We Are Monsters by Brian Kirk

Oct 27, 2019 Lisa rated it liked it · review of another edition

I'm going to do something that I seldom do, and that is to give a review with No reminders!
My thanks, as always to Flame Tree Press, Netgalley and the Author.
I actually didn't give much of a shit for this story. It's not that it was awful, it just wasn't that great. I did enjoy the character building. It helped a great deal in my understanding.
My son, Dakota is a paranoid schizophrenic. Some people have been stupid enough to tell me that he's not that...he's actually bi-polar. No. Unless you've ...more

flag 67 likes · Like · see review

Feb 19, 2020 Luvtoread rated it liked it · review of another edition

A Surreal And Psychological, Nightmarish Horror Story!

This book involves psychiatrists, patients with severe mental disorders and the institution where many, many events will take place. One older doctor who is the director of the facility believes in treating patients with behavioral therapy modification instead of debilitating drugs and electric shock treatments where the patient, especially schizophrenic disorders are barely cognitive and functional on the lowest scale possible. The other ...more

flag 48 likes · Like · see review

Jun 25, 2015 Kelly (and the Book Boar) rated it it was ok

Shelves: end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it, nutters, read-in-2015, arcs

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

Half the patients were put in here because they claim to talk to God. But preachers do the same thing and theyre put in positions of power and praise.

When I saw We Are Monsters available for grabs I was super stoked. I mean, a book about the apocalypse (real one, not zombie version) coming to an insane asylum????? YES PLEASE!!!!! But then I read it and I was all . . .

First, Im pretty sure before its all said and done someone out ...more

flag 45 likes · Like · see review

Jan 14, 2020 Sadie Hartmann Mother Horror rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: night-worms

3.5 stars!
WE ARE MONSTERS is Brian Kirk's debut novel. It was released in 2016. Now, it has a new cover and some other special features-given new life/re-released by Flame Tree Press. Its publication date is January 30th, 2020 but you can use this code: NIGHTMONSTERS to buy it before the scheduled release.

WE ARE MONSTERS is an ambitious idea for a novel.
It tackles huge issues like mental illness, psychiatric treatments, and radical pharmaceutical trials. I don't know anything about how all of 3.5 stars!
WE ARE MONSTERS is Brian Kirk's debut novel. It was released in 2016. Now, it has a new cover and some other special features-given new life/re-released by Flame Tree Press. Its publication date is January 30th, 2020 but you can use this code: NIGHTMONSTERS to buy it before the scheduled release.

WE ARE MONSTERS is an ambitious idea for a novel.
It tackles huge issues like mental illness, psychiatric treatments, and radical pharmaceutical trials. I don't know anything about how all of that works in the real world, but reading about it in this book gave me anxiety. I feel like this is one of those subjects an author needs to do a lot of research to make sure they represent this issue well since it's a very personal subject for many people. I'm certain that Kirk must have done extensive research for this one because the medical jargon here sounded legit enough to my untrained mind. My anxieties were appeased.

Sugar Hill is an alternative medicine treatment facility for mentally ill patients. There is quite a large cast of characters introduced rather quickly, so I jotted down their names and any important info like occupation and relationship in order to keep them straight. I should mention I didn't warm up to or invest emotionally in any of the main characters. I actually disliked our protagonist, Dr. Alex Drexler. There's a scene early on involving a pet that turned me off to his character immediately.
But at least there is *plenty* of character development here. Brian Kirk creates a backstory for almost everybody and I appreciated it--but get this: Maybe it was too much? I hate having to say that but I feel like the pacing in the first part of the book got bogged down with a lot details/information. That being said, I was engaged in the story.
The last half of this book is when Brian Kirk challenges his readers to go deeper. There are some heavy themes of our own thorns of contention, mental health, and suffering through the consequences of our actions. Also, the horror of insanity! Can we just mention how terrifying it would be for your own mind to turn against itself? Letting go of all rationality; no longer subject to reason?
I applaud Brian Kirk for bringing the idea of this story from conception to fruition because like I said earlier, this is ambitious. Ambitious and original.
The idea of tackling the nuts and bolts of a drug that is designed to cure schizophrenia but ends up unlocking one's "inner demons" sounds daunting to me but after reading this book--it's my assessment that Brian Kirk sticks the landing. The title, WE ARE MONSTERS and the main thrust of this book wrestles with our own monsters we battle but also the battle that must be fought on behalf of the mentally ill--their mistreatment and marginalization. I came away from this with plenty to mull over and chew on.
Even if I wasn't able to track everything as I read it, it's my opinion that other readers more familiar with the topic will have no trouble.
Recommended for fans of: Asylum, Psychological, and Insanity horror.

This book was sent to the Night Worms Review Team as part of a "Book Party" campaign hosted by Night Worms and organized by me (Mother Horror). About 20 readers/reviewers were given in exchange for an honest review of the book. We all celebrated the book's upcoming release with a special code for an early release purchase. ...more

flag 30 likes · Like · see review

Feb 20, 2020 Luvtoread rated it liked it

A Surreal And Psychological, Nightmarish Horror Story!

