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They'll Get You
Kevin is a ten-year-old boy whose suburban reality is rapidly dissolving all around him. The quirky places and people he's noticed in his neighborhood are changing shape in terrible ways, and worse yet, they've begun to notice him right back. When the streets go quiet and the air falls still, these things--monsters--come crawling out of the woodwork with Kevin in their sights. And no one ever seems to be around to hear him scream.
His friends don't want to talk about the things they've seen. His mother doesn't want to talk at all. And the monsters of Fairfield pursue him ceaselessly; from the streets, from his school, and even from inside his own house. Kevin doesn't know where these things are coming from or why they're coming to get him, but as the faces of his friends decay from his memory and the streets all lead him back where he came from, he realizes he has to start running now before there's nowhere left to go.
His friends don't want to talk about the things they've seen. His mother doesn't want to talk at all. And the monsters of Fairfield pursue him ceaselessly; from the streets, from his school, and even from inside his own house. Kevin doesn't know where these things are coming from or why they're coming to get him, but as the faces of his friends decay from his memory and the streets all lead him back where he came from, he realizes he has to start running now before there's nowhere left to go.
431 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 24, 2020
6 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 19, 2022
This is a hard book to review. There’s so much potential in here but as is the existing book is too long and ultimately the conclusion is unsatisfying for the amount of time you have to invest.
What’s done very well is the perspective feels as authentic to the perspective of a 10 year old in this situation. (Though, there are occasional superfluous lines that take away from that.) The moment to moment horror is fantastic. There is a lot of great sequences that really get your blood pumping. The book also really captures that 90s nostalgia in a way that feels less like product placement and more intimate and personal. Also the sense of isolation is very powerful.
There’s a lot of brilliance here. But the book is way too long. The moment to moment horror is great but there are too many of these movements and it feels disjointed and dragged out. Though the isolation is well done the minimal dialogue can be frustrating after 500 pages of it. Though the characters sense of intimate connection with his home and neighborhood in his internal thought sequences mapping out his surroundings are at first endearing they become self-indulgent after awhile. It also takes a bit too long to get going. And finally the ending is just unfulfilling.
This book feels like it’s the first draft of something brilliant but it’s just not quite there. I hope the author tries something similar but with half the length and a more directed focus. Having read some of his shorts in Cirsova his writing can really shine when trimmed down to a novelette. This is a promising work but hard to recommend unless you really loved his shorter fiction.
What’s done very well is the perspective feels as authentic to the perspective of a 10 year old in this situation. (Though, there are occasional superfluous lines that take away from that.) The moment to moment horror is fantastic. There is a lot of great sequences that really get your blood pumping. The book also really captures that 90s nostalgia in a way that feels less like product placement and more intimate and personal. Also the sense of isolation is very powerful.
There’s a lot of brilliance here. But the book is way too long. The moment to moment horror is great but there are too many of these movements and it feels disjointed and dragged out. Though the isolation is well done the minimal dialogue can be frustrating after 500 pages of it. Though the characters sense of intimate connection with his home and neighborhood in his internal thought sequences mapping out his surroundings are at first endearing they become self-indulgent after awhile. It also takes a bit too long to get going. And finally the ending is just unfulfilling.
This book feels like it’s the first draft of something brilliant but it’s just not quite there. I hope the author tries something similar but with half the length and a more directed focus. Having read some of his shorts in Cirsova his writing can really shine when trimmed down to a novelette. This is a promising work but hard to recommend unless you really loved his shorter fiction.
October 22, 2021
An interesting read with plenty of thrills and spooky moments. There's a lot of creative monsters and antagonists, plenty of well-crafted moments, and a distinct atmosphere that carries through to the final pages.
However the pacing, lack of dialogue, and an unsatisfying conclusion just don't make the journey worth it. Too much ambiguity in a book that should be straightforward.
However the pacing, lack of dialogue, and an unsatisfying conclusion just don't make the journey worth it. Too much ambiguity in a book that should be straightforward.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews