Steve Stred's Blog, page 73

Book Review: The Ravening by Chris Kosarich

Title: The Ravening

Author: Chris Kosarich

Release date: March 20, 2021

I’ve read a few of Kosarich’s work, but when I saw the synopsis and cover for his latest ‘The Ravening’ I was excited. Off all of his releases so far, this was the one that was certainly going to be directly up my alley.

What I didn’t expect was a seemingly throwback to my youth when you’d rent a VHS based on the cover and the potential for nudity and be rewarded with a fantastic film and tons of gore, death and skin.

Kosarich nailed this one, what a fun ride.

What I liked: The story is fairly standard fare for a horror book. An isolated resort gets cut off from the mainland when an accident crumples the bridge. At the same time a massive tropical storm barrels down on them. Of course, this is a horror tale, so ‘something’ is awakened in the water near the resort and begins to infect and rip apart humans as it spreads.

Kosarich, as I mentioned, as made a perfect B-Horror novel. I don’t mean that in a negative way or disparaging in the least, but it’s the most precise way for me to describe just the gloriousness of what you’re in store for.

I really loved the way the characters wove between their jobs, their responsibilities but also their personal issues. Kosarich makes even the lesser characters feel real and as the storm arrives and the ‘thing’ arrives, you’ll feel sad as they fall one after another.

Lastly, I just want to mention, Kosarich has added an additional layer to the story with a mysterious group and some strange things that he mentions will be expanded upon. I won’t go too deep into this, as I want to remain spoiler free, but I’m intrigued to see what comes next.

What I didn’t like: While the characters were well done, there were still some that really ground my gears and felt superficial with their desires/wants. Most of them were minor overall to the plot, but a few had bigger roles and I was annoyed whenever they’d resurface.

Why you should buy this: Of the work I’ve read of Kosarich’s, this is easily the best thing he’s done. I loved the direct opening of this book and how he delivered a cinematic story that really felt like a classic horror slasher. This was a ton of fun and I think folks who enjoy a lot of Unnerving’s recent Rewind or Die series will really enjoy this.

5/5

*At the moment it appears to be only out in ebook, but I have seen Chris share a full cover wrap so I’d expect the paperback to arrive shortly

Book Review: The Damned by Andrew Pyper

Title: The Damned

Author: Andrew Pyper

Release date: January 1st, 2015

I don’t often make it a habit to re-read books, but as time marches on and I get further from the books that first introduced me to Andrew’s work, I knew I had to dive back in. I’ve spoken many, many times of discovering ‘The Demonologist’ and purchasing both ‘The Damned’ and ‘Lost Girls’ immediately after finishing ‘The Demonologist.’

It’s an odd thing though, isn’t it – re-reading. Seeing different things pop up that you’ve some how missed or that now connect you to the book in a way you never expected.

When I read this, six years ago in Abbotsford, I was married and we didn’t have a kid yet. In October that year, we’d move to Calgary, as I pursued my Olympic dreams of competing for Canada in Bobsleigh and by August of 2016, our son would arrive. I was a completely different human. And maybe that’s why I really liked this book, but didn’t love it? Maybe that’s why some of the more emotional moments that reading now absolutely crushed me, didn’t have the same weight back then? I can’t say. While reading this for the second time, I came across a scene that left me so rattled, just bathed in sorrow that I had to put the book down for the rest of the night as the tears that came wouldn’t allow the Kindle screen to be visible. I actually messaged Andrew the next day about the scene. I can’t believe I’d forgotten about it, as I know it’ll never leave me now, but again – that may be because of where I am now versus where I was then.

What I liked: In my recent review of ‘The Demonologist’ I mentioned Andrew’s look at grief and searching for a missing loved one over a five book arc. ‘The Damned’ falls into the fourth of the five books, released in 2015 and just two years before the final chapter of this saga, ‘The Only Child’ arrived in 2017.

‘The Damned’ follows Danny Orchard, international best-selling author about his memoir where he died and came back to life. The reason this particular memoir exploded – he died trying to save his twin sister, Ash, from a house fire and he brought back proof of the afterlife. What proof? While he was in The After, the name given to the place between life and death, he found his mom and she gave him her watch that she was buried with.

I typically don’t like getting too personal in reviews, but with ‘The Damned’ I’m going to. So, apologies, as normally I try to just focus on the book itself. In ‘The Damned,’ when Ash and Danny were born, Ash died and was brought back to life, the doctors and nurses saving her. Danny alludes to the fact that throughout her entire life, Ash has been ‘evil,’ that something lies just below the surface that maybe she brought back with her from over there.

I’ve discussed it before, but I typically don’t share it that often, but when my son was born, both him and my wife were pronounced dead. They were both officially gone for six minutes before they were both able to be revived. Efforts had been stopped but for some unknown reason, the anesthesiologist suggested they do something for my wife and something for my son and both worked. It’s a moment in my life that was crushing as I signed papers for organ donation etc, but also a moment of sheer amazement and disbelief as suddenly the ER Nurse burst into where I was waiting and told me to follow her as they were back. Now, I don’t believe either of them brought anything back over from the other side, reading this part in the book was very surreal. I couldn’t believe I’d forgotten that this book had this story line.

The main plot point of ‘The Damned’ is that Ash continues to haunt Danny, working hard to prevent him from any happiness in his life. This ramps up when Danny meets Willa and her son Eddie and they become a family unit quickly.

If you’ve read any of Andrew’s writing before you know how devastatingly descriptive he can be. Simply turn of phrases have dagger-like impact on the reader and with ‘The Damned’ he doesn’t hold back.

One thing that I felt reading this was this was one of the few works that really seemed to wear the research books on its sleeve, and not in a bad way. ‘Proof of Heaven’ by Eben Alexander is a focal point of this novel. In Alexander’s non-fiction, real book, he describes what happens when he died and when into his after. Andrew offers up a number of philosophical questions throughout this one, but they seem to be rooted in the idea of what may await us when our time on this planet is over.

The book itself also reminded me of Richard Matheson’s ‘What Dreams May Come.’ Caveat here – I love the movie and as of yet, I haven’t been able to bring myself to read the book. But this idea of finding one’s loved one and trying to make things right follows along well with Pyper’s five book narrative.

The last research/inspired by book that I’m suggesting (and this is 100% a hypothesis on my end) is Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series. Pyper has spoken before of how, no matter what you think of King/King’s writing etc, one thing you can’t take away is how he’s changed the horror world. King is to horror as Kleenex is to tissue paper. Within ‘The Damned’ I found a few suggestions (and again this may have been me looking too deeply into it) that this story was offset just slightly from the path of the one true beam. We even get descriptions of similar parts ie: a beast chase (which is even the beast featured on book 4.5 of the series), a train/monorail type vessel, the singular narrative of following a pull etc. Time and time again, I wondered if this was Andrew, not so much writing a book to be thought of as a Dark Tower book, but his own personal tribute to that fictional world.

The ending of this is superb. The book gallops along from start to finish, but I think this is the one book (out of the five narrative I’ve proposed) that ends decidedly on a different note than the other ones, but it is spot on perfect.

As for the scene I mentioned earlier that absolutely devastated me – if you end up reading this either because of my review or because you’re a Pyper fan – when you get to there, you’ll know. I almost wish I’d never read that chapter, so soul crushing it is.

What I didn’t like: With all the books I truly love, it’s often hard to find things I dislike, but I want to stay fair and objective. When it comes to ‘The Damned’ I think the character of Ash will be very polarizing for readers. A character you either loathe or absolutely wish wasn’t involved at all. She is the perfect character to pull Danny along – his twin and the ‘better’ version, but she was absolutely infuriating.

Why you should buy this: ‘The Damned’ manages to be both a fantastic thriller where our character Danny searches for the answers that’ll set him free, but also a possession-type tale where his twin sister comes back to haunt him and inflict trauma on him and his new family. Pyper is an absolutely stunning writer, and honestly if you’ve not figured out I love his work, I don’t know what else to say ha! My second go-around with this book really surprised me, especially with just how much of the book I’d not remembered and how much of it I connected with in a new and very emotional way. This is one of the very best by one of the very best and if you have it on your TBR, do yourself a favor and bump it up. Stunning work.

5/5

Book Review: Vaudeville and Other Nightmares by Greg Chapman

Title: Vaudeville and Other Nightmares

Author: Greg Chapman

Release date: March 10, 2019

Big thanks to Greg for sending this my way. Truth be told – the title novella in this collection, ‘Vaudeville,’ is getting a stand alone release shortly. So after chatting with Greg, this was a two-birds-one-stone review set up!

As you probably already know, I’m a massive fan of Greg’s work and ‘Vaudeville and Other Nightmares’ is another prime example of why you should be reading both is short and long fiction.

I’ll have a more in-depth review of the title story once Greg shares the cover for it, but for now I’ll focus my review on the collection as a whole.

What I liked: The collection opens up with the stunning novella ‘Vaudeville.’ As I indicated, I won’t say much about it here, other than it was a fantastic piece of dark fiction and reminded me of a lot of the dark fantasy stories/cartoons I used to watch growing up. Very similar feel to those.

Of the stories within, the other two that really stood out and were my favorites were ‘Deluge’ and ‘The Only Son.’

‘Deluge’ starts with this line; When the sky turned red, the people of Fairhaven ran screaming into the streets. Hooked. The story goes places you can kind of expect with that opening line, but with Greg’s deftly controlling the narrative expect darkness and brutality. My minor gripe with this one was I wished it had been novella length as there were a number of places that could’ve been expanded or increased that would’ve really been great to see.

‘The Only Son’ is a story that’ll stay with me for a long, long time. This would make for such an outstanding one-man play and has some of the most haunting imagery that I’ve ever read. This is a bread and butter Chapman storytelling and worth the admission price alone. I can’t say too much about the story as I don’t want to spoil it, but just expect a heartbreaking introspective piece that is purposefully vague.

Throughout, Chapman delivers some eerie and frightening pieces, which shows his scope of conjuring emotional responses to stories you didn’t expect to hit you in those ways.

What I didn’t like: Honestly, I’m so burned out on anthologies and collections that if I wasn’t reading this one to specifically review the main novella, I would’ve passed. Collections can be draining as not all stories will click. In this one, I only had one story I wasn’t overly a fan of, but as with all experiences, that one story may well be your favorite.

Why you should buy this: ‘Vaudeville and Other Nightmares’ is a fantastic collection and comes with some amazing illustrations, which always shows how talented Greg is. If you’re looking to experience his writing over a number of ideas, this collection is a great place to start. I’ve loved everything Greg has released that I’ve read. Look for my in-depth look at the ‘Vaudeville’ novella soon, but until then, definitely give Chapman’s work a go!

5/5

Book Review: Unplugged by J.B. Taylor

Title: Unplugged

Author: J.B. Taylor

Release date: April 14, 2021

Funny thing about social media is you’ll randomly connect with some of the most awesome people through the most random of ways. I think it was either a sarcastic making fun of Duncan Ralston or Edward Lorn Twitter thread where myself and J.B. Taylor connected (I might be wrong but joking about something was definitely how we connected). From there is was the usual level of goofy interactions, funny gifs and memes on each others tweets etc and hilarity ensued.

It wasn’t until I posted a review of one of Martha Wells’ Murderbot books that J.B reached out. Many folks think I purely read horror (which isn’t true of my reading or my writing) and he asked if I’d take his debut novel for a spin.

He labelled it sci-fi/dystopian/cyber punk which had me intrigued. I’ve not read a lot of cyber punk, but what I have I’ve enjoyed, so I agreed and dove in.

What I liked: ‘Unplugged’ follows Zendaya in a world where blind devotion is given to a mysterious figure and the earth has been scorched. The story itself follows along at a break-neck pace with layer upon layer unraveled.

I really enjoyed how this one followed a fairly standard mystery set up. Not to say that’s a bad thing, but little details and hints are dropped and it’s up to the reader to try and connect these clues at the same time Zendaya does.

There is some truly fantastic imagery in this book, cinematic in scope and this setting is what really propelled the story along. Knowing that not everything you see is what truly is there.

Taylor has a really easy way of writing, even when we get some deeper sci-fi moments and the way things occur throughout really pulled me along, made me want to know just what the heck is going on.

