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Terminal

Michaelbrent Collings (Goodreads Author)

4.06 · Rating details · 620 ratings · 134 reviews

"5 stars... another outstanding novel from author Michaelbrent Collings..." - Horror After Dark
All passengers, please prepare for departure...

An employee, a cop, and six passengers; a prisoner, a stowaway, and a madman.

"A great read." - Sci-Fi and Scary
These are the people waiting at the Lawton bus terminal.

"If you need a fast-paced thriller that chills a ...more

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Kindle Edition, 329 pages

Published April 22nd 2019 by Written Insomnia Press

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· 620 ratings · 134 reviews

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May 01, 2019 Kimberly rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: a-z-challenge, atmospheric, dark, haunting, psychological-horror, horror-after-dark, arc, gore, paranormal, wow

TERMINAL, by Michaelbrent Collings is another of his spellbinding horror novels that brings a unique twist to the genre. Trapped in a terminal, waiting for a bus to arrive, ten people are about to become trapped in a "game" to the death. One that brings nothing more than amusement to those pulling the strings.

". . . turned back to the fog . . . and it was not dead . . . the word "alive" wasn't insane at all . . . "

In this tale, I could imagine hearing a voice intone: "This is what it was lik ...more

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Sep 30, 2019 Char rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: dark-fiction, abuse, wickedly-disturbing, psychological-horror, dysfunctional-family, wtfuckery, mystery

The Other: All in favor? ME: Aye!!

A group of people are in the middle of nowhere, USA, inside a bus terminal. A creepy fog comes rolling in and then, not surprisingly, a bus. This is no ordinary bus, though, and this is no ordinary fog either. Before they know it, they're trapped together, they're running out of time and only one of them will survive. What is going on here? You'll have to read this to find out!

I've read a few books by this author before, so I went into this one knowing that it w ...more

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Jun 19, 2019 Bark | Ladies Of Horror Fiction rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, dark-fiction

I’ve read a few books by author Michaelbrent Collings and they have all been solid horror stories as well as excellent character studies and as reader who loves a good character driven story, I really appreciate the deep dive into their psyches. I like knowing what makes people tick because I am nosy and also because so many authors don’t do it. They allow the action to take over the entire show and that’s when they usually lose me. If you’re the same type of reader, you should check out this gu I’ve read a few books by author Michaelbrent Collings and they have all been solid horror stories as well as excellent character studies and as reader who loves a good character driven story, I really appreciate the deep dive into their psyches. I like knowing what makes people tick because I am nosy and also because so many authors don’t do it. They allow the action to take over the entire show and that’s when they usually lose me. If you’re the same type of reader, you should check out this guy’s work.

Several people awaiting a bus find themselves trapped within the bus terminal when a creepy fog rolls in. The fog brings with it death and dire warnings “if you leave, you die” and they soon realize via a text message that they’re all trapped inside of some sort of sadistic game, trick, or alien invasion and that only one of them will survive. If they don’t choose a survivor within the specified time frame they’re all going to die!

So guess what happens when you put a gang member, a junkie, a lazy good-for-nothing jerky security officer, a drug dealer, a Mary Kay pusher and a few decent people (with secrets – yes, that is my catnip and there are plenty of them here) under intense pressure like this? TERRIBLE THINGS, bloody things, messy and gory things, heehee! The intense situation brings out the best and the worst in these people and it expertly shows all of the intricate facets that make them both awful and human. And, also, what the heck is out there lurking in the fog?!

Terminal is a weird, sinister story that kept me guessing and, even though I’ve read probably too many horror stories for most sane people, I did not figure out that ending and I appreciated that. There were plenty of clues but I apparently missed them all until the reveal and then I was all “ahh, you dummy it was all there right in front of you!” I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys getting to know a cast of characters and watching them get picked off in terrible ways, one by one!

