ve moved out to Richard’s parents former home – Starve Acre. While there, their young son, Ewan begins to exhibit subtle changes, outbursts and shockingly dies.

Hurley splits the story into pre and post death. We get to see the changes in Ewan before he died, how the family struggles to comprehend that their little boy is becoming who he’s becoming, while also dealing with living in Starve Acre itself. We also get to see the ripples caused by Ewan’s death, Juliette’s depression, her desire to bring him back and her inability to process that Ewan became who Ewan became.

Hurley also gives us some of the back history of Starve Acre itself. How it used to have a massive tree in the back field that was involved in a notorious moment in the surrounding town’s history and was cut down. We also learn that the search for the tree’s remains drove Richard’s father mad.

It’s a sublime set up that allows the reality of what happened to Ewan and what eventually occurs after Richard finds the skeleton of a rabbit buried in the field to be executed so perfectly.

The writing here is purposefully stilted. Or at least this reader thought so. It’s used as a misdirection technique, making it so that you grow frustrated with every single character as the story progresses. This frustration is a sleight of hand, it keeps you from seeing all the subtle clues, but when you do and when the absolutely gut-wrenchingly unnerving ending arrives, I finished with a ridiculous grin on my face.

What I didn’t like: I’ll be honest here – I hated how frustrating the dialogue was. I believe it was written like that specifically, but far too often I wanted to smack the speaker for talking like that. It worked very well to keep me from seeing every clue, but it also made me want to punch the grandma, grandpa, sister and family friend.

Why you should buy this: I didn’t find this one inaccessible, which made this reader very happy. It kept me on my toes and absolutely delivered on the grief/folklore elements that it promised. This one was a hard – emotionally – read that had me racing through the final quarter to see just what insane point it was going to end on and when I go there, it was pristine.

If you’ve not read this one yet and are looking for a dark, densely layered grief/folklore book, look no further. This is now a movie – though I’m not sure if I’ll watch it as the book was done so perfectly – so for those who love comparing the two formats, you’re set up to read it and watch it in short order.

A phenomenally frustrating yet perfect read.

Book Review: Candle Horror by Robert Weaver

Title: Candle Horror

Author: Robert Weaver

Release date: March 7th, 2025

*Huge thanks to Robert for sending me a digital copy of this one!*

I’ve read a few of Robert’s books now, and I’m 99% positive this is a pseudonym for Mike Mignola. I say that because Mike’s artwork and prose is very recognizable and Robert’s is almost identical. Now, I caveat that with two things. One – I have no idea if it is or isn’t. Robert’s created a very intriguing online presence and the way his IG page is and his Goodreads page is set up, it feels much like a pseudonym. Two – if Robert ISN’T Mignola’s pseudonym, I don’t believe it’s a case of trying to copy anything or any nefarious actions, it would very well be a case of Robert’s art comes out this way. No copycat issues here. I just find it remarkable how similar everything between their two creative outputs look/read and feel. I’m a huge fan of Mignola’s Hellboy stuff and the BPRD and Baltimore stuff, though I haven’t read either much over the last few years, but when I first connected with Robert, I was struck when reading his novel ‘Blessed Skeletons’ just how much it felt like I was reading a Mignola novel.

Anyways, I digress.

If you’ve made this far, thanks, haha!

When Robert reached out about this one, I was immediately intrigued. From the odd candle-creature on the cover, to the isolated location and the sense that this would feel atmospherically similar to Tim McGregor’s ‘Lure’ and ‘Eynhallow’ books, I was excited to dive in and see what was going to haunt me inside.

What I liked: The set up for this one is pretty simple. Ostrimir has moved with the love of his life, Maud, and son, Godfrey, to a remote island. He’s moved them there under the notion that this is their forever place, but unbeknownst to Maud, Ostrimir has struck a bargain and soon, the toll is due.

The story within is at times terrifying, confusing and asymmetrical. We get tidbits of what’s happening, as well as some truly violent moments as the horrors arrive and attempt to collect Ostrimir’s fee.

Weaver does a wonderful job of keeping the paranoia high throughout and within 25% of the book, we start to wonder if everything that is happening is purely single-sided, whether it is only Ostrimir who has struck a bargain.

The final quarter of the book is a masterful unravelling of everything and it’s made all the heavier due to the suffocating and lush location Weaver has created. You could practically feel the storm winds blowing on your face and the muck under your feet by that point.

The ending is solid, though I’d suspect there’s more to the story, more to the lore that’s been created and revealed here.

What I didn’t like: Two things really stood out for me. The first is that I would say I border-line hated most of the dialogue. It was always as though no matter who was speaking with each other, it felt like they were speaking in riddles and having completely separate conversations. It made it so that a few times I had to go back and re-read some sections, wondering if I’d missed something.

The second, was that I wasn’t a fan of this one not having chapters. We get * (though in this case it was a bug silhouette) as scene breaks and because of that, it did reduce some of the cliffhanger elements that chapter ends can create so very well.

Why you should buy this: Well, if you’re intrigued by my guess at this secretly being Mignola, you’ll want to give it a read and see how close you think I am. Again – there’s so many elements here that scream Mignola – the pseudo-Russian lore/mystique, the way the story is told, the creature elements etc. etc. – that I’m personally convinced.

Otherwise, if you’re looking for a read that is just hauntingly heavy, unnerving and filled with some very intriguing plot points, this will be right up your alley.

Book Review: Give Me Something Good to Eat by D.W. Gillespie

Title: Give Me Something Good to Eat

Author: D.W. Gillespie

Release date: August 13th, 2024

I’ve long been a fan of Gillespie’s writing, though until now, it’s been purely in the adult horror world, with his novels ‘One by One’ and ‘The Toy Thief’ both absolutely underrated gems, and his collection ‘Handmade Monsters’ full of great short fiction.

Now, I spend most of my reading time entrenched in the adult horror world, though – and this is usually with my son – I dive into Middle Grade horror occasionally. Sometimes though, I simply want to get through an MG read far faster than if I was reading it with my son – and that’s no slight on him, but sometimes we only get 20 minutes to read a night together and that’s usually devoted to dinosaur books or our ongoing read through ‘The Wild Robot 2’ – as I can burn through it far faster.

I’ve had this one from Gillespie, his first foray into MG fiction, for some time now, and I’ve watched it inch up my never-ending-TBR-of-doom for the last few months. When it finally made it to the very tip top, I was stoked. I wanted to see what he’d conjured and what adult horror sensibilities he was going to bring to the MG horror world.

What I liked: Taking place in the town of Pearl, life is wonderful and everyone is happy – especially on Halloween. On Halloween, the streets come alive, kids treat-or-treat and then the night culminates with a huge party. Except there’s a sinister side. And it seems only Mason Miller remembers it. See, every Halloween a kid goes missing, but nobody remembers it. Except Mason.

Gillespie sets things up really well, giving us a wonderfully tense opening and then introducing us to Mason and his best friend, Serge. For some reason, Mason is the only one who remembers the kids going missing, mostly because he wrote a story with a previous best friend, who went missing and Mason doesn’t understand why nothing was done.

When Mason’s younger sister, Meg, goes missing on Halloween, the story really takes off, with Mason and Serge – and two new friends in tow – discover what’s really been going on and have to fight the evil forces that threaten every kid in town.

It reminded me a lot of ‘Monster Squad’ in that it was the kids banding together and strange creatures trying to hold supreme over the town.

This story was a lot of fun and throughout, I could envision where D.W. would’ve had to take a step back and tone down the descriptions from what I’m used to him writing.

The ending was great and was really perfect for a book for kids of this targeted age. Where us old, jaded, horror readers want doom, gloom and despair at the end, those far younger want good to overcome evil, friends to come together and work as a collective and for the sun to be shining, which was all done really well by Gillespie here.

What I didn’t like: For an MG horror book, this was perfect. Much like Trevor Henderson’s recent ‘Scarewaves’ or anything Lora Senf has released, this gave us a perfect setting, great characters and a really fun storyline. BUT – if you’re an old reader like me, it’ll all feel very familiar and something you’ve read before. So, while it works perfectly for those not yet old enough to drive, if you’re looking for something to absolutely surprise you, you won’t find that here.