What I didn’t like:  Hard, classic sci-fi moments are tough for me. There are moments of this where we get a lot of description on how something works or how the tech operates and I have to consciously work to not tune those parts out as I know it’ll play a role later on. For the most part these moments are minimal, but it was something that cropped up.

Why you should buy this: If you like visiting imaginative new worlds where nothing is what it seems and you just never know what the next chapter will bring – this one’s for you. I really had a blast with Taylor’s ‘Unplugged,’ a very strong debut that introduced us to memorable characters and a stunning playground that they lived in.

4/5

Book Review: The Last Night of October by Greg Chapman

Title: The Last Night of October

Author: Greg Chapman

Release date: April 16, 2021 (Previously released in 2013, 2014 & 2016)

Huge thanks to Omnium Gatherum. Netgalley and Greg Chapman for approving this for me to read.

I’ve hailed my love of Greg’s work for a number of years now and when I saw this pop up on Netgalley, I couldn’t resist, even knowing that if I was approved I might not get it read before release date. Once I was approved though, I had to put my other reads aside for an evening and read this. At about 70 pages, this was an easy single sitting read and for those who might be on the slower side of reading, the way Chapman hooks you with this one will force you to read this without putting it down, so be prepared.

What I liked: Like every other book I’ve read from Chapman (and his short stories) you’ll start out feeling familiar with what you’re going to read, only to see the stunning scope of ‘freshness’ that Greg’s writing infuses into every trope. The book itself actually opens with a really nice foreword by Lisa Morton, which sets the stage. She says that Chapman writes one of the most stunning Halloween based stories while also throwing the expectations of what a Halloween story should be, on its head. You know what? She’s spot on.

The story is simple enough (and familiar). We are introduced to an old man, Gerald Forsyth. Life has caught up to him, so he depends on home nurses to come and make sure his air cannisters are changed over and his oxygen supply is functioning correctly. He lives alone, just how he prefers it. He hates life itself and everything included; people, outdoors, niceness, everything. But what he hates most of all is Halloween.

Chapman does an enormous amount with the bare minimum. Gerald doesn’t want anyone coming to his house on Halloween and this is most evident when a fill-in nurse arrives and decides to open the door to a mysteriously quiet trick-or-treater.

This simple act plunges the story down the rabbit hole you know Chapman was leading us towards, but when he takes us there, Good Lord. Expect grief driven darkness to infiltrate that layer between your skin and muscle, because this one makes you squirm.

I always love how Greg makes sure everything feels real. Even the paranormal/supernatural/horror elements he’ll write about always have a sensation of ‘this is actually possible’ to them and ‘The Last Night of October’ is a prime example of this.

Learning about the ‘why’ of Gerald’s disgust towards October 31st was a really great section and elevates everything that came before it as well as what happens after.

What I didn’t like: In this case – I wanted to smack our fill-in nurse. She was inside Gerald’s house and he expressly asked her not to do specific things, which she did anyways. But, I guess, if she’d listened then we wouldn’t have discovered the rest of the story, so fine, I guess that’s ok haha!

Why you should buy this: Chapman is one of my favorite authors and he is a stunning artist as well. ‘The Last Night of October’ deserves a wider release from it’s limited offers previously and is another amazing example of how talented Greg is as a writer. It doesn’t matter the length of story, you can always expect a fantastically twisted tale and this one is no different.

One of the best things I’ve read from Greg, this one is a must read and I’m excited to see more people discover his work.

5/5

‘The Last Night of October’ is currently available for pre-order through the publisher, but I’d expect a wider launch through the usual channels around release date.

https://omniumgatherumedia.com/the-last-night-of-october

Book Review: Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

Title: Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries #2)

Author: Martha Wells

Release date: May 8, 2018

I recently read (and loved) book one of Martha Wells’ ‘The Murderbot Diaries’ titled ‘All Systems Red.’ In the series opener we’re introduced to Murderbot, an augmented human security being who has hacked their own governor model and walks the line between letting their personality show while remaining as machine-like as possible.

I couldn’t wait to dive into book two.

Saying that – this is a hard sequel, meaning you most definitely need to have read book one to know what is going on and as such, while I still remain as spoiler proof as possible – this review will allude to events in book one that may be a spoiler. I suggest you don’t read this review unless you’ve read book one.

