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Caught
Nothing is at all what it seems, and for four strangers, they'll have to discover why before they're driven over the edge of madness. Within them are the keys to free themselves. They'll need to traverse a landscape of horrors and fettered secrets.
Unknown to these prisoners, another four desperately hunt for their own freedom-a freedom denied them by the tormenting existence of a monster. They will have to rely on all of their talents and each other to defeat the beast.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to all of them, the spider huddles at the center of its web, plucking its many gossamer strands as it waits...ready to pounce.
Unknown to these prisoners, another four desperately hunt for their own freedom-a freedom denied them by the tormenting existence of a monster. They will have to rely on all of their talents and each other to defeat the beast.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to all of them, the spider huddles at the center of its web, plucking its many gossamer strands as it waits...ready to pounce.
- GenresHorror
300 pages, Paperback
First published January 28, 2017
23 people are currently reading
326 people want to read
About the author
M.L.S. Weech
19 books69 followersM. L. S. Weech was born in August 1979 in Rapid City, South Dakota. He fell in love with fantasy and science fiction at an early age. His love of writing quickly followed when he tried to write a sequel to his favorite movie. He didn't know what copyright infringement was. He can't remember a time he wasn't working on some sort of project from that day on. He wrote for a junior high project. The only way his freshman English teacher could get him to settle down was to let him start writing a book. He completed what he calls his first manuscript when he was 17. He got a ton of feedback that was honest, helpful, and not much fun to listen to, but instead of quit, he simply wrote another, and then another.
He fell in love with reading in high school when he was introduced to Timothy Zahn and the Star Wars novels. Then he was handed Anne McCaffrey, Robert Jordan, Dean Koontz, Brandon Sanderson and so many more. He went from reading to complete homework to reading more than three books a month.
He joined the U.S. Navy as a journalist in 2005. He served on aircraft carriers and destroyers. He served in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan. He finished his Navy career in 2015 at the Defense Information School, where he still teaches journalism as a civilian instructor. When he wasn't taking pictures or writing features or news stories, he was writing fiction. Photojournalism was a hobby he enjoyed getting paid for, but writing fiction has been and remains his true dream.
His first book, The Journals of Bob Drifter was published March 3, 2015, and he’s published more than ten since. He’s happily married and a father of three wonderful sons.
He fell in love with reading in high school when he was introduced to Timothy Zahn and the Star Wars novels. Then he was handed Anne McCaffrey, Robert Jordan, Dean Koontz, Brandon Sanderson and so many more. He went from reading to complete homework to reading more than three books a month.
He joined the U.S. Navy as a journalist in 2005. He served on aircraft carriers and destroyers. He served in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan. He finished his Navy career in 2015 at the Defense Information School, where he still teaches journalism as a civilian instructor. When he wasn't taking pictures or writing features or news stories, he was writing fiction. Photojournalism was a hobby he enjoyed getting paid for, but writing fiction has been and remains his true dream.
His first book, The Journals of Bob Drifter was published March 3, 2015, and he’s published more than ten since. He’s happily married and a father of three wonderful sons.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 14, 2020
Four strangers with seemingly nothing in common are pitted against one another using their nightmares as fuel. While they must struggle to face their internal demons, what’s waiting for them upon waking is far worse.
While the book was a little slow in the beginning, I stuck with it, and I’m glad I did. When the action picks up, it really picks up and I found it nearly impossible to put down. There were so many twists and turns that a few times I had to pause the book to just think about what I had just heard. The characters are well-developed and immersive. The author writes people who feel real, ones that you actually start to care about by the time the book comes to an end. Not to mention the mystery and intrigue carefully woven throughout the story.
I also love stories that mix dreams with reality. I think they’re creepy, and this fit that to a T. If you’re looking for something outside of the box, this would be it.
Narration fit the story perfectly.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.
While the book was a little slow in the beginning, I stuck with it, and I’m glad I did. When the action picks up, it really picks up and I found it nearly impossible to put down. There were so many twists and turns that a few times I had to pause the book to just think about what I had just heard. The characters are well-developed and immersive. The author writes people who feel real, ones that you actually start to care about by the time the book comes to an end. Not to mention the mystery and intrigue carefully woven throughout the story.
I also love stories that mix dreams with reality. I think they’re creepy, and this fit that to a T. If you’re looking for something outside of the box, this would be it.
Narration fit the story perfectly.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.
February 10, 2017
*Spoiler Free and modified from my Amazon review (Goodreads is where I go for more in-depth reviews, so I usually try to expand a bit)*
There are some books you read more than once; this is one of those books. When you think you have everything figured out, Weech will throw you for a loop. I found myself scanning backward when I learned something new. Sure enough, if you read close enough, you might catch some foreshadowy breadcrumbs (this was well done).
This book has the speed of a pulp story, but is layered with complexity. Sal, Chris, Kaitlyn, Caden: these are characters you will care about as the author took the time to build them in a creative way. Personally, I'm team Sal, but all the characters are enjoyable. In addition to these "main characters," there are some others who I feel will likely play an important role in the future books (I'm talking about the pipe swinging, super powered, gun slingers).
I've busted through a few books where authors attempt to blend dreams into the story and it sometimes feels disjointed, or there are odd transitions. This book was pretty doggone smooth. The use of night terrors and dreams was a clever method to mix backstory and action. Many books bludgeon you about the head and neck with backstory — this one sneaks it in and doesn't slow you down with the stuff.
Reading the first book in a series is worrisome. You don't know if the book ends on a cliffhanger, if the author will produce a next book, or what the deal will be. This book has a clear ending. Yes, the title and the ending are written in a way to let us know more books are coming from this series (write them Weech), but this book can stand alone.
There are some books you read more than once; this is one of those books. When you think you have everything figured out, Weech will throw you for a loop. I found myself scanning backward when I learned something new. Sure enough, if you read close enough, you might catch some foreshadowy breadcrumbs (this was well done).
This book has the speed of a pulp story, but is layered with complexity. Sal, Chris, Kaitlyn, Caden: these are characters you will care about as the author took the time to build them in a creative way. Personally, I'm team Sal, but all the characters are enjoyable. In addition to these "main characters," there are some others who I feel will likely play an important role in the future books (I'm talking about the pipe swinging, super powered, gun slingers).
I've busted through a few books where authors attempt to blend dreams into the story and it sometimes feels disjointed, or there are odd transitions. This book was pretty doggone smooth. The use of night terrors and dreams was a clever method to mix backstory and action. Many books bludgeon you about the head and neck with backstory — this one sneaks it in and doesn't slow you down with the stuff.
Reading the first book in a series is worrisome. You don't know if the book ends on a cliffhanger, if the author will produce a next book, or what the deal will be. This book has a clear ending. Yes, the title and the ending are written in a way to let us know more books are coming from this series (write them Weech), but this book can stand alone.
February 21, 2018
I’ve read very few self-published books, but Caught is by far the best. It’s about two groups of people; one group is trapped in a mysterious realm, and the other is in the real world trying to defeat/get revenge on an evil enemy from their past. In the first half of the book, you really don’t know what’s going on, and you learn about the mysterious realm as the characters do. The second half, after the two groups meet, is about them all trying to defeat/get revenge on their shared enemy- the person who trapped/abused them. The book definitely had its flaws, but they didn’t distract me from its strengths.