This book involves psychiatrists, patients with severe mental disorders and the institution where many, many events will take place. One older doctor who is the director of the facility believes in treating patients with behavioral therapy modification instead of debilitating drugs and electric shock treatments where the patient, especially schizophrenic disorders are barely cognitive and functional on the lowest scale possible. The other ...more

flag 28 likes · Like · see review

May 24, 2015 Kimberly rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley, samhain

WE ARE MONSTERS, by Brian Kirk gives us a close up look at a mental institution with two doctors who have very different approaches on how to help their patients. Dr. Eli Alpert prefers a compassionate, drug-free approach when possible. Unfortunately for the residents of this facility, Dr. Alex Drexler has just formulated a new drug that he feels will cure schizophrenia.

Newly arrived Crosby Nelson, known as the "Apocalypse Killer" seems to be the perfect candidate for Alex's "cure". What if, ...more

flag 26 likes · Like · see review

Dec 20, 2019 warhawke rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arc-netgalley-request, fuck-buddy-read, mystery-suspense-horror, dark-gritty-disturbed

Genre: Horror
Type: Standalone
POV: Third Person
Rating:

Under Dr. Eli Alperts tutelage, Sugar Hill became one of the most esteemed asylums. As technology advanced, his protege Dr. Alex Drexler had the vision to take the hospital into new height by using a groundbreaking drug to cure schizophrenia. But Alexs ambition could unravel the very thread that held everything together.

I love books that feature mental illness, and I went into this one with certain expectations regarding the story direction. ...more

flag 24 likes · Like · see review

Jan 16, 2020 Schizanthus Nerd rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley, content-warnings, kindle-food

Its official. The Apocalypse has come to Sugar Hill.

Alex, Eli and Angela work together in the forensics ward of Sugar Hill, which houses and treats the criminally insane. Angela is a social worker who is described by a friend as Dr. Do Good by day and Little Miss Devil by night. Alex Drexler is a psychiatrist whose views on treatment are diametrically opposed to those of his boss and mentor, Dr Eli Alpert, Sugar Hills Chief Medical Director. Elis approach is humanistic, with a focus on

“It’s official. The Apocalypse has come to Sugar Hill.”

Alex, Eli and Angela work together in the forensics ward of Sugar Hill, which houses and treats the criminally insane. Angela is a social worker who is described by a friend as “Dr. Do Good by day and Little Miss Devil by night”. Alex Drexler is a psychiatrist whose views on treatment are diametrically opposed to those of his boss and mentor, Dr Eli Alpert, Sugar Hill’s Chief Medical Director. Eli’s approach is humanistic, with a focus on treating patients with dignity and respect. Meanwhile, Alex is in the process of trialling an experimental drug to cure schizophrenia.

Why did the mind have the capacity to create delusions? To hallucinate? To perceive the unreal? And why, so often, did such altered states appear to the perceiver as the actual reality? A world more real than this one.

When the funding for his trials is withdrawn, Alex winds up continuing his experiment. His latest subject is Sugar Hill’s newest patient, Crosby Nelson, the Apocalypse Killer. Because what could possibly go wrong when you use a mentally ill, traumatised serial killer as your guinea pig?!

More background information is provided about characters than I’m used to seeing in horror books. This took me out of the story initially although I could understand the relevance of this information later on. It’s not only the patients whose pasts haunt them and it’s not always obvious who should be a patient, especially when the workers’ own demons are revealed.

Either she is insane, or I am. Or nobody is. Or we all are. Either way, who am I to say?

The only character I really liked was Eli. I think I would have liked Crosby as well but I didn’t get much of a sense of who he was outside of his mental health and trauma histories. Fortunately it’s not necessary to love horror book characters. I enjoyed hoping Alex would get a taste of his own medicine and I couldn’t wait for a couple of other nasties to get their comeuppance.

At times it felt like a hallucinogen was wafting off the pages. I wasn’t always especially clear about what was really going on during the more trippy parts.

He was now unsure which reality had been a dream and which one was real.

If I’d encountered this sense of unease, not being able to easily discern reality, in another book I’d probably tell you it was a reason I didn’t like it. This book, though? It was like I was being given a glimpse into what life must be like all the time for some of the residents of Sugar Hill and it was scary to even contemplate living in their worlds.

While I’ve known a lot of people with various mental illnesses, my knowledge of schizophrenia and psychosis are limited to the DSM-5 and random articles and books I’ve read. Because of this I cannot comment on the accuracy of their depictions in this book but I didn’t come across anything that stood out to me as ‘there’s something wrong with this picture’ symptom wise.

Between the graphic violence ((view spoiler)) and derogatory terms used for pretty much anyone you can think of, sometimes challenged but oftentimes not, this book isn’t going to be for everyone. If having anything uncomfortably close to your eyes makes you squeamish you may have trouble with some scenes.