Why you should buy this: Gillespie has seemingly found his new sweet spot for writing – which is wonderful because he’s a writer that should be read far and wide – and this one hits it out of the ball park. I’m looking forward to reading this with me son, but I’m also hopeful we’ll see Mason and crew in the future in another adventure. Gillespie’s given us a truly engaging story that had me zipping through it in no time at all!

Book Review: Requiem by John Palisano

Title: Requiem

Author: John Palisano

Release date: May 13th, 2025

*Huge thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and author for a digital ARC of this one!*

Space horror. Science fiction themes merged with terrifying elements. When done well, it’s a subgenre that easily whisks away the reader and keeps them hooked no matter one. And one big key to that is the total isolation aspect. On solid ground, here on earth, if something horrible happens, a character can run away or get in a car and drive as far away as possible.

But in space…

Well, you’re stuck. Sure, maybe you have an escape pod, but then what? Or maybe there’s a rescue ship coming? Well, that ship isn’t just around the block and you’ve certainly not used Uber to call it.

It’s that claustrophobic aspect of going where so few humans have gone before that always draws me in and makes for an unsettling read.

Now, with Palisano at the helm, I knew I’d be getting a lush, but ultimately unnerving experience. If you’ve not read any of John’s work before, you absolutely need to get on that. I suggest you start with his novella ‘Glass House’ which is haunting and heartbreaking, or dive into his dust-filled western ‘Dust of the Dead.’ Really, you can’t go wrong with John’s work, which made this one so enticing to me because – and as I just said – it’s in space.

What I liked: Set in the future, Ava is a space ship captain who has recently returned to earth, dealing with with PTSD from her last mission. She’s been assured she’ll not return to space for some time, but that’s thrown out the window when a huge corporation contacts her – and a group of scientists and a musician – for an important job. A moon-sized cemetery known as Eden has experienced some significant malfunctions and they need to head up, repair it and make sure it never happens again.

From here, John gives us a haunting look at isolation, madness, connecting with the dead and loss. It’s billed as a gothic story, but that is buried beneath the sheen of the sci-fi/horror surface. It’s only revealed as the story goes along and we see the true reality of what’s happening on Eden and how those who are managing to survive deal with it.

The story ebbs and flows, we get some jolting, intense moments bookended by some slow, visceral revelations and it’s within that scope that the mastery of what Palisano has done truly can be appreciated. It’s subtle, at times tough to put your finger on, but its there, pulsing throughout the whispered textures of each chapter.

The ending wraps things up ‘nicely’ and once you get there, you’ll know what I mean, and I appreciated the tongue-in-cheek-ness of the ‘epilogue’ portion.

What I didn’t like: The story is solid, the writing is solid and the characters are great, but – as with many sci-fi/horror novels – if you go in thinking that this won’t have a lot of familiar plot points and story aspects, you’ll be sorely frustrated. John doesn’t reinvent the plot here, but I also don’t believe that was ever his intention.

Why you should buy this: Palisano is one of the nicest guys in the horror world but also one of the most criminally under read writers out there. ‘Requiem’ just might be the book that finally tips those scales and gets his books all over IG and Tik Tok – at least I hope so – because what he’s done here is a powerful, philosophical look at death, what happens after and how the human race continues to push forward with technological elements without considering the long-term ramifications.

This was really well done.

Book Review: Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice

Title: Moon of the Turning Leaves (Moon #2)

Author: Waubgeshig Rice

Release date: October 10th, 2023

After reading and loving ‘Moon of the Crusted Snow,’ I knew I’d need to read the second book in Waubgeshig Rice’s Moon series. I’m going to do my best to be spoiler free for book one, but be warned that going forward, there may be some inadvertent slips.

The two books in this series can essentially be split into PRE/DURING and POST event, though there’s a solid argument to be made that Book One is more DURING than PRE. I’m saying PRE because we get some scenes prior to all the lights going out, whereas often is the case in dystopian/apocalyptic narratives, the ‘big event’ occurs essentially right at the start of the book.

If you’ve read book one, you’ll know it follows Evan Whitesky and his family and community as they navigate a life where they’re suddenly cut off from the outside world. The powers out, cell phones are dead and the trucks that normally deliver supplies are not coming.

There’s some fascinating inter-personal dynamics on display in that one and ultimately the book fills with an ending that suggest there’s hope for the future.