I was genuinely drawn-in by the story. In the first half of the book, as stated, I really didn’t know what was going on and I wanted to find out how all the characters, who were introduced to me gradually, would interact once they met up. These are the characters of the first group:
Caden: insane elderly savant
Sal: ex-soldier and hero-man
Kaitlyn: teenager who generally needs protecting
Chris: ex-firefighter and skeptic
Chris was by far my favorite. I thought his skepticism made him the most realistic character- what was less realistic, though, was how guilty he felt over what happened to his buddy in his “nightmare.” I feel like people would understand their limited liability in such a situation, and his reaction to it seemed a tad lazy and/or protective of him, and I think the situation should have been much darker to warrant his response. Regardless, I really wish there had been more chapters featuring him. Kaitlyn was okay, too, she was sweet and quiet, and that’s what was most notable about her. Her “nightmare” had the most impact to the story, so she definitely wasn’t insignificant, and I still quite liked her, but she was mostly there to fill in the gap Sal’s “nightmare” had left in his heart. Sal, who was the main character, got on my nerves, unfortunately. He was too much of a “good guy,” and came off as lacking nuance. His “nightmare” was the darkest, and it could have contributed to an amazing character arc, but the author didn’t give it room to breathe or weight to impact the story, and it was resolved rather quickly. Caden’s nightmare was hardly explained, but you could understand it enough, and it contributed to the strangeness of his character. I thought his crazy dialogue sounded too intentional many times, and it just didn’t come across as the ramblings of a madman. What most bothers me, though, is that the story never properly explains how he became what he became in the end or why. That’s probably my biggest problem with the story and I really felt like I was left hanging there.
Despite my complaints about the characters, I did love seeing them interact as they slid in and out of the mysterious realm. They played off each other really well, and their warming up to each other was done smoothly and realistically.
The second group of characters consisted of Steve, Brandon, Kira, and Dom. These people were all very similar in personality; all hard, smart-talking toughguys with different backstories, and they interacted in much the same way as any of them would interact with themselves. I was disappointed by the fact that half of the characters weren’t distinct, and that part of the story could definitely have been stronger.
Aside: the author seemed overly fixated on the fact that Brandon was Texan and Chris was black. Like, okay, we get it- you don’t have to say it more than twice.
Anyway, the narrative flaws were very few, and mostly came down to my personal preference rather than actual mistakes. Something I kept noticing was that the author seemed to want to “protect” his characters too much. The bad things they did were either not punished, not bad enough, or forgiven too easily, and the characters didn’t have to dwell too much on their flaws, and so they didn’t have to confront themselves and change as much as I’d hoped. For example, Sal does some crazy stuff with a dying (later dead) guard near the end (pg 229), and, while he says it was “necessarily brutal,” it really wasn’t. Throughout the entire book I wasn’t really shocked by anything the characters did or experienced- good or bad- but this appalled me, and that would have been okay if Sal had answered for it, but the story went on like this wasn’t one of the most barbaric events of the whole book that changed my opinion of Sal entirely. He could have achieved the same result with the guard’s gun far less evilly, and I don’t see why Sal (or the author) went with the choice he did.
One other flaw was the technicalities of the writing- spelling and grammar errors and awkward wording. These only slightly distracted me from the story, but really they shouldn’t have been there at all. The story really needed to have been edited more thoroughly, as this would have prevented the thousand times the author used the word “suite” instead of “suit,” and other such errors. About the awkward wording: what did take me out of the story was when the author cursed as the 3rd person narrator; this was odd and not something I’d ever seen before. Perhaps this is a matter of personal opinion, but calling people “bastards” though the mouth of the narrator broke my immersion. I think cursing and name-calling is a job that’s best left up to the characters.
That being said, the world-building was great. It was nicely unraveled and I can think of no holes in it off the top of my head. The two plotlines converged towards each other excellently, and I could tell when the two groups were about to meet- and not just because of the dwindling number of pages I had left. I genuinely enjoyed the read, and am glad I spent my time with this book.