Content warnings include (view spoiler).

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for the opportunity to read this book. ...more

flag 23 likes · Like · see review

Jan 13, 2020 Janelle Janson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020, horror, night-worms

Thank you so much Night Worms, Brian Kirk, and Flame Tree Press for my free copy.

A horror book with a mental asylum, paranoid schizophrenics, and clinical drug trials was too good to pass up! Brian Kirks WE ARE MONSTERS starts off with some of the more intriguing few chapters Ive come across - I was absolutely addicted.

Dr. Eli Alpert deals with the most psychotic criminals. Luckily, his mentee, Alex Drexler, is working on a drug that will cure schizophrenia, by ridding patients of their ...more

flag 20 likes · Like · see review

Jan 15, 2020 Louise Wilson rated it really liked it

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Dr. Eli Alpert works with the criminally insane patients at Sugar Hill Psychiatric Hospital. His protege, Dr. Alex Drexler thinks medication is the way forward in the treatment of the patients. He's been trialling a medication of his own creation. But then trials aren't going well. He gets a new group of patients to conduct his tests on. This time he alters the medication and as a result, he's opened up the patients minds more than he intended to. He's released new ...more

flag 20 likes · Like · see review

Jan 14, 2020 Mindi rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I think this one is going to stick with me for a while. More than anything in this novel, Kirk's first, I felt a connection to the characters, especially Dr. Eli Alpert. Like most of the people either living or working at Sugar Hill Mental Asylum, everyone is broken to some degree. While some of the patients see demons, in particular a new patient named Crosby Nelson, other's carry their demons inside them. Eli has many issues himself, definitely PTSD from serving in Vietnam, perhaps even worse I think this one is going to stick with me for a while. More than anything in this novel, Kirk's first, I felt a connection to the characters, especially Dr. Eli Alpert. Like most of the people either living or working at Sugar Hill Mental Asylum, everyone is broken to some degree. While some of the patients see demons, in particular a new patient named Crosby Nelson, other's carry their demons inside them. Eli has many issues himself, definitely PTSD from serving in Vietnam, perhaps even worse mental illnesses, even though he is the Chief Medical Director of Sugar Hill.

It's those human aspects that I found the most fascinating. The way a hospital for the mentally insane can be run by people who are almost just as broken as their patients. Some of my favorite passages are actually flashbacks. The chapters where Eli meditates while thinking about his time with his fiancé, Lacy, in India, are some of the most touching parts of the novel. Essentially, everything that gives each character more backstory makes them more well rounded and relatable. The doctors and staff at Sugar Hill want to help others because they bear scars of their own. Some people are able to bury the terrible things that happened to them, but that doesn't necessarily make them stronger or more sane. It really just makes them highly functioning but broken people.

Eli's protégé, Dr. Alex Drexler has issue just like everyone else. And perhaps it's these issues and buried traumas that cause the doctors and nurses at Sugar Hill to ultimately choose their professions. But Alex wants to do more than merely help his patients. He wants to create a drug that will cure schizophrenia. After a number of failed trials he thinks that he has finally created a drug that will actually work, but Alex has a lot riding on the success of his drug, and not much confidence for the finished product. Eventually his hubris causes him to use a massive dose on a violent patient that ends up having repercussions for everyone at Sugar Hill. Suddenly each of their main characters is thrust into a nightmare of their own making.

While Alex is probably my least favorite character in the novel, his greed can be understood. Too brilliant to understand how to interact as a child, and basically having lived as an outcast in his own home while growing up, he craves the and attention (and of course the money as well) that his potential miracle cure could bring. Nurse Angela punishes herself nightly without consciously realizing why. She is another character that I really felt for. When she actually confronts the reason she behaves so dangerously, I admit I had tears in my eyes.

This is a novel about mental illness and a radical cure, but the stories behind the characters and their actions make it so much more. Kirk writes amazing characters that you come to care for despite their problems and shortcomings. And that's what makes me a fan. That's what keeps me coming back to his writing. This is definitely a horror novel with supernatural elements, but even more than that, this is a story about people. People who learn to deal with the demons they carry in order to help those who feel as if those demons are actually real. Everyone at Sugar Hill has their own personal monsters. ...more

flag 18 likes · Like · see review

Dec 21, 2019 CC rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: damaged, arc, thriller-suspense-mystery, darkish-to-depths-of-hell, f-br

At Sugar Hill mental asylum, patients have been ethically treated under the direction of Dr. Eli Alpert. With his views on how to treat patients, he has been well respected until his protégé, Dr. Alex Drexler, presents the possibility of a miracle drug to treat schizophrenia. With conflicting interests, the promise of success changes the expected course.

Whats wrong with this world if a normal, sane person can be plucked out of it and placed in this pocket of insanity?