What I liked: Where book one followed our Murderbot grappling with their feelings towards the crew they were purchased to protect, book two picks up following the events of book one and we see our sarcastic bot heading towards the scene of their own personal turmoil. Boarding a ship by hacking the security system and interacting with the mechanical beings that make up the various programs of each ship, before ending up in a cargo style ship.

It’s here that Murderbot strikes up a tentative friendship with the program that controls the ship, dubbed ART.

Wells does a great job of having these two characters develop a friendship and when Murderbot shares their reason for heading to their destination, ART becomes a partner/aide to help our bot get to the end goal.

Wells writes with such an ease that the story whips by, aided by the quick wit and sarcastic nature of our main character.

This entry really summed up how much Murderbot craves companionship, even if they are dead set on remaining as far away of being human as possible.

What I didn’t like: While the main aspect of this story is Murderbot and ART becoming friends, I found it was a bit of a slow slog near the start as we get to see them tentatively interact and ensure neither are there to hurt the other.

Why you should buy this: If you loved book one you’ll love book two. Wells has crafted a truly classic character and I really can’t wait to see what happens next. I’ll be starting book three soon and it looks like book six is about to be released. If you love sci-fi/horror and witty banter, this is a perfect series for you to discover.

4/5

Book Review: All Systems Red by Martha Wells

Title: All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries #1)

Author: Martha Wells

Release date: May 2nd, 2017

Oddly, it was actually a recommendation by Patrick Rothfuss on Goodreads that first brought this book to my attention. I’m a big Rothfuss fan and he posted a glowing review which made me want to dive in and read this…

And so I did, four years later! Ha! Ah, jeez, our TBR’s are something else.

So, after all this time, guess what? I pretty much forgot what this book was about, other than a future world with robotic guards. I think it might’ve worked in my favor to dive in without re-reading the synopsis.

What I liked: ‘All Systems Red’ wastes no time with introducing us to our main character, an augmented being designed to work as a security guard. Think of it like Robocop to a degree. Only in this case, the character which has termed itself Murderbot has hacked its own system to not blindly follow the orders of the mainframe network that controls it.

Normally I’m not a big fan of humor in my horror or sci-fi, but the Murderbot has developed its own personality and it is a slacker who enjoys watching hours of TV programming and employs sarcasm and jokes as it sees fit. It works really well when in the presence of humans and seeing how Wells made it also shy regarding its appearance when out of its armor was a really fantastic move. It nicely elevated the character from an aloof killing machine to an empathetic member of the group.

The main plot of the story is that something happens near them and the Murderbot and the group its assigned to protect unravel what it happening and why they’re in danger. It made for some truly tense moments and even though this was a short, quick read, Wells packed it with a novels worth of emotion and turmoil.

What I didn’t like: Even though I knew this was a part 1 and that it was novella length, I found the ending was a bit rushed for me, especially when they confront the danger (sorry spoiler free!). I wished it was described a bit more, because suddenly it felt like we were at an epilogue style chapter and I worried I’d missed the ending.

Why you should buy this: Often times I hear people say the reason they avoid Sci-Fi is that it’s got too much technology or they feel like they need to be an Astrophysicist to understand what is going on. Not here. Wells tells a straightforward story – with sci-fi elements – and I had no problems understanding what was happening and who the characters were.

This was a really fun time and I’m not going to be waiting another four years until I start book 2!

5/5

Book Review: Shadow of the Sasquatch by J.H. Moncrieff

Title: Shadow of the Sasquatch

Author: J.H. Moncrieff

Release date: March 14, 2021

*Just a brief warning here – this is a sequel to ‘Return to Dyatlov Pass’ and while you don’t need to have read that book to read this one, some of my review may inadvertently be spoilers for that book. Never my intention to have spoilers in my reviews, but when it’s a sequel that can sometimes be tough!*

Moncrieff returns with a new Severed Press release and us readers are in for a treat! Why? This is a sequel to Moncrieff’s stunning ‘Return to Dyatlov Pass.’ I’ve been keen to see what J.H. had in store for us, both from how Return ended, but also with her fantastic story within the ‘Hellhole’ Anthology that furthered some of what was happening on Devil’s Mountain.