I was genuinely drawn-in by the story. In the first half of the book, as stated, I really didn’t know what was going on and I wanted to find out how all the characters, who were introduced to me gradually, would interact once they met up. These are the characters of the first group:
Caden: insane elderly savant
Sal: ex-soldier and hero-man
Kaitlyn: teenager who generally needs protecting
Chris: ex-firefighter and skeptic
Chris was by far my favorite. I thought his skepticism made him the most realistic character- what was less realistic, though, was how guilty he felt over what happened to his buddy in his “nightmare.” I feel like people would understand their limited liability in such a situation, and his reaction to it seemed a tad lazy and/or protective of him, and I think the situation should have been much darker to warrant his response. Regardless, I really wish there had been more chapters featuring him. Kaitlyn was okay, too, she was sweet and quiet, and that’s what was most notable about her. Her “nightmare” had the most impact to the story, so she definitely wasn’t insignificant, and I still quite liked her, but she was mostly there to fill in the gap Sal’s “nightmare” had left in his heart. Sal, who was the main character, got on my nerves, unfortunately. He was too much of a “good guy,” and came off as lacking nuance. His “nightmare” was the darkest, and it could have contributed to an amazing character arc, but the author didn’t give it room to breathe or weight to impact the story, and it was resolved rather quickly. Caden’s nightmare was hardly explained, but you could understand it enough, and it contributed to the strangeness of his character. I thought his crazy dialogue sounded too intentional many times, and it just didn’t come across as the ramblings of a madman. What most bothers me, though, is that the story never properly explains how he became what he became in the end or why. That’s probably my biggest problem with the story and I really felt like I was left hanging there.
Despite my complaints about the characters, I did love seeing them interact as they slid in and out of the mysterious realm. They played off each other really well, and their warming up to each other was done smoothly and realistically.
The second group of characters consisted of Steve, Brandon, Kira, and Dom. These people were all very similar in personality; all hard, smart-talking toughguys with different backstories, and they interacted in much the same way as any of them would interact with themselves. I was disappointed by the fact that half of the characters weren’t distinct, and that part of the story could definitely have been stronger.
Aside: the author seemed overly fixated on the fact that Brandon was Texan and Chris was black. Like, okay, we get it- you don’t have to say it more than twice.
Anyway, the narrative flaws were very few, and mostly came down to my personal preference rather than actual mistakes. Something I kept noticing was that the author seemed to want to “protect” his characters too much. The bad things they did were either not punished, not bad enough, or forgiven too easily, and the characters didn’t have to dwell too much on their flaws, and so they didn’t have to confront themselves and change as much as I’d hoped. For example, Sal does some crazy stuff with a dying (later dead) guard near the end (pg 229), and, while he says it was “necessarily brutal,” it really wasn’t. Throughout the entire book I wasn’t really shocked by anything the characters did or experienced- good or bad- but this appalled me, and that would have been okay if Sal had answered for it, but the story went on like this wasn’t one of the most barbaric events of the whole book that changed my opinion of Sal entirely. He could have achieved the same result with the guard’s gun far less evilly, and I don’t see why Sal (or the author) went with the choice he did.
One other flaw was the technicalities of the writing- spelling and grammar errors and awkward wording. These only slightly distracted me from the story, but really they shouldn’t have been there at all. The story really needed to have been edited more thoroughly, as this would have prevented the thousand times the author used the word “suite” instead of “suit,” and other such errors. About the awkward wording: what did take me out of the story was when the author cursed as the 3rd person narrator; this was odd and not something I’d ever seen before. Perhaps this is a matter of personal opinion, but calling people “bastards” though the mouth of the narrator broke my immersion. I think cursing and name-calling is a job that’s best left up to the characters.
That being said, the world-building was great. It was nicely unraveled and I can think of no holes in it off the top of my head. The two plotlines converged towards each other excellently, and I could tell when the two groups were about to meet- and not just because of the dwindling number of pages I had left. I genuinely enjoyed the read, and am glad I spent my time with this book.
February 7, 2017
An interesting story with quite an original plot. I'm not sure I've read anything quite like this before. If this is book one, I am excited to see future books in this series.
It took a bit to wrap my head around it, but that is a good thing. The imagery is wonderful and I found myself immersed in each persons story throughout this book. The only drawback I really found was the pacing at times. The book overall has a fairly brisk pace. There are times it seems a tad slow though...but it is rare.
Overall, I would highly recommend this book, and I believe it well worth the purchase!
It took a bit to wrap my head around it, but that is a good thing. The imagery is wonderful and I found myself immersed in each persons story throughout this book. The only drawback I really found was the pacing at times. The book overall has a fairly brisk pace. There are times it seems a tad slow though...but it is rare.
Overall, I would highly recommend this book, and I believe it well worth the purchase!
April 3, 2019
WHAT I LIKED:
This author has an AMAZING ability with words. I felt the character's emotions like they were real people, and the characters themselves were well fleshed out and unique in their own quirks, beliefs, morals, and personalities.
There were several stunning twists in the book which kept me engaged until the end.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
EDITING: There were several errors in the book, from omitted words, to double words, to the wrong word, to the incorrectly tensed word.
CLARITY: Sometimes two men would be talking or doing something, and they were both referenced as "he" in the passage so I got confused who was doing what or who was talking. Also, some scenes I had a hard time seeing because the manner in which they were described wasn't described very clearly. Also, at one point a character had stood up even though there was no mention of him having sat down first.
ODD? There was an entire chapter devoted to a character smelling something bad. It was a short chapter, but I never saw any explanation as to why that chapter was there in the first place. Also, at the very end the heroes are talking about going after a guy who put "bad" drugs on the street which ended up killing a girl. The heroes seemed more upset about the "bad" drugs than about drugs in general, which weirdly made it feel like they were okay with drugs so long as no one died from them.
This book still earns 4 stars from me because the amazing writing style, characterization, unique story, and plot twists far surpassed the other details I didn't like so much. I recommend this to anyone who loves gory, nightmare themes with a superhero element.
This author has an AMAZING ability with words. I felt the character's emotions like they were real people, and the characters themselves were well fleshed out and unique in their own quirks, beliefs, morals, and personalities.
There were several stunning twists in the book which kept me engaged until the end.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
EDITING: There were several errors in the book, from omitted words, to double words, to the wrong word, to the incorrectly tensed word.
CLARITY: Sometimes two men would be talking or doing something, and they were both referenced as "he" in the passage so I got confused who was doing what or who was talking. Also, some scenes I had a hard time seeing because the manner in which they were described wasn't described very clearly. Also, at one point a character had stood up even though there was no mention of him having sat down first.
ODD? There was an entire chapter devoted to a character smelling something bad. It was a short chapter, but I never saw any explanation as to why that chapter was there in the first place. Also, at the very end the heroes are talking about going after a guy who put "bad" drugs on the street which ended up killing a girl. The heroes seemed more upset about the "bad" drugs than about drugs in general, which weirdly made it feel like they were okay with drugs so long as no one died from them.
This book still earns 4 stars from me because the amazing writing style, characterization, unique story, and plot twists far surpassed the other details I didn't like so much. I recommend this to anyone who loves gory, nightmare themes with a superhero element.
January 11, 2019
Weech paints a terrifying picture of what happens when our worst fears/nightmares are exploited against us. The narrative direction this story goes (without giving anything away) is both surprising in the moment and completely logical in retrospect. I was so distracted by the initial horror that I was blinded to where Weech was taking me. However, once the main narrative kicks off, Caught becomes a suspenseful ride filled with intrigue.
February 8, 2021
I was confused from the beginning.Every so often I thought I knew what was going on,then I was confused again.Shawn Compton was a decent enough narrator.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.'
May 17, 2017
I was introduced to the writing of M.L.S. Weech at Awesome Con in Washington DC. Like many indie writers, he had a table and a small crowd of returning readers. I decided to interview him for a series on Pop Culture and modern myth I had been working on. Turns out he has a cool background. Better, he has a pretty cool book.
What caught does really well is explore the idea of damnation. What would it be like if every time you opened your eyes you experienced a new terror. Each experience worse than the last and each one designed to destroy your sense of self. Would it break you, unhinge you, and toss you into madness or despair? Would even the trials of damnation become something we could get sensitized to and recognize... and if we did would they lose their bite? Lastly, would the endless torture and horror, act as a smelting furnace to reshape us and make us into something different.
It's this last idea that Caught really wrestles with. Damnation as a catalyst for evolution. It's an idea that has some reference to all of our lives. How do our trials shape us? Who would we be without tests, struggles, failures, broken bones, and heartache?
I don't want to go to much further, but I will say that this idea is nicely interwoven into a paramilitary and superheroesque tale. The writing is clean, sharp, and concise. There is some interesting pathos within the internal monologues. And I must say, the scenes of damnation are interesting... possibly more interesting than what happens at times in the "real" world of the story.
Should you give this book a shot? I'd say sure, but I think you need to be in the mood to enjoy dark stories. You need a taste for dystopia too.
If you do give it a read let me know what you think.
What caught does really well is explore the idea of damnation. What would it be like if every time you opened your eyes you experienced a new terror. Each experience worse than the last and each one designed to destroy your sense of self. Would it break you, unhinge you, and toss you into madness or despair? Would even the trials of damnation become something we could get sensitized to and recognize... and if we did would they lose their bite? Lastly, would the endless torture and horror, act as a smelting furnace to reshape us and make us into something different.
It's this last idea that Caught really wrestles with. Damnation as a catalyst for evolution. It's an idea that has some reference to all of our lives. How do our trials shape us? Who would we be without tests, struggles, failures, broken bones, and heartache?
I don't want to go to much further, but I will say that this idea is nicely interwoven into a paramilitary and superheroesque tale. The writing is clean, sharp, and concise. There is some interesting pathos within the internal monologues. And I must say, the scenes of damnation are interesting... possibly more interesting than what happens at times in the "real" world of the story.
Should you give this book a shot? I'd say sure, but I think you need to be in the mood to enjoy dark stories. You need a taste for dystopia too.
If you do give it a read let me know what you think.
August 25, 2020
I received a free review copy of this audio book, at my request, and am voluntarily leaving this unbiased review.
I am going to try and review this book, as spoiler free as I can, but it will be hard as the synopsis gives little a way from the plot.
This book starts out slow, but there is definitely a tipping point where it becomes hard to put down.
The book begins and runs for about the first 6 chapters being odd. The situation hinted at, in the synopsis, is happening and while it quickly became apparent to me what was happening, I'm going to avoid mentioning it directly. Suffice to say, it is confusing, a little disturbing, and a little underwhelming. There is no context for whats happening, it's literally just a series of events, with no threads to bind them together into a cohesive package.
At chapter 6 (I think) the blinds are opened and the world is revealed to us. Honestly, I was a little disappointed. I would have preferred the beginning to have been extended longer, push the reveal back further in the book, but to put some more threads to pull at, so I could unravel the thing on my own. It would have made for a more satisfying reveal. Instead it was a mystery, in that while I knew what was happening, I didn't know why. But the why was shoved in my face, rather than let me see it naturally. It's not a huge deal, but I did feel robbed.
After the reveal, we go back to the mystery, but as it's been revealed, the mystery is gone, so the book changes tone, from a horror/thriller to a action/adventure. The characters still have to figure out the problem, and solution, but as we know, it looses something.
Having said that, it's not story breaking. The plot is still very interesting. A little too much time with the bad guys, but it serves as exposition to the world so it does kind of work.
The characters are complex enough for the story. None are fully rounded people, but they have enough depth to work their way out of the mess they're in with out it looking like the author is helping too much.
The premise is very interesting, however, I was disappointed that this was book 1 of a series. This shares a lot of good elements from. Books like Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, and with 1 tweak (the death of someone), this would have made a great stand alone. As it is, and someone survives that shouldn't have been allowed to, there will clearly bee a book 2, and said character will be back.
The setting were varied, and well done. Streets of America to the streets of Afghanistan. Everything felt right. Even when it was drab warehouses, it still felt the way those places should feel.
Voice narration by Shawn Compton was well done, despite his short comings. He didn't have a wide range of voice and his female voices weren't strong. However, he narrated with emotion and that really came through in his work. Even through it wasn't done with the skill of some others, I enjoyed listening to his voice.
All in all, an enjoyable book. Slow to start, but hard to put down when it did. I like this book as a stand alone, I'm not sure if I'll pick up the sequels or not (when published), voice narration was really good, despite the lack of voice differentiation. I definitely recommend this book.