This narrative is divided ...more

flag 13 likes · Like · see review

Jan 10, 2020 Chandra Claypool (wherethereadergrows) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I'm a huge lover of asylum horror. The methods that have been put into place can be seen as a torture of their own to help those not quite of sound mind. We've all heard of shock therapy, lobotomies, water logging and allllll the medications. What realities do the criminally insane live in and can they truly be helped? Dr. Eli and Alex are determined to make this happen. But what happens when the doctors may turn out to be bigger monsters than the ones they are helping? Or are they? It's all ...more

flag 12 likes · Like · see review

Apr 09, 2015 Glenn Rolfe rated it really liked it

Were sick. Were all sick. But we can be cured. And we can be kind. We dont have to let our lives be ruled by the shadows of our past.

We Are Monsters. This is the debut novel for Brian Kirk. As far as debuts go, this one is very impressive. Kirk is a gifted writer and it shows in his details. The characters in this book have gone through tragic beginnings that lead them in, one way or another, to Sugar Hill Mental Asylum. Some come as patients, others work there in one capacity or another.

Dr. “We’re sick. We’re all sick. But we can be cured. And we can be kind. We don’t have to let our lives be ruled by the shadows of our past.”

We Are Monsters. This is the debut novel for Brian Kirk. As far as debuts go, this one is very impressive. Kirk is a gifted writer and it shows in his details. The characters in this book have gone through tragic beginnings that lead them in, one way or another, to Sugar Hill Mental Asylum. Some come as patients, others work there in one capacity or another.

Dr. Alex Drexler is in line to become the Chief Medical Director at Sugar Hill, a position currently held by his mentor, Dr. Eli Alpert. Alex has developed a ground-breaking new drug that could cure schizophrenia. He’s ready to claim his new status. He’s invested in his future, in his intelligence, and in himself. After a failed trial run of the drug, all of his hopes and dreams, all of his hedged bets, teeter on the precipice of total collapse. Desperate to keep what he thinks he deserves, Alex tweaks his new drug and tries it on his favorite patient, his brother, Jerry. The results are amazing. Jerry is cured. Or is he?

What Alex discovers is that his new drug may do more than cure the mind, it just might expand it.

Kirk does a fantastic job in creating a fully developed cast of characters. Dr. Alpert’s (my favorite character in the book) history is beautifully, if not heartbreakingly, scripted through various flashback chapters. If you’re familiar with my reviews, you know that chapters of “look backs” are not one of my favorite things to find in a novel, but in capable hands, I can be persuaded to follow along. Kirk handles the majority of these with precision and flare, particularly with Dr. Alpert. From Dr. Alpert’s Vietnam experience, to the young female patient he befriends early on in his career, to the woman he would fall in love with only to watch fade away, Eli's story is the true heart of We Are Monsters.

One fair warning, mid-way through the novel, all hell breaks loose. When this shift first happened, I was so confused. I was totally lost. I struggled to wrap my head around just what in the hell was suddenly going on. Hold on. This is intentional. Kirk wants us shaken, stirred, and off kilter. It puts us in the same boat as his characters. We are dropped into this mad world to figure out whether the doctors are just as broken as the patients or if something more sinister, something more fantastic is occurring.

While the search for answers did stretch on a bit too much for me, the ending is beautifully played.

“But you don’t have to carry it with you. You can let it go.”

While We Are Monsters offers plenty of nasty descriptions in some horrifying scenes, and offers up plenty of scares (mostly in the second half of the novel), it is the heart and the tragedy of the cast that push and pull this psychological horror novel to its potential. Brian Kirk delivers a smart and gritty novel that shows us that monsters do indeed exist. We all have a darkness inside, it’s how we choose to hold that darkness that either becomes our downfall or redeems us as individuals.

I give We Are Monsters 4 stars.
...more

flag 11 likes · Like · see review

Jan 10, 2020 Alex | | findingmontauk1 rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned

Asylums and serial killers with paranoid schizophrenia?! Sign me up! If those two things do not intrigue you, then perhaps it is worth adding that one of the doctors in the asylum here wants to use an experimental drug on one of the nation's most horrific killers to "cure" his schizophrenia. But when doing so it is like reality bends and all the "inner demons" of this murderer are unleashed on the world... or at least within the walls of the asylum. What is real and what is a lie? How are will ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Jan 14, 2020 Matt (TeamRedmon) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I read We Are Monsters as part of a book party with Night Worms review team. Thank you so much, Night Worms, Brian Kirk, and Flame Tree Press for my free copy.

I was leery going into this book because of the theme of dealing with mental illness as a source of horror. I'm a special education teacher and have had experience working with individuals with various mental illnesses. I'm always hesitant of anything that could make those with mental illnesses to seem less than human. I can tell you that I read We Are Monsters as part of a book party with Night Worms review team. Thank you so much, Night Worms, Brian Kirk, and Flame Tree Press for my free copy.