If Rice had ended it there and not returned, nobody would’ve blamed him and it would’ve stood on its own wonderfully.

With Book Two, Rice decided to return to that world, twelve years later and in doing so, managed to deliver a solid one-two of modern classics that in essence gave us an Indigenous version of McCarthy’s ‘The Road.’

What I liked: Twelve years after the lights have gone out, the Anishinaabe people have forged a life for themselves north of their former community. But, now, after a decade, food sources are starting to dwindle and the decision is made for a group to walk south and see if they can find somewhere to resettle. They ancestors have spoke of an island, but they’re leery to investigate, worried about how things are in the new world they’ve not been a part of for many years.

What Rice has done here is truly fascinating. We get Evan, his daughter, and others, who work their way back down to where towns used to be, worried about hostiles. This is their land, where they were from, but its been reclaimed by the earth, and in areas by hostile inhabitants. Sure, throughout, we see some of the familiar plot points of new characters arriving and should they trust them, but its done through a fascinating lens of racial undertones and sociopolitical aspects. Even a decade after the modern world has ended, the white people they encounter still operate with an air of ownership to everything – to the land, to the Indigenous people and to anything anyone else possesses. It’s that classic evilness of greed, power and status that we often encounter with older, white males with money. And we currently see that happening – unfortunately – with the return of the President in the US.

As the story progresses, Waub does a great job of showing how the members connect with where they are and the descriptions of those areas and those moments are the most powerful parts, up until the perhaps one of the most emotional moments I’ve ever read, which is the culmination of Evan and his daughters story. I won’t go far into it, spoilers and such, but what Rice put on page there is something so remarkable, that even writing about it now is making me emotional.

The epilogue does open the door for a third entry, though again, if Rice leaves it here, he’ll have ended this series on a high point and offering those still living in the new world the hope of a brighter future.

What I didn’t like: I found this book perfect, but, as I usually do in this section, I try to point out what some other readers may not connect with, if I myself didn’t experience any of that. So, for this one, don’t come into this expecting a fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat thriller. This one takes its time having our characters move from point A to point B and the book is all the better because of that.

Why you should buy this: ‘Moon of the Turning Leaves’ is one of those rare sequels that does exactly what you want with a sequel – makes book one that much better. It manages to take what was started in ‘Moon of the Crusted Snow’ and elevate the events in there so that when combined with the struggles within the second book, makes the reader connect that much more with the characters and what they’re going through. I loved book one and after finishing book two, love them both so much when combined as a whole and when taken as singular reads.

These are must reads, especially if you’re Canadian, but beyond that, these are the rare books that connect you with a group of people you want to root for so badly and make you stay for the entirety of their journey.

Amazing.

Book Review: Winter’s Wood by Adrian J. Walker

Title: Winter’s Wood

Author: Adrian J. Walker

Release date: 2016

I believe it was through Tony Jones and Adrian aka The Grim Reader who introduced me to Adrian J. Walker’s books. First, I read ‘The End of the World Running Club,’ which was fantastic. Then I devoured his absolutely phenomenal ‘The Human Son.’ Both of those books should be must-read by all genre fiction fans and Adrian’s easy prose – read accessible, soothing and riveting – make for memorable books. Recently, I was wondering what his next release was going to be, but also what other books of his I should jump into. I popped onto his website and discovered it had been updated and that he’d changed course with his books. At the time of writing this, his site stated he was un-agented and wasn’t sure how to market himself, so he’d switched to a pay what you can model, while also querying some books. From the outside, it looked similar to the Adam Nevill approach, the only difference being that Adrian had a bunch of his books for free with a tip option.

I grabbed two, this one, and ‘The Other Lives’ but decided to read ‘Winter’s Wood’ first. I also made sure to give him a tip, as a thanks for his generosity and to ‘pay’ for the books.

I wasn’t too sure what to expect with this one. Described as Middle-Grade aged fantasy, I knew it would be whimsical, but I wasn’t sure how dark it would get. This one turned out to be more silly than scary, but it worked perfectly for the discovery within the story.

What I liked: The story follows a young girl who lives in the woods with her father and her dog. Her mother died when she was born, but they do their best to be happy. Her father cuts wood for the villagers and she attends school.