Moncrieff offered a few glimpses of where things were heading on her author page, but even then details were sparse. Then this dropped. Literally. We got a cover reveal and synopsis (and what a cover it is!) and in the blink of an eye – the ebook and paperback were live. I snagged this and dove in.

What I liked: Nat McPherson is doing her best after the events of book one, but tragically her life is spiraling. She’s shuttered her podcast, fallen into depression and booze and her overdue bills are mounting. When Riley calls to tell her that the house her, her husband and daughter have just moved into in Oregon is under attack by something massive, Nat at first ignores it. But when an incident occurs that’s too much for her to ignore, she heads there to try and help.

Moncrieff may very well be battling Hunter Shea for ‘best creature feature’ writer at the moment. Some of the scenes in this are so vivid and dread-filled, I would’ve jumped out of bed if something would’ve fallen over or banged the walls. I really loved how she writes cinematically and uses rational choices to create emotional responses. Nat is dealing with PTSD. Riley wants to protect her and her daughter Brooke. This all makes for a melting pot of ‘how should we react’ layers and it’s J.H.’s superb command of the story that really makes everything believable.

The dynamic between the members of the family were great and when Nat becomes involved, it was really nice to see Brooke and her bond and develop a friendship.

I thoroughly enjoyed how we got glimpses of Nat’s internal struggle and flashes of Dyatlov throughout, all the while, we see Nat striving for closure and redemption/revenge. The incident with Brooke near the end was a perfect bookend to make Nat both hate and respect these creatures and it really does set up the possibility of a third chapter in Nat’s ongoing story.

What I didn’t like: I don’t know if I fully found closure with the ‘why.’ Don’t get me wrong, the reason the creatures keep at the house tugs at the heart strings and shows empathy, but things didn’t completely add up. Apologies, this is a ‘in-depth’ as I can get, because I do not want to spoil this.

Why you should buy this: As I already said, Moncrieff writes creature features like nobody else. Just look at ‘Monsters In Our Wake.’ But with this, she’s slipped seamlessly into another level of human/creature thriller and it’s spot on fantastic. Fans of Hunter Shea’s ‘Creature’ and Moncrieff’s own ‘Those Who Came Before’ will really enjoy how this one plays out, but more so, for those fans of ‘Return to Dyatlov Pass,’ Moncrieff has done that first book justice and some. A stunning sequel from one of my favorite authors.

Well done, J.H.

5/5

Book Review: Salvage by Duncan Ralston

Title: Salvage

Author: Duncan Ralston

Release date: May 30, 2016 (Rereleased in 2019)

It’s always surreal when you dive (ha!) into a book and realize the number of unexpected similarities there are between the fiction you’re reading the your real life. Such was the case with ‘Salvage.’ ‘Salvage’ by Duncan Ralston is his debut release, and has gone through a few different tweaks (the cover shown here is the updated version by the talented and fantastic Francois Vaillancourt) but the story has remained the same.

Peace Falls was flooded three decades ago, the remains of the small town now hidden in the depths of Chapel Lake, named after the church that still stands in the murk three dozen or so feet below the surface.

I grew up in a very small town – Burton, BC. Population… maybe 100? 150? In the 1960’s, the Keenleyside Dam was constructed. Due this construction the Upper and Lower Arrow Lakes, which had been two separate, smaller lakes, became one long 230 km lake. Because of this, the original town site of Burton was flooded and residents moved a few km’s to create a new town site. My grandma and grandpa were one of the very first houses moved and relocated.

Reading this book was a unique way to get me to go look back at the historical non-fiction book about where I grew up and while doing that, I stumbled upon a photo that was tucked into my grandpa’s copy that I now have. It was a photo of my grandma standing on a sidewalk. My grandma was diagnosed with MS before I was even born, and I have a single memory of her walking. It was incredibly emotional to find this and I most likely wouldn’t have came across it for some time, if not for reading this book.

What I liked: ‘Salvage’ follows Owen Saddler, a forty year old man, who finds out his globetrotting sister, Lori, has passed away. When he finds out she’s drowned in Chapel Lake while diving, something feels offs, which facilitates his return to Peace Falls. Determined to get to the bottom of strange memories and odd occurrences, he rents a house on the lakes edge.