...more

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Apr 30, 2019 The Grim Reader rated it liked it

I'm in the minority here with this review, but for some reason, Terminal just didn't click with me. I read this on Kindle and the different character backstories that took up the first part of the book really hindered the pace for me. I was desperate for something, anything to happen. I also found some of the characters to be a little stereotypical and not really that interesting. It's tough saying this but I didn't give two shits about any of them which is a bit of a problem for me. On the plus ...more

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Apr 01, 2019 Michael Hicks rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: advanced-review-copy, horror

My review of TERMINAL can be found at High Fever Books.

A mysterious fog enshrouds a bus terminal, trapping nearly a dozen people inside as travel plans are abruptly canceled and transformed into a game of life or death. The electronics go haywire, a mysterious message appearing on everyone’s cell phone outlining the rules of the game. The people in the terminal must choose one individual from their company to survive, and the rest will die. Anyone who leaves the terminal before the final vote di My review of TERMINAL can be found at High Fever Books.

A mysterious fog enshrouds a bus terminal, trapping nearly a dozen people inside as travel plans are abruptly canceled and transformed into a game of life or death. The electronics go haywire, a mysterious message appearing on everyone’s cell phone outlining the rules of the game. The people in the terminal must choose one individual from their company to survive, and the rest will die. Anyone who leaves the terminal before the final vote dies. And the final vote must be unanimous.

Michaelbrent Collings delivers up a unique twist on foggy horror, creating a character-driven work in the vein of The Mist, served up Ten Little Indians style and with a healthy, and much welcomed, dose of The Twilight Zone for good measure.

What I dug most about Terminal was the puzzling nature of it all. There’s a nifty bit of psychological suspense baked into the premise right from the get-go, but Collings takes this a step further as he slowly begins to unravel each characters’ backgrounds. There’s a washed-up cop, a ticket teller who escaped the ghetto, a Mary Kay saleswoman, a newlywed couple, and more. Each of them have secrets, as well as hidden depths and reserves that call into question who and how the final survivor will be chosen…or who will simply claim victory by any means necessary. Equally mysterious is the nature of the threat awaiting them outside the terminal, the odd fog and the…things…lurking within it.

Collings keeps you guessing for nearly the entire page count, adding and subtracting complications as he goes, giving you plenty of new wrinkles to iron out as he maneuvers his way through his large cast. And although this is a pretty large cast, it’s never unwieldily, which is no small feat. Every character gets their chance to shine, and we get to know each of them and their backgrounds sufficiently well, which only makes it harder to suss out who the game’s final winner will be.

Terminal is a nifty little puzzler of a book, and Collings moves the players and plot around less like a chess master and more like a grand champion solver of Rubik’s cubes. The characters, their interactions, motivations, and situations all revolve around one another, clicking and interlocking, until the final piece of the puzzle tumbles into place. The final reveal of Terminal is masterclass-level stuff, and legitimately surprised me. Even after I thought I knew for sure how this was going to end, Collings had one more trick up his sleeve. But that’s the real secret here — Terminal isn’t so much a puzzle after all. It’s a magic trick, and a damn good one, at that.

[Note: I received a copy of this title from the author.] ...more

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Feb 29, 2020 WendyB rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: own

A very solid five star rating!
Loved this book. It's like reading an episode of The Twilight Zone.
Highly recommended. ...more

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Aug 18, 2020 Craig Wesley Wall rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A fun character-driven novel with elements of mystery, thriller, and horror peppered with plenty of shocking surprises along the way. Well worth the read!

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Aug 31, 2020 Mylene rated it it was amazing

I am enamoured with MichaelBrent’s writing style. I have yet to read something from him I did not like. You will whip through his novels. He is that good. He reminds me of Iain Rob Wright in his character developments, and has a tendency to put interesting people in very impossible situations. You’ll read his novels like a racing train that don’t let up until the end. Terminal was not my favorite of the books I’ve read by Michaelbrent but still a great read. He is such a gifted writer that there ...more

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Apr 06, 2019 Heather Escobedo rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I am one of the lucky ones! I received an advanced copy of Terminal. I am really glad I did! This book was excellent. It is a terrifying nightmare of a group of strangers who must make a terrible decision: Who should live and who must die? This tale is about human nature and vulnerability. It is frightening and thought provoking. If you enjoy horror, you MUST read this book!