I was leery going into this book because of the theme of dealing with mental illness as a source of horror. I'm a special education teacher and have had experience working with individuals with various mental illnesses. I'm always hesitant of anything that could make those with mental illnesses to seem less than human. I can tell you that my fears were unfounded. I thought that Brian Kirk handled the subject very well and treated the people that have these disorders with respect.

Sugar Hill Mental Hospital is a facility that houses and treats individuals with severe mental illness. The majority of the patients have the potential to be harmful to themselves or others. The head of Sugar Hill is Dr. Eli Alpert, and his second is Dr. Alex Drexler. These two men could not be more different, and I found myself wondering how realistic it was for them to work together for so long. Eli is a paragon of medical and professional ethics, and he believes that to treat the mental illness, you must first treat the patient as a person. Eli is my guy. Alex is all about them shiny gadgets and new medicine. Mental illness is just a puzzle to be unlocked, and it doesn't matter what makes the patients happy or comfortable; they are there to be cured, not coddled. Alex is, definitely, not my guy. Alex also has an interaction with a dog that makes him irredeemable to me. So, naturally, the main protagonist in this story is Alex. Alex is developing a miracle drug that will cure schizophrenia, and he is in the midst of clinical trials that are not going well. Alex, being the kind of guy that he is, decides just to go ahead and do some unregulated human tests. I won't go further than that with the plot to avoid spoilers.

A lot has been made of the jarring transition that takes place in the middle of this book. I didn't mind it, and I thought that the idea was interesting and handled well. My problem with the entire experience with this book is that it was just too long. There is a butt-ton of character work at the beginning of the book, perhaps too much. The action at the end of the book also felt repetitive at times. By the time I read the last page, I was happy to be finished, which is not the emotion I want when I finish a book. In the end, I liked the book for what it was. For me, at least, it was a good story but not a great story. I settled on a 3.5 rounded up to a four-star rating. Your mileage may differ but if this sounds like something you would enjoy, I recommend that you give it a go! ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Jul 12, 2020 Andrew Fowlow rated it really liked it

We Are Monsters is a dark and expansive look into the world of the criminally insane. Brian Kirk is incredible, he had my mind reeling in terror as I tore through this tale of those who suffer from madness and mania.

Crosby Nelson dubbed The Apocalypse Killer has arrived at Sugar Hill Mental Asylum and is under the care of Dr. Alex Drexler and Dr. Eli Alpert. This facility treats many of the state's psychotic criminals and although they have conflicting methods of treatment, Alpert and Drexler We Are Monsters is a dark and expansive look into the world of the criminally insane. Brian Kirk is incredible, he had my mind reeling in terror as I tore through this tale of those who suffer from madness and mania.

Crosby Nelson dubbed The Apocalypse Killer has arrived at Sugar Hill Mental Asylum and is under the care of Dr. Alex Drexler and Dr. Eli Alpert. This facility treats many of the state's psychotic criminals and although they have conflicting methods of treatment, Alpert and Drexler are committed to the rehabilitation of its residents but to what extent? Drexler begins the testing phase of his experimental drug that suppresses the delusions affecting the minds of people suffering from schizophrenia. Although Drexler believes his tests are a success, there are some side effects that are worse than the affliction itself. What evil has the good doctor awoken in those who reside in Sugar Hill Mental Asylum?

Something I find so appealing about psychology horror involving asylums is the intrigue. I say this purely from a fictional point of view. I always wonder about the secrets held within the facility's walls. What kind of terrifying procedures the doctors could and would perform? What horrifying incidents took place between patients and orderlies in padded rooms? You just know there are some wild stories to be told about places like Sugar Hill Mental Asylum and Brian Kirk tells one hell of a dreadful tale in We are Monsters.

I feel inclined to mention how much I like the readability of this book. The author is exploring a lot of medical scenarios and could easily have used terminology unbeknownst to most people. I think almost anyone could pick up this novel and have no issues keeping up with the story and holding a firm grasp on what is happening. The short chapters also made this an easy read. I love when books are formatted that way, they just seem to go by so quickly.

This book has some serious character development going on. In general, this is something I like in a story but I thought Brian Kirk took it a little to far here. There are a lot of chapters dedicated to back story which helps familiarize the reader with the characters and why they make the decisions they make. Is it weird to say that I enjoy this the most when it's a character I hate? I was not a fan of Dr. Alex Drexler. I wouldn't say he's THE bad guy here, but he's a bad guy and how he came to be was very interesting. When I say the author took it a little to far, I'm talking about Drexler's mentor Dr. Eli Alpert. I found his back story to drag on. Obviously, the author wrote with intent and every part of the story has a purpose but those chapters of the book hindered my reading experience.

I thoroughly enjoyed We Are Monsters by Brian Kirk. Fans of horror will revel in the depths with which the author explores the minds of the mentally unstable. Let's take a walk through the halls of Sugar Hill Mental Asylum and seek the truth to the dark secrets that reside within its walls.

