Russell Holbrook's the Water Babies

by Russell Holbrook

It was supposed to the greatest weekend of their young lives... A celebration for Heather and her best friends to say goodbye to high school and usher in the bright future. The trip had been carefully planned; the car loaded with music and beer. The party spot by the old covered bridge would be perfect. But there are some bridges that shouldn't be crossed; some placed you should never go; some legends that turn out to be true. It was supposed to be a story... Something all the kids in town told to scare each other. It couldn't possibly be real. THEY couldn't be real - the deformed, monstrous children who would come take candy from the roof of a car parked on the gloomy bridge late at night; the woods around the old covered bridge full of malevolent power... Could they?

270 pages, Paperback

Published December 14, 2016

About the author

Russell Holbrook is an author, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist. He was/is the guitarist and co-founder of former Tooth and Nail Records artists Joe Christmas and Chapel Hill, North Carolina's instrumental rockers, Choose Your Own Adventrue. He currently writes the column “The Logbook of Terror” for the horroraddicts.net podcast and blog and plays keyboard in Atlanta based dark ambient noise trio, Ibofanga. When not writing or practicing music or working his day job in a computer refurbishing warehouse, Russell enjoys spending time with his wife and animals at his lovely home in Mableton, Georgia.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Six teenagers go camping next to a bridge reputedly haunted by two mutant feral childern. Will any of them come back alive?

I had high hopes for this. It did not come close to meeting them.

The setup for this book was great. Civil war soldiers drown two kids after raping their mother and they haunt the scene of their death, killing and devouring anyone dumb enough to venture near at night. Sounds good, right?

Well, it wasn't. The book reads like a hybrid of gore horror and monster porn. The book didn't feel like it knew what it wanted to be. I was tired of the weird dream sequences after the first one. Throwing shocking things in just to shock and ultimately have them be dreams is some cheap shit.

The characters were pretty wooden and fairly unrealistic, like B-movie characters but not in a good or entertaining way. The story focused more on sex than horror. By the time the guy asked his girlfriend to pee on him, I was done expecting things to turn around and just waited for it to be over.

If this book wasn't so short, I wouldn't have finished it. As much as I hate to drop a negative review, the best things about this book were the cover and the initial setup. I think an editor could have focused the good ideas into something workable. Water Babies could have been a good gore horror story or a passable monster porn story. As it stands, it's kind of a damn mess. One out of five stars.

[Gloria Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Water Babies by Russell Holbrook is a wonderful gruesome tale based on a legend.. he brought this legend to life in this suspenseful horror of twin boys.. Great job , very entertaining.

[Lynne Moody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding book ! The storyline had me from the very first chapter. It is a gripping legend that comes to life within the pages if this book. It is a very dark and wonderful read that will keep you on your toes. The Author is a great writer that will totally keep you interested throughout the journey he takes you on. I won thus book on a goodreads give away.

[Gwen · Rating 1 out of 5]

First of all, this isn't horror fiction, it's porn. It's a pornographic novel with a horror theme. I feel like I was tricked into reading porn with this book. While the cover and the synopsis on the back sounds like a horror story, it's really a book about sex. There are more graphically detailed sex scenes than horror scenes in this book. I feel like there was a sex scene every few pages. One sex scene lasted 15 pages! It's all violent, rough, aggressive sex and very explicit.
If you like to read about rough aggressive sex in graphic detail, then this book may be for you (it's definitely not for me!). You'll read about orgies, golden showers, oral sex, anal sex, analingus, and there's plenty of rape, and written in a way that would probably appeal to people with a rape fetish or who want to read rape fantasies. I mean, why would anyone go on and on and in graphic detail for a rape scene unless there was some fetish-type arousal or enjoyment that some readers might get out of it?

I really, really hate this book. It has 7 graphically detailed brutal and sadistic rape scenes, one of which lasts four pages (why does a rape scene need to last four pages?). Two of the rapes are male on male. One with a strap-on made from a tree limb and several that include severed arm dildos.

Also, the female characters are sexually objectified constantly from the moment they're introduced. Some examples: "Her low-cut blouse showed off her perfectly tan skin and ample cleavage" and "When Heather ran out of the woods and into the clearing, her boobs were bouncing and her lungs were on fire." No sexual objectification of the male characters happens, except during the rape scenes.
Here's an example of how the males are described: "His Miami Vice knockoff attire shuffled with his enthusiastic movements" and "He swiped the drops of booze and dried his hand on his black jeans."
I don't really understand the need to sexually objectify the female characters in a horror story. Of course, it makes more sense, I guess, if it's really porn masquerading as horror. Also, it's written in the third person, not from someone's perspective. I guess I could see a first person character being someone who sexually objectifies females, however, not sure why that's done in a third person format unless it's to excite the reader sexually.

Here's an example of the graphic sex: "His engorged head began to squeeze its way into her. She grimaced and bit down on her lower lip. Pain blended with pleasure and angels sang to her senses. She moaned. He pushed again. She felt the fullness of Cody inside her."
And here's an example of the graphic rape: " ... rammed his melting, still erect dick up Josh's virgin asshole and began pounding with every last bit of strength he had left."

I hope this review helps you decide whether or not you want to read this book.

[Patricia Kaniasty · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good but not great. A little too much sex in this story. It was not needed. The gore was awesome. But I don't get the ending. What happens to Heather??

[Lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Water Babies by Russell Holbrook is a chilling and atmospheric coming of age horror that taps perfectly into the power of small town legends. What begins as an innocent celebration of friendship and freedom quickly descends into a nightmarish experience, and Holbrook builds that transition with impressive tension and pacing.

The setting around the old covered bridge is especially effective, moody, unsettling, and steeped in folklore that feels both familiar and freshly terrifying. The author does a great job capturing the voices of young characters on the edge of adulthood, making their excitement, bravado, and eventual fear feel authentic. The legend of the Water Babies is deeply creepy, and the idea of childhood myths becoming horrifyingly real is handled in a way that keeps the reader hooked.