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Nov 07, 2019 Laura Thomas rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: horror

Take a bunch of strangers. Trap them in a confined place with no way out. Then have something horrific wanting inside. This scenario never gets old for me. I love discovering who bends, who breaks and who steps up.

The real fun begins when the captives realize an otherworldly force is keeping them trapped. And there are rules. One will survive. And they must choose who it will be. Getting it now? The rest will die. I had to know how it would happen. Would they kill each other? Would something els ...more

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Jan 31, 2020 The Behrg rated it it was amazing

"In a nightmare, only the strange can comfort, only the unusual is at home."

TERMINAL has a familiar set up, of sorts. A group of strangers all come together in a single location, where things quickly go to hell. But where most authors would fall into cliches, Collings elevates the premise and delivers a surprisingly innovative story.

First things first, a real horror novel--you know the ones that actually work--have characters that either you care about or despise. Great horror novels have both. ...more

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Mar 28, 2019 Minx rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2019, fiction, contemporary, arc, thriller, horror

Terminal has all the right elements to draw you into an impossible situation where there is no good outcome. A mixed group of individuals traveling through a middle of nowhere bus terminal are locked into a high stakes situation where only one will survive and even that is questionable. The story starts out from the viewpoint of the antagonist and the creep out factor only amps up from there. As the characters in this drama are introduced you learn that the one thing they all have in common is t ...more

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Jul 31, 2019 Deb rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This was a quick moving horror story. The character development was fairly well detailed. The interaction and how the characters' lives wound together was interesting. It even had a bit of a surprise at the end. This was my first Michaelbrent Collings book. I enjoyed it a lot and will be reading more of his books. ...more

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Apr 10, 2019 BookLoversLife rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

What would you do if you were at a bus terminal waiting for your bus when a sudden and mysterious fog surrounds the place and shadowy silhouettes with glowing green eyes can be seen throughout it? That's what happens to the people inside the Terminal. They are all waiting to go to their destinations when the fog comes, then the electronics and lights go haywire and a message appears on their phones......
The Other: only 1 will leave
all in favour
What follows was an intense, creepy and twisty read What would you do if you were at a bus terminal waiting for your bus when a sudden and mysterious fog surrounds the place and shadowy silhouettes with glowing green eyes can be seen throughout it? That's what happens to the people inside the Terminal. They are all waiting to go to their destinations when the fog comes, then the electronics and lights go haywire and a message appears on their phones......
The Other: only 1 will leave
all in favour
What follows was an intense, creepy and twisty read.

I read and loved this authors previous book, Predators, so was excited to dive into this one as it sounded awesome! Well it was and then some.

The plot of this was creepy and kept me turning the pages as quickly as I could. It's starts off slowly because we are being introduced to a variety of characters and need to get to know them a bit, but then the fog comes and things get interesting and incredibly intense inside the Terminal. As the plot progresses the author adds element after element to spice up the story, and when you think you have things figured out, he throws in something else to throw you off the pace. Then bam, you get to the end and it's not at all what you thought it was and you just stare for a second and think whoa.

All the characters were well written and developed, and there are quite a few of them! But they were needed in order to create the tension and anticipation. There is the ticket lady and her daughter, a cop, a gangster, a married couple, a woman looking for fame, a boy on the spectrum and I think that's it. I did make a note of all their names so I could keep track of who was who. We have Mary, Taylor, Paul, Shelly, Adam, Jesus, Clarice, Ken, Bella and Jeremy. We get to see a bit of their backgrounds and it was easy to connect to them all. Again, the author makes you think you know a person but then throws a spanner into the mix and you think, whoa!!