FOLLOW ME
Www.twitter.com/thebookdad
Www.instagram.com/The_BookDad
Www.goodreads.com/andrewfowlow ...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

Dec 13, 2015 Shane Douglas Keene rated it it was amazing

I dont usually read other peoples reviews before writing my own. Im always afraid that theyll influence or somehow bias my opinion of a given work. But in the case of WE ARE MONSTERS it was hard to avoid. A lot of people are raving about this book, including Brian Keene and John F.D. Taff, two outstanding authors that really know their business and dont generally engage in hyperbole.

There was one review, however, that wasnt so positive and its that one that Im going to address here (this does I don’t usually read other people’s reviews before writing my own. I’m always afraid that they’ll influence or somehow bias my opinion of a given work. But in the case of WE ARE MONSTERS it was hard to avoid. A lot of people are raving about this book, including Brian Keene and John F.D. Taff, two outstanding authors that really know their business and don’t generally engage in hyperbole.

There was one review, however, that wasn’t so positive and it’s that one that I’m going to address here (this does have a point, so stay with me). To paraphrase, the reviewer said, “spends easily two thirds of the book developing the characters, thereby slowing the book down…”

I don’t agree. In fact, it’s this aspect of the book that really makes all the rest of the thing work. It’s a good example of a talented young author who has his priorities straight. Character development is paramount to a strong story. Without it, everything else fails. There were some minor slowdowns, sure, but nothing so drastic as to dampen a reader’s enjoyment and nothing even remotely related to character development. Plus, while Kirk is building his characters, he’s also building his settings and his storyline, slowly creating tension, building suspense and plot piece by meticulous piece. It’s a common method in psychological horror and it’s used to great effect here, making the balls to the wall, breathtaking action in the later part of the book that much more meaningful. By that point in the story, the reader has a strong grasp of setting and a good love/hate relationship going with the hopelessly, delightfully flawed protagonists.

All that said, if someone were to ask me if there were slowdowns I would have to say yes. There were a few very brief, very minor snippets of internal monologue that slowed things down to some degree, but that’s an issue of pacing not character development. Pacing is a difficult thing to master, even for an experienced author and for a debut novel, Kirk handles it admirably.

WE ARE MONSTERS is a uniquely structured, engaging psychological horror story that becomes less and less psychological and more blow your brains out your ears horrific as it moves along. A lot of authors have written books based in mental hospitals–Ken Kesey and Victor LaValle come to mind–but nobody has written one like this. As the story progresses and the characters are forced to face external hostility and their own inner demons you may find yourself having to face some demons of your own.

Overall, WE ARE MONSTERS is a knockout punch for Kirk and I think this is a book–and an author–that we’ll be hearing a lot more about in the future. That’s my hope anyway. Brian Kirk is a talented young man and WE ARE MONSTERS is one of the best debuts of the year. Do yourself a favor. Go get this book, read it, then come back and shower me with thank yous. ...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

Jul 08, 2015 Frank Errington rated it really liked it

Review copy

This is the first published novel for Brian Kirk, the father of twin boys, who makes his home in Atlanta, Ga.

From the 1st page of We Are Monsters...

"The Apocalypse has come to the Sugar Hill mental asylum.

He's the hospital's newest, and most notorious, patient--a paranoid schizophrenic who sees humanity's dark side.

Luckily he's in good hands. Dr. Eli Alpert has a talent for healing tortured souls. And his protégé is working on a cure for schizophrenic, a drug that returns patients to ...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

Jun 15, 2015 Liz Barnsley rated it really liked it

Shelves: received-via-netgalley, sunday-reads

This was a clever little novel - haunting, often very disturbing with some great characters and a really intriguing premise. I hesitate to put it in a box - it is part thriller, part character drama, part horror leading to a very eclectic and interesting read.

Very impressive for a debut in its construction and multi layered themes, a look at the treatment of the mentally ill using a deliciously dark format and idea - this draws you into a strange world where not everything is as it seems.

...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

Jan 03, 2020 Keely rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The Sugar Hill psychiatric hospital in Georgia is home to some exceptionally violent individuals. The media is in a frenzy over the recent admittance of Crosby Nelson, better known as The Apocalypse Killer, as he is deemed unfit to stand trial. Rest assured, Crosby, a paranoid schizophrenic, is in good hands. Dr. Eli Alpert and Alex Drexler will be presiding over his care and rehabilitation during his stay. While Dr. Alpert, the Chief Medical Director at Sugar Hill has an empathetic, humanistic The Sugar Hill psychiatric hospital in Georgia is home to some exceptionally violent individuals. The media is in a frenzy over the recent admittance of Crosby Nelson, better known as The Apocalypse Killer, as he is deemed “unfit to stand trial”. Rest assured, Crosby, a paranoid schizophrenic, is in good hands. Dr. Eli Alpert and Alex Drexler will be presiding over his care and rehabilitation during his stay. While Dr. Alpert, the Chief Medical Director at Sugar Hill has an empathetic, humanistic approach to treating mental illness, his protégé, Dr. Drexler has been leaning more towards the Big Pharma pill pushing philosophy. Without Eli’s knowledge, Alex has been working on a secret (kind of) formula in attempt to cure schizophrenic delusions once and for all. Naturally, as with any “secret formula” in fiction, what Alex’s new drug unleashes is of reality bending proportions.
“The absence of the filter allowed Jerry to see beyond the veil of reality. A stark look into the raw chaos of the cosmos where life operates on a subatomic scale, a swirling soup of photons coalescing into the image of expectations. An indifferent energy field of infinite possibilities made material through the force of the collective unconscious.”
Brian Kirk, you are speaking directly to my nerdy black soul!
This novel was incredibly hard to put down! While I was a little skeptical of the trope at first, horror in a mental facility, there were such heavy considerations of what it means to be “sane” or human for that matter, that I got over it really quickly. This novel didn’t even come close to as campy as I expected it to be and I was blown away. The difference between the views of patient care between Eli and Alex were so completely different that it was curious how they were ever able to agree on anything. However, the development and back story of every main character in this book was so thorough, you were able to see how they arrived at their individual views pertaining to their respective fields.
I am probably a little biased but, I have stated before what a huge fan I am of scientific detail in horror. For me, it makes the story feel far more real even if the subject clearly is not. There is enough of this detail to excite someone like myself but, not enough to prevent anyone that does not care for scientific jargon from picking it up. Kirk did his homework and put an incredible amount of effort into these characters making them feel as if these could have been real people. Especially considering the real stigma that unfortunately surrounds mental illness, he does an extraordinary job of using his characters to illustrate the struggle between do we cater to the soul or the symptoms?
Don’t get me wrong, this novel isn’t an overview of politics surrounding this topic wrapped up in a beautiful little horror bow, it gets creepy as hell! This is the kind of horror that I enjoy the most; where the monsters could be anyone and most of the time, you cannot decide which one is worse.
“There were clusters of people – whom he now saw as electrons – orbiting around a binding force – a nucleus. There were rogue molecules darting from place to place but never attaching themselves to any single orbit, much like free radicals. And he imagined that if this scene were to be viewed from a great enough distance, it would look very much like our own microbiology seen through a microscope.”
Brilliant, right?! I seriously think that if Kirk had figured out a way to work Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle into the novel without confusing the shit out of everyone else, I would have declared this my favorite read of the year already. ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Aug 11, 2019 Bandit rated it liked it · review of another edition

This book was judged by the cover. I admit it, the superficial appeal has itswell, appeal. I liked the cover and the title, Flame Tree Press might be new, but theyve so far been pretty consistent quality wise, so I figured Ill check it out. Turned out, it didnt quite work for me, much like the last Flame Tree book Ive read. The thing is, the quality was still there, it was more along the lines of reader/writer incompatibility. The story is interesting enough, actually, and you cant beat an This book was judged by the cover. I admit it, the superficial appeal has it’s…well, appeal. I liked the cover and the title, Flame Tree Press might be new, but they’ve so far been pretty consistent quality wise, so I figured I’ll check it out. Turned out, it didn’t quite work for me, much like the last Flame Tree book I’ve read. The thing is, the quality was still there, it was more along the lines of reader/writer incompatibility. The story is interesting enough, actually, and you can’t beat an insane asylum as a fictional setting, but somehow this story just didn’t grab me. I waited and waited, but eventually decided to just settle for being reasonably entertained without any sort of emotional engagement. That worked actually, the book even went by faster. Not every story makes a personal connection, sometimes a reasonably fun diversion will do. The plot has to do with an experimental treatment that supposedly quiets the most disquiet of minds, but in fact unleashes a world of nightmares from the darkest nooks and crannies of one’s psyche. It’s essentially an original take on the inmates taking over the asylum scenario. And it is indeed original, the plot (and the asylum) descends into madness quite thoroughly and terrifyingly in a disturbingly singular manner. I appreciated the story on an intellectual level about as much as I failed to connect with it emotionally. The characters and their respective redemption stories were supposed to be what established the emotional connection, but they just didn’t do it for me, well developed, dimensional to an extent, but not very interesting or likeable or compelling. So that just left the plot, which carried the weight perfectly fine on its own, even as it pivoted from a (let’s say) normal time act to the hallucinatory violent second act. Genre fans should find a lot to enjoy here, it’s dark and brutal and demented. It’s an all around very competently done and strikingly imagined book I ended up respecting more than liking. That’s terrible for a date, but completely ok (though far from optimal) for a reading experience. Your mileage may vary. I was after all nominated for Bram Stoker's award.Thanks Netgalley. ...more

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

Oct 08, 2015 Brian Keene rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2015

WE ARE MONSTERS is fantastic -- a frightening and intense thriller and one hell of a debut novel. I was blown away.