***spoilers***
I couldn't finish the review without stating I was disappointed that the doctor lived. It's such an obvious ploy for the future books that it is frustrating.
Also, the charm of this book is largely rooted in the dreams and the experiments. Without that mystery, I imagine sequels will basically be the A-Team with powers.
I still enjoyed the book, though. I just wish they had hunted down the doc and killed him and leave it as a stand alonem
I am going to try and review this book, as spoiler free as I can, but it will be hard as the synopsis gives little a way from the plot.
This book starts out slow, but there is definitely a tipping point where it becomes hard to put down.
The book begins and runs for about the first 6 chapters being odd. The situation hinted at, in the synopsis, is happening and while it quickly became apparent to me what was happening, I'm going to avoid mentioning it directly. Suffice to say, it is confusing, a little disturbing, and a little underwhelming. There is no context for whats happening, it's literally just a series of events, with no threads to bind them together into a cohesive package.
At chapter 6 (I think) the blinds are opened and the world is revealed to us. Honestly, I was a little disappointed. I would have preferred the beginning to have been extended longer, push the reveal back further in the book, but to put some more threads to pull at, so I could unravel the thing on my own. It would have made for a more satisfying reveal. Instead it was a mystery, in that while I knew what was happening, I didn't know why. But the why was shoved in my face, rather than let me see it naturally. It's not a huge deal, but I did feel robbed.
After the reveal, we go back to the mystery, but as it's been revealed, the mystery is gone, so the book changes tone, from a horror/thriller to a action/adventure. The characters still have to figure out the problem, and solution, but as we know, it looses something.
Having said that, it's not story breaking. The plot is still very interesting. A little too much time with the bad guys, but it serves as exposition to the world so it does kind of work.
The characters are complex enough for the story. None are fully rounded people, but they have enough depth to work their way out of the mess they're in with out it looking like the author is helping too much.
The premise is very interesting, however, I was disappointed that this was book 1 of a series. This shares a lot of good elements from. Books like Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, and with 1 tweak (the death of someone), this would have made a great stand alone. As it is, and someone survives that shouldn't have been allowed to, there will clearly bee a book 2, and said character will be back.
The setting were varied, and well done. Streets of America to the streets of Afghanistan. Everything felt right. Even when it was drab warehouses, it still felt the way those places should feel.
Voice narration by Shawn Compton was well done, despite his short comings. He didn't have a wide range of voice and his female voices weren't strong. However, he narrated with emotion and that really came through in his work. Even through it wasn't done with the skill of some others, I enjoyed listening to his voice.
All in all, an enjoyable book. Slow to start, but hard to put down when it did. I like this book as a stand alone, I'm not sure if I'll pick up the sequels or not (when published), voice narration was really good, despite the lack of voice differentiation. I definitely recommend this book.
***spoilers***
I couldn't finish the review without stating I was disappointed that the doctor lived. It's such an obvious ploy for the future books that it is frustrating.
Also, the charm of this book is largely rooted in the dreams and the experiments. Without that mystery, I imagine sequels will basically be the A-Team with powers.
I still enjoyed the book, though. I just wish they had hunted down the doc and killed him and leave it as a stand alonem
June 26, 2017
A sci-fi horror/thriller with a bit of military thrown in, Caught does a lot right out of the gate, and some elements are more successful than others. The thriller elements are interesting, but we're thrown right into the nightmare with no background on anyone or anything which creates a bit of paranoia and lost feeling. This improved as the story went on and characters got background and personality, but it was tricky to empathize with them before that which lowers the impact of the horror. The military side of the story started off a lot stronger. It was a lot easier to get into and follow along the characters and motivations involved.
While it started slow, everything built as the story went on and characters developed, and the two storylines combined into a single, satisfying ending. The twists came one after another in the last third or so, keeping readers on their toes and wondering what could happen next.
Overall, Caught made for a good read.
While it started slow, everything built as the story went on and characters developed, and the two storylines combined into a single, satisfying ending. The twists came one after another in the last third or so, keeping readers on their toes and wondering what could happen next.
Overall, Caught made for a good read.
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