And Whoa pretty much sums up the book. While reading that word kept popping into my head at certain times and I had to put the book down in order to absorb what was happening. It was a roller coaster of a read and I highly recommend you check it out. Be prepared to want to read the whole thing at once though, because the suspense will have you on the edge of your seat. ...more

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Nov 12, 2020 Red Lace Reviews rated it really liked it

Shelves: received-for-review, thriller-dark, horror-psychological, michaelbrent-collings

What appears to be an ordinary fog rolling in seems more menacing as ten people are trapped inside a bus terminal, unable to contact the outside world or even step outside the door. They’re at the mercy of an entity calling themselves The Other, and this unknown force instructs them on what to do next: pick the one person that will survive the night. With a limited time, the group must decide on what to do next – find a way to escape the nightmare, or do as they’re told.

(WARNING: This review con ...more

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Nov 20, 2020 Tracy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle-unlimited

Phenomenal!! Character driven sci-fi horror at its best! Exceptionally gore filled in some parts and a ceaseless heart-pounding free fall - not knowing who would be next and who would survive - Michaelbrent Collings is a master!

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May 03, 2019 Valerie (Cats Luv Coffee) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: horror

What is the Other? Human, animal, vegetable? Part of me hoped for a creature feature, while the part highly suspected aliens, or maybe a dimensional shift where extraterrestrial creatures descend en masse on the bus station. With thoughts of the Mist running through my head, what I experienced instead was a horrifying cacophony of the brutality that humans are capable of, which is in my opinion always one of the most disturbing horror themes out there. Combined with the mystery of the Other and ...more

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Sep 29, 2020 Leonardo Acebo rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Author M. Collings weaves a tense story set in an isolated, foggy terminal in Idaho. If you combine an Agatha Christie novel, 'Ten Little Indians,' with Stephen King's 'The Mist' you get, 'The Terminal.' Colling's story can be creepy at points but somewhat tedious in certain spots. There were several great twists and turns along the way with some interesting characters like the MS 13 gang member, Shelley the make-up consultant, and Mary. Without giving anything away, there were some implausible ...more

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Aug 19, 2019 Anne rated it really liked it

Shelves: reading-challenge-2019

Though none of the characters were especially likable, it was still an interesting look into their thoughts in a crazy and stressful situation. The pressure of being in an unknown and life threatening situation causes each of them to express their worst qualities. I didn’t really want anyone to “win”, but was interested to see who came out on top. There are some surprises, especially at the end. Overall, an interesting look into the psyche.

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May 02, 2019 Paula rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Terminal is a fast-paced thriller that chills! You can read my full review here... https://horrornovelreviews.com/2019/0... ...more

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May 14, 2019 Dixie rated it really liked it

this was a different kind of book. great characters, great concept and the ending was surprising, love this author, that said, I think it ran a little too long. but it was an awesome read

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Feb 18, 2021 R.L. Muscatello rated it really liked it

Definitely one that keep me turning pages (or clicking the “right” arrow). Always wondering where things were going till it’s satisfying finale. First read by this author, but won’t be the last.

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Jun 30, 2019 Dallas Kitchens rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

How will you choose, when it's a matter of life and death, we will never know unless we are put into very strange circumstances. This is a white knuckle thrill ride of the first order. 5.5 stars out of 5. Very well written, and beautifully paced, I just read the last 98 pages in about 4 hrs, taking breaks of course, although I didn't want to. My fingers are scorched from turning these pages so fast. I have a very positive review for this book. Do yourself a favor, pick it up, you'll be glad you ...more

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Mar 28, 2019 Mommacat rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, highly-rec, mystery, thriller, kindle

Review Copy

TERMINAL is a stunning read that completely blew me away. The characters are so strongly drawn, they jumped off the pages. The mystery is as tightly woven as any Agatha Christie novel and in some sense reminded me of the Dame Agatha's work. But there is the hint of The XFiles and The Twilight Zone as well. Collings is a horror writer, and blood and terror abound.

I guess it's safe to say that this novel crosses genres. It's an engrossing book that's sure to capture your imagination. I ...more

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Aug 19, 2019 Tony rated it liked it · review of another edition

You just never know when a bus trip might be your last…

Terminal opens with a prologue which introduces the ‘Watcher’, an otherworldly cosmic weird being which is about to take a very close interest in the drama unfolding in a bus terminal which is mysteriously surrounded by in impenetrable fog. Although the ‘Watcher’ pops up from time to time he (or it? or them?) is more interested in the group of people, how they react with each other, after we realise are stranded in the bus terminal.