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

Sep 08, 2019 Jon Recluse rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, netgalley

Dr. Emil Alpert runs the Sugar Hill mental asylum with compassion and humanity, treating his patients with understanding rather than drugging them into catatonic submission.
However, his protégé, Dr. Alex Drexler views treatment of the mentally ill differently, secretly testing a new experimental drug that he believes can cure schizophrenia. Driven beyond his means and his better judgement, he seeks fame and fortune at any cost.
When the brutal murder of a former patient, seemingly by a member of ...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Dec 26, 2019 Obsidian rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.

Eh. I tried to get into this. I gave up halfway through and just grudgingly finished this thing over a period of like four weeks. Bah. It had a great premise, it just got boring to me halfway through. And then I kept finding other books to read instead. Maybe if I hadn't started King's "The Institute" (nope still not done) and seen some similar themes here, it would have grabbed me. Honestly it reminds ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Jan 10, 2020 Kirsty ❤️ rated it really liked it

I really enjoyed this debut psychological horror. I looked at the reviews beforehand it they seem quite polarised. You never quite know what to expect when that happens but Im erring on the positive side. Its a book of two parts with the first setting the scene of Alex testing his untried miracle cure for schizophrenia on first his brother and then a crazy serial killer. However the serum allows the patient to create new worlds which are transferred onto others. Its a thought provoking piece and ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Nov 27, 2019 Amber rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley-reviews

I received a complimentary copy of this e-book ARC from the author, publisher, and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Dr. Alex Drexler is determined to be rich by his new medication that would cure patients of their schizophrenia at a mental hospital. When his experiments with the medication failed and he is sent to face his inner demons with several others, will they survive or go mad? Read on and find out for yourself.

This was a pretty good, creepy, and twisted horror novel. If you ...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Jan 28, 2020 Barb (Boxermommyreads) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020

This book was originally written in 2015 and it was a very ambitious undertaking for a first novel. I think Kirk did a good job weaving a complex tale of medical treatment, mental illness and sanity which for me worked at times and during other times, confused me.

The novel is divided into three different sections. The first two focuses on character development and a look into the medical workings of an asylum and into the complex and controversial world of mental health treatment. Dr. Adam This book was originally written in 2015 and it was a very ambitious undertaking for a first novel. I think Kirk did a good job weaving a complex tale of medical treatment, mental illness and sanity which for me worked at times and during other times, confused me.

The novel is divided into three different sections. The first two focuses on character development and a look into the medical workings of an asylum and into the complex and controversial world of mental health treatment. Dr. Adam Drexler has been working for years to develop a cure for schizophrenia. His funding and experimental sources have run dry, so he takes a chance and experiments on his own brother. Dr. Eli Alpert runs the Sugar Hill Asylum and believes that treatment should focus more on the strengths of the people suffering from the disorders he treats rather than numb them and their actions through medication. As expected, the two eventually clash. Dr. Drexler dethrones Dr. Alpert but will his experiment on the infamous Apocalypse Killer bring him success or be his downfall.

I actually found this book fairly enjoyable. I never really liked the characters, but even that worked for me where it usually doesn't. I don't know that Kirk was really trying to make any of the characters endearing. Instead, he paints a vivid portrait of sanity vs. insanity. The novel was progressing rather nicely until I reached the third part. That's when all hell broke loose and I started to question what exactly I was reading. During this part I found myself somewhat confused.

I also have to mention that there is a rather sudden animal death in the early stages of the book. Dr. Drexler runs over his wife's precious dog Popeye coming home for work one night. While I felt he was a tad inconsiderate and heartless during the situation, my opinion of him was solidified when he then brought his wife and brother Popeye's takeout a few days later. Just saying...

Plenty of people like books featuring asylums and tackling mental health issues so I can see a lot of people who love horror giving this book a whirl. Kirk's take on the setting and issues definitely showed the scary side of treatment and did manage to humanize people other's often consider "monsters" and actually showed that there are "monsters" on both sides of the treatment. ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Mar 12, 2020 Elke rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own, 2020, novels, horror, review, samhain, e-mobi, ha-2020-az, ha-2020-themed

I love stories that show humans as the real monsters, whether there are also some supernatural monsters included or not. This book features only the human kind, but that's more than enough to create a horrific story about all degrees of madness, with an asylum as the perfect setting to accompany the nightmarish atmosphere.

When it comes to psychological horror I am usually guarded. Hallucinatory visions, dreamlike episodes, or anything that makes it hard to distinguish between hard reality and an ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Dec 12, 2015 The Grim Reader rated it really liked it

Psychological horror is a strand of the horror genre that does not always appeal to me. I went into this novel blindfolded having known nothing about it or the author Brian Kirk. First thing I liked was the cover. It's eye-catching, simple but engaging and makes you want to pick the book up to discover what it is that lurks between it's pages. The story takes place inside Sugar Hill mental asylum; the perfect place for a story such as this it seems. It's a dark, often complex read, featuring ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review