Preferring to be in the woods or lost within her thoughts, the girl, Lucy, shuns making friends at school, but when she sticks up for a boy in her class who claims he’s seen the witch that lives in the woods, things take a turn.

On the following day, Lucy sees a strange figure in the woods while collecting kindling and soon after, she’s swapped bodies with her dog. From that point on, Walker takes us on a really fun, and tense, journey, where Lucy learns the truth about the woods, her life and who she is.

It made for a perfect MG read, one that seems suited for an adaptation and one that would have my son captivated.

What I didn’t like: As a 43-year-old reader, I’m a bit jaded when reading a book like this, so what I found a bit ‘off’ – the ‘lie’ that had been told to the girl – is something I’ve seen a million times at this point in my reading life. For a new reader though, it would be a unique story twist, so in that sense, it works very well when taken in that context.

Why you should buy it: If you’ve got a new/early reader in your home, this is a perfect novella to read to them or read with them. I’ll be re-reading this soon with my own son, as I’m certain he’ll really enjoy it. The characters are well done, the setting perfect and theirs a great mix of silly and serious to work for all level of reader.

The book is currently free on Adrian’s website – though I highly recommend you leave him a tip if you can! – and is one I think all ages would enjoy!

You can grab it here;

https://www.adrianjwalker.com/books/detail/winters-wood

Book Review: Reap, Sow by S.H. Cooper

Title: Reap, Sow

Author: S.H. Cooper

Release date: March 24, 2025

*Huge thanks to S.H. for sending me a digital ARC of this!*

There are few authors out there that I know that are as versatile and shape-shifting as Cooper is. Between M/G-Y/A, fantasy, gothic, historical/period, folk horror and straight up horror, Cooper outwrites 99% of every single author out there that focuses squarely on any of those genres singularly. It’s one of the reasons why I always look forward to more of her work, but also why I get so friggin’ annoyed when I don’t see her work shouted from the rooftops of every single Bookstagrammer and Book Tokker.

When Cooper announced this one, I was immediately struck by A.A. Medina’s cover and knew that Cooper had something vicious in store for us. I dove in, expecting to get smacked in the face, but I didn’t expect to not be able to put this one down. Read over a single, frantic session, I had to know what the secret was, what the big reveal would be, and when it came, I was so happy for how well Cooper had pulled it all together.

What I liked: The story follows a young woman, seemingly struck with a brief amnesiac spell, trying to figure out who she is, why she knows some things but not others and why bits and pieces are slowly coming back to her.

Known by her nickname of ‘Lucky,’ family members start to arrive, questioning her and we see that something’s off with each one. Cooper keeps the aspects of this ‘offness’ close to her chest with each interaction, slowly revealing the reality of what it is, but still not allowing Lucky to have that lightbulb moment of what actually occurred.

Not until we get to the very – bitter – end.

When the cards are shown and the truth comes out, Cooper does a wonderful job of making sure every single detail is blood covered and to a degree, this turned out to be a bit of a semi-retelling of ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf.’ The ending is powerful, gut wrenching and will ultimately make you rethink how you perceived Lucky throughout.

What I didn’t like: Nothing, lol. This one was perfect from start to finish. Cooper really outdid herself here with this one.

Why you should buy this: Cooper should be a ‘must-buy’ and a ‘must-read’ author, so if you’re already a fan, you’re going to be very, very happy with this one. If you’ve not read any of her work before, this is a great jumping in point, but be aware – she’s got a sizable back catalog, so you’re wallet will be taking a hit!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/222778657-reap-sow

Book Review: Blood For Blood by Edward Vaughn

Title: Blood For Blood

Author: Edward Vaughn

Release date: August 2nd, 2024

I’m always a sucker for books where one person has to go up against seemingly insurmountable odds. Such is the case for those books where it has a secondary titling of ‘A Demon Hunter Book,’ like this one. It gives a ring of Hellboy, of the earth having been overrun and a figure rising up to try and save humanity. To a degree, Alan Baxter’s Eli Carver series does just that, though it is firmly rooted in the supernatural world.

I’ve been wanting to check out Edward’s work for a while now, and when I saw Matthew Vaughn post about this one on IG and Tik Tok, I knew this was the one for me to dive in and discover just what horrors Edward had created.

What I liked: The book follows Mason Ward, a hunter. One in a long line of family born hunters, he is hired to track down and capture or kill the creatures that now roam the world. Vampires, witches, werewolves, you name it, and yes, demons. In this particular time, Ward is at an exorcism of a young girl, when the demon turns its sights on him and tells him that his sister is burning in Hell.

This is the prompt needed to have Ward search for his sister, firstly to find out if she is dead and when he learns the truth, he needs to get to the bottom of it.

There’s plenty of action in this one, as well as some very solid family dynamics at play, especially between Mason and his younger brother Christian. Vaughn does a great job of displaying the years of annoyance between them subtly and efficiently.

The ending is an engaging converging of the subplots laid out leading up to it and sets things up that there may be more Ward stories in the future. I’m not sure if there are other stories related to Ward already, but he’s a very intriguing character.

What I didn’t like: The biggest thing for me with this one was it was far too slim, too rushed. This novella had the potential to be a modern classic if it was four times longer. It would’ve allowed Mason to be more fully formed, the family story of them hunting, how they became hunters etc. etc. could’ve been included and would’ve created some truly memorable lore, and each of the interactions that Mason had would’ve felt fuller, more complete and satisfying to the reader.

There’s a lot here, but all of it felt glossed over and waiting to be plumped up and made all the juicier for the reader to sink their teeth into.

Why you should buy this: What Vaughn has done here, is introduce the world to a very interesting world, character and family. The ending, as mentioned, let’s us get our hopes up that there will be more and I sure hope we see more Ward in the future.

If you’re looking for a very fast-paced, action-packed novella that will have you racing through to learn the truth, look no further!

Book Review: Splice: The Novelization by Claire Donner

Title: Splice: The Novelization

Author: Claire Donner

Release date: August 20th, 2024

I’ll be the first to admit that over the last few years, I’ve not read many novelizations. Actually, that might better be stated as I’ve not read any. I can’t think of a single one, nor do I see any on my Goodreads page. I’ve read a lot of books that became movies, but movies that became books? Zero. And I’m not counting books like ‘William’ by Mason Coile or ‘All the Fiends of Hell’ by Adam Neville etc. Those books that started life as a screenplay only to become a novel in their own right after not being filmed for whatever reason.

When Encyclopocalypse Publications announced this one I was equal parts excited and intrigued. ‘Splice’ has long been one of my personal favorite movies. Released in 2009, I went in blind, and was completely blown away by the strange story that unfolded. And I’m not ashamed to admit that the movie has stuck deep in my subconscious and influenced a number of my own books. ‘Mastodon,’ ‘Jane: The 816 Chronicles,’ and ‘The Stranger’ all have come from various aspects of ‘Splice’ that resonated with me and pushed my mind in one direction or another.

With the news of this one arriving, I was excited to see the nuances that film can’t demonstrate play out, but I was also intrigued to see how the visuals my mind had stored translated onto the page.

After I bought the book, I tossed around the idea of re-watching the movie before reading it, but ultimately I decided to wait, wanting the book to hold up on its own merits and now have me comparing it unfairly as I read.

If you’ve not seen the movie before, beware as there may be some spoiler-ish stuff ahead!

What I liked: The story follows geneticists Elsa and Clive, who are also a couple. They’re trying to synthesize a protein that would allow them to unlock the secrets of pharmaceuticals. If they’re successful, the company they work for would be able to create a whole lot of products that would aid the wider world.

As they progress, setbacks mount and with the pressure of a huge presentation looming, nerves get frayed and failures arise. It’s within that framework that they create a new species – a mix of science and genes – that rapidly grows into a humanoid creature.

Donner does a wonderful job of keeping the story engaging, even through the beginning ‘science’ based scenes. These could’ve easily dragged or stalled any forward momentum the story had, but Claire deftly gives us the building blocks of Clive and Elsa’s characters, their relationship and a few secondary characters too.

Once the new creature arrives, Donner kicks things into overdrive and as this creature grows – and given the moniker ‘Dren’ – we see the subtleties of Clive and Elsa’s worlds collide and those things unsaid come bubbling to the surface.

It made for some harsh moments, some introspective questions for the reader and ultimately sets the book up for the last quarter when the shit hits the fan. Donner does this perfectly, fleshing out the surface-level aspects of the script and giving it wonderful depth and masterfully brings the images on the screen into vivid HD level descriptions.

The ending remains as powerful, poignant and repulsive as ever and if you read through the closing moments – or watch/re-watch it – and don’t squirm, kudos to you.

What I didn’t like: The only jarring thing I found from reading this was that the Clive and Elsa characters mood shifts between how they start to how they finish felt very abrupt, very quick and not teased out and then occurring. It could be a case of sticking closer to the screenplay in those areas than others, but I just found it to occur very, very rapidly.

Why you should buy this: This is a must buy/must read if you’re a huge fan of the film. The movie takes you to some very uncomfortable places and the book easily goes there and then steps over the line with the descriptions of things we don’t see on film.

Donner’s writing is pristine, the characters sparkle and Dren comes to life on the page lovingly and terrifyingly.

All in all, if you’re a fan of thoroughly engaging Sci-Fi/Horror done perfectly, ‘Splice: The Novelization’ should absolutely be a book you read, sooner than later.

https://www.amazon.com/Splice-Novelization-Encyclopocalypse-Movie-Tie-ebook/dp/B0CT6Z984B/

Book Review: Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Title: Hatchet

Author: Gary Paulsen

Release date: January 1st, 1987

When I wrote my novel ‘Mastodon,’ I reached out to a number of authors I greatly admired to see about collecting some blurbs. One of those authors was the fantastic Shaun Hamill, author of ‘A Cosmology of Monsters’ and ‘The Dissonance,’ and in his amazing blurb, he compared the book to Paulsen’s ‘Hatchet.’ At the time, he asked me if it influenced the novel – which it didn’t, or at least not out rightly – and a few others did as well, because I was 100% certain I’d never read the book.

It dawned on me after I was about 25% in that I’d most certainly read this, maybe back around 1990 or so, and I’d watched the film adaptation – ‘A Cry in the Wild.’

Saying all of that, it’d been so long since I’d read it, the only part I remembered was a scene where Brian, our main character, gets sprayed in the face by a skunk.

I was driven to read this (or re-read rather) for two reasons. The first was that I’m working on a novel based around some wilderness survival elements and I wanted to read some examples where authors do a lot with nothing. If you’ve ever spent time in the great outdoors, you’ll understand an hour can feel like three days. So, I wanted to work on my ability to keep a reader engaged while the story isn’t doing anything other than being.

And the second reason, was that it kept coming back to me that Shaun had compared my book to this one and I felt like I owed Shaun to read it!

What I liked: The novel follows thirteen-year-old Brian, trying to navigate his new way of life. His mother and father have divorced, so he’s going to fly to the far north in Canada to visit his dad. His mother gifts him a hatchet just before he hops in the small plane for the flight. It’s a simple, solid set up and one that gives us readers the bare bones of the ‘why’ for Brian’s flight.

Paulsen masterfully does what I was hoping to examine. He gives us a lot with a little and when the plane crashes and Brian must survive the wilds on his own, that’s where Paulsen’s gift is highlighted. Brian finds the will to carry on, to find food, make fire and forge a place for himself among the trees and the animals that come to investigate his presence.

The story itself is miniature, when compared to the transformation Brian goes through, and Gary’s use of nature within this is pristine. The ending was obvious from the beginning, but the journey to get from the beginning to the ending was spot on.

What I didn’t like: I’m not sure if it was because of the time period this was released, or editorial decisions, or what, but for the most part, the story felt very ‘easy.’ Easy in the sense that Brian just kind of had things happen and was able to keep going. It is very, very hard to survive for a week, let alone almost two months without any basic wilderness training, and Brian seemed to do so as though he’d been living off the grid every other weekend.

Why you should buy this: Beyond that one small annoyance, the story is wonderful, empowering and it was great to see Brian’s connection to nature occur and how it affected him for years to come.

If you’re looking for a book that shows how an entire system works together while also works apart, this is perfect. And if you’re looking for a coming-of-age novel that you could read to your kids and cheer when Brian accomplishment’s what he has to, in order to survive, look no further.

4/5