We’re qui You just never know when a bus trip might be your last…

Terminal opens with a prologue which introduces the ‘Watcher’, an otherworldly cosmic weird being which is about to take a very close interest in the drama unfolding in a bus terminal which is mysteriously surrounded by in impenetrable fog. Although the ‘Watcher’ pops up from time to time he (or it? or them?) is more interested in the group of people, how they react with each other, after we realise are stranded in the bus terminal.

We’re quickly introduced to the group of people, none of which know each other, most are waiting for a further connection to another destination. It’s a non-descript pitstop, quickly forgotten once you’ve left it behind. Included in the mix are an old cop now working in bus security, a Mark Kay salesperson, a newlywed couple, a conman, a computer geek who seems to be on the Autism spectrum, a young woman looking for fame and a dangerous looking Mexican, who may well be a gangster. All have something to hide, not necessarily sinister, and slowly the author digs into their backstories as their crisis escalates.

Terminal jumps from character to character and the reader realises they did not know the protagonists as well as they thought they did. This in itself was not a major revelation and the group were probably an average cross-section of the population. After realising the group are in a type of deadly competition I guess the reader was supposed to pick a favourite to root behind, however, I never found myself truly sympathising for any of them and felt I would have enjoyed the book more if I was cheering someone in particular on. Perhaps there were slightly too many characters to choose from? As their numbers depleted there was an inevitability to the book and although it was atmospheric in parts I found it rather one-paced.

Before long everybody in the group gets an identical text message from someone called ‘The Other’ which states: “Only 1 will leave, all in favour” and they eventually twig that the dense fog (and something in it) has trapped them and that as a group only one of them will survive and that the others must unanimously agree on that person with a vote.

Yeah right, as if that would happen! Of course, everybody wants to vote for themselves and the fun begins. It sounds like a ridiculous conundrum, but there are some surprises in the way it plays out. Would you sacrifice yourself for a complete stranger? Quickly someone goes in the fog and tries to escape after panicking, bites the bullet, and the rest of the group realise it is for real. Technology stops working and now a cancelled bus has been transformed into a game of life and death, the latter for most.

Once the tension mounts, and the clock starts ticking, the characters all start bouncing off each other and the inner fighting escalates. Along the way you cannot help but think of Stephen King’s The Mist, The Twilight Zone, or any number of escape room scenarios or even Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Indians. Unfortunately, most of the points of references I made were also much stronger works of fiction than this. Although Terminal keeps you guessing for some of the time, has some decent twists, it never truly hit top gear for me and although I was invested enough to discover who the eventual last person standing, I was not too surprised by the outcome. There are some vague revelations regarding the Watcher(s) and their motives but there was something about the whole thing I found underwhelming.

Terminal has had a lot of amazing praise in the horror community from highly respectable reviewers, but I just did not connect with it in the same way. It was creative, solidly written with a good range of characters, but it lacked the edge required to raise itself above the crowd in a horror market top-heavy with strong fiction.

...more

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Apr 13, 2019 Michelle Enelen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Waiting for a plane, a train, a bus.
You've been here.
Waiting.
Watching and being watched. If you've got company you can pass the time pointing out the oddities in this mélange of people. Not this Time.
You're alone.

The bus hurtles towards your Terminal through dense fog, coming at you, but stops just before impact. Its "Red windows like stained glass in a church of the most profane gods". A man covered in blood throws himself into your Terminal. None of the blood is his own. Laughing manica Waiting for a plane, a train, a bus.
You've been here.
Waiting.
Watching and being watched. If you've got company you can pass the time pointing out the oddities in this mélange of people. Not this Time.
You're alone.

The bus hurtles towards your Terminal through dense fog, coming at you, but stops just before impact. Its "Red windows like stained glass in a church of the most profane gods". A man covered in blood throws himself into your Terminal. None of the blood is his own. Laughing manically, you know he's dead set on being the last survivor in this experiment you are forced to be a part of. An experiment started by The Other. That is all you'll ever know about the head, its limbs are The Watchers, The Engineers, and The Killers. The first and last are the beginning and the end. The mesial is tasked with overriding the mechanisms of the Terminal, including the power doors, the message center and your personal devices. It feeds the terror. It knows you. "One of you is a theif. One of you is a severe diabetic" the message board begins. You're locked in this place until you vote unanimously, which one gets to live. Those green eyes in the fog aren't telling you what they see. The couple, a shattered woman and a man living well above his means. A single woman on her way to find redemption in a child she's never met. The shifty grifter on a down slide. The ex-cop full of demons, and the self-assured nobody he's got locked in the cage in back. There's a tech nerd who knows more than most, but isn't willing to talk. A well dressed enforcer that moves with lightning speed. And the rule abiding ticket agent with a past so dark, the teenage rebellion her kid is building would crumble under its dirt.

There are hard lessons in these pages. Information you might deny. Moments become etched in your brain, then "Pop" like an overfilled balloon. "Head shifted sideways, and the back of his head exploded in the same instant". It's a gruesome description, yet i doubt you'll feel any sympathy. Not for Jeremy Cutter. Not for beautiful, cruel Bella. Maybe not even for the nerd who sits playing his game while the rest of the occupants face this fragile reality without a buffer. Not even the cellphones are their own anymore. The Other has taken over. Every speaker taunts them, every device pushes them to choose. Choose or die. The voice of Death is every voice, young and old, male and female. Androgenous and sexy then childlike and full of murder. There is no balance, no center for refuge. Chaos takes you deep inside yourself and asks what you're willing to do to survive. Only the clock on the wall is working, but it's doing The Others work, counting down to your death.
ALL IN FAVOR?
CHOOSE. NOW.
Which one will survive this cycle?
CHOOSE.
The book stands alone, dragging you along when it wants to, herding you to beliefs then shocking you and breaking your heart. Secret selves,deeper and darker than the best educated guess. Strengths hidden in percieved weakness. Losses hidden behind scars and muscle memory triggered by fear. There is power that oversteps humanity, evil justified by consensus, greased with money to make the wheels turn a little easier. The shorter path, what was sacrificed for that convienience? This book isn't over when its over. The authors note shouldn't be ignored, it closes the circle. Michaelbrent Collings brings you to the window, its up to you to look in, to choose which path to take. Up to you who survives THE TERMINAL.
...more

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Dec 09, 2019 Elusive rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: review

In 'Terminal', what appears to be a strange thick fog shrouding a bus terminal turns deadly when an unlucky group of people receive a text message telling them to choose one survivor. Stranded, afraid and disconnected from everyone else, they have no means of escape and are running out of time to make a crucial decision..

The interesting and dark premise was killed by uneventfulness and repetitiveness. It was only around the halfway point or so when the characters discussed what the text message In 'Terminal', what appears to be a strange thick fog shrouding a bus terminal turns deadly when an unlucky group of people receive a text message telling them to choose one survivor. Stranded, afraid and disconnected from everyone else, they have no means of escape and are running out of time to make a crucial decision..

The interesting and dark premise was killed by uneventfulness and repetitiveness. It was only around the halfway point or so when the characters discussed what the text message meant. Logically and realistically, that would be the first thing on the agenda. Plus, the meaning was straightforward. They were thick to not understand it right away.

The chapters were boring as hell, filled with mundane, long-winded details about where every character was, whether they were sitting or standing, who was near them and what they were talking about. More gratingly, they were continuously referred to by their first and last name or alternatives such as 'the tattooed man', 'the ticket lady', etc. Then there was Adam S. Miles whose middle name was never revealed. Jeez.

There was a lot of telling in a poor attempt to flesh out the characters. Info dumps on their backgrounds didn't make them any less stereotypical, flat or unlikeable. The malicious treatment of one character (view spoiler) was unwarranted: (view spoiler).

There was zero tension because the whole choosing-one-survivor thing was only emphasized late in the game. The twist was good but predictable since it made no sense for (view spoiler). The truth behind the fog (view spoiler) didn't strike me as disturbing due to the atrocious execution.

Overall, 'Terminal' was dreadfully tame in terms of horror and disappointing in every other aspect. It would've worked better as a short story. ...more

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Sep 21, 2019 Cid rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Review by
Cid Herman

Unoriginal, dreary and depressing, Miserable people in a plot without any hope or uplifting moments.

September 1, 2019

Format: Kindle Edition

I chose to read Terminal because of the many reveiws saying that it would make you think about some of the deeper realities of what humanity is and the way humans treat each other under stressful conditions. Those positive reveiwers also stated that TERMINAL was a book that would stay with you long after you finished it. It does do all of t ...more

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Dec 08, 2019 GracieKat rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle-horror

Terminal pinged all of my gimme radars: Isolation? Yep. Creepy ass fog? Check. A disparate bunch of people given an ultimatum? Hell yeah!

I wasn't disappointed.

Michaelbrent Collings does a great job of setting up the scenario and the people realistically. The people feel like real people. It starts off setting up the various characters in the bus terminal. Which is why a bus terminal is probably such a great place to set something like this. You'll get a reasonable variety of people together in Terminal pinged all of my gimme radars: Isolation? Yep. Creepy ass fog? Check. A disparate bunch of people given an ultimatum? Hell yeah!

I wasn't disappointed.

Michaelbrent Collings does a great job of setting up the scenario and the people realistically. The people feel like real people. It starts off setting up the various characters in the bus terminal. Which is why a bus terminal is probably such a great place to set something like this. You'll get a reasonable variety of people together in a way that's reasonable for them to be there together without having to stretch for it.

Terminal really sucked me in and I ended up finishing it in one sitting. The action and pace moves pretty steadily along, gaining momentum until the end. There is one spot where it lags slightly, though. After the plot almost comes crashing through their doors (quite literally) where the action lags a bit when it should be ramping up. But the lag doesn't last long and it's off to the races...

One of the things that I particularly liked was that the people behave in realistic ways. There are no mustache twirling villains. There are no heroes. They're just people. And the way they react is believable. With so much suspension of disbelief being necessary to the story then the way the people respond is very important. If you can't feel them as people the you won't be invested in their lives (or squishy, squishy deaths). Dialogue is sometimes thrown under the bus in horror but the dialogue and character interactions were good. Very good.

One thing that I did really like is that almost all of characters are understandable. Don't get me wrong, I had my favorites and my 'loathsomes' of course and I'm sure other people will, too. But it says something to me that Collings was able to present even the MS-13 character as understandable. Not likable but understandable.

I'm trying to put off talking about the end. Mostly because it was very wow. I loved it and I really, really want to talk about it because it was awesome. However, and this was really the only thing keeping me from giving it a five, I think the epilogue could have been left off. It ended perfectly where it did the chapter before. Really, that was an amazing ending. I want to say more so, so badly but I shall keep my lips shut.

It's not perfect (few books are). There was the lag I mentioned and at times the characters seem a little slow on the draw to figure some things out. Some of it feels like delaying tactics until the countdown has run down a bit more but it's fairly subtle so it's not super noticeable but it's there.

All in all, definitely check out Terminal. It has major creep and squish factor and is a great read.

Received from the author for review consideration

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Apr 20, 2019 Energy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A mysterious fog is moving in and those at the Lawton bus terminal are finding it impossible to leave. Trapped in the Terminal with no way out, they are contacted by "The Other", and given a mysterious statement and figure out that only one of them is going to be allowed to leave. We follow them through their stories, learning their pasts, and how they interact with each other. In tense situations, it's almost always a sure thing that people will start to turn on each other. So who can we trust? ...more

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About Michaelbrent Collings

Michaelbrent Collings

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One of the most versatile writers around, Michaelbrent Collings is an internationally bestselling novelist, produced screenwriter, and multiple Bram Stoker Award finalist. While he is best known for horror (and is one of the most successful indie horror authors in the United States), he has also written bestselling thriller, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, humor, young adult, and middle grade w ...more