From here, Ralston gives us a really well done supernatural-mystery novel that slowly unraveled its various layers. We get a number of old acquaintances who pop up and appear to both give Owen useful information, while also steering him away from the truth and seeing the memories stir and reconnect with Owen and his past were great and added some well placed and well utilized emotional depth.

Throughout this book, Ralston continued to give us little crumbs that led towards the ultimate finale/ending, but I must say, even with what he gave us and led us along, I didn’t see things playing out how they did. The ending and the epilogue worked really well together and the ‘loose ends’ the Ralston tidied up were great.

What I didn’t like: Minor things over all, but the one bit I wasn’t a huge fan of was near-ish the ending, Owen calls his mom to fill her in and share some news about what’s been happening. His mom has been previously closed off about discussing the past and Peace Falls, but in this conversation she completely opened up and spilled her guts. I found it a bit odd that it would just happen and wished that it was teased out a bit more over maybe a few phone calls.

Why you should buy this: It’s hard to imagine this was Ralston’s first novel as it’s really well done and the thoroughness of creating the setting and back story was top notch. Having read mainly his newer work (Ghostland, Afterlife, The Midwives) you can see how the base of those novels was formed here and he’s improved time and time again.

I’m also thankful for reading this and having such a great connection with my past and what the book featured here. That really highlighted or elevated some places, which I hadn’t expected.

If you’re looking for a really great, mystery-thriller-supernatural read that features some fantastic, pulse-pounding moments and creepy parts, look no further. This was a fun time and I’m excited to check out more of his back catalog.

4/5

Book Review: The Creek by Rayne King

Title: The Creek

Author: Rayne King

Release date: January 17, 2021

Source: Kindle Unlimited

‘The Creek’ is the debut novella by Rayne King, a great guy who I connected with over on Twitter, some time ago. I was immediately impressed with the cover that King shared and while I couldn’t get to it right when it came out, I knew I’d hop on this when I had a lull in my reading. Usually that’s when I’ve finished a really solid book and decide to chomp through a quick read in one sitting, before returning to the other long reads I have already started.

Funny enough, when I flipped to the first page and saw the layout, I wondered if Ross Jeffery had formatted this. Ross has formatted a number of my works (probably the last 6 or 7, I’d have to count!) and I was also pleased to see Ross had done the cover! So happy these two connected.

What I liked: I love wilderness/small-town based stories, and King has delivered there. We’re introduced to Wiley, a 17 year old man who lives in a beat up trailer with his alcoholic, corrections officer father. His mom split 6 years ago and has now started a new life, which leaves Wiley conflicted. Shortly into the story, a group arrives at the abandoned camping grounds near where he lives and he finds out that a religious group has purchased it.

King really did a great job of creating this care-free kid, who just likes to hang out with his dog at the creek. It’s at this location that he meets Ruby, the daughter of the religious groups leader.

I enjoyed the innocent first interaction they had and how the two of them are both conflicted with how their real lives are compared to how time seems to stop when they’re together.

What I didn’t like: I think a bit of what I struggled with was the fairly straight forward story that was told. While King doesn’t set out to recreate the wheel, there was nothing surprising or shocking. Ultimately, I struggled with believing Wiley was as innocent as he was portrayed, as once he starts attending the religious ceremonies, he willing takes drugs and him and Ruby start sleeping together. For a boy who couldn’t look at here a short time ago at the creek, things sure ramped up quickly. Which unfortunately made the final events a bit hard to comprehend, as I just didn’t know if Wiley would actually have it in him.

Why you should buy this: I also love finding and reading new authors and first releases and this was a really well done effort. King’s first release is in a subgenre of horror that can be tough to deliver in (coming-of-age) and I think he did an admirable job of crafting this story of Wiley and Ruby. Mileage will vary on this one, but if you’re looking for a quick, fun, religious novella, this will tick all of those boxes. It also comes with a bonus short story ‘Husk’ which was a fun read and while I won’t go into this one here, it definitely makes me excited to see how King will continue to evolve and grow with each new release.

3/5