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Book Review: A Deep Horror That Was Very Nearly Awe by J.R. Hamantaschen

A Deep Horror That Was Very Nearly Awe by J.R. Hamantaschen

Amazon Digital Services, 2018

ISBN: 978-1722219901

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

 

A Deep Horror That Was Very Nearly Awe is Hamantaschen’s third short story collection, and it is just as enjoyable as his first collection, You Shall Never Know Security. More than just dark and macabre horror stories, Hamantaschen crafts stories that explore the human condition in all its many emotions. They are not, however, for the faint of heart.

 

The last of the book’s stories, “I Will Soon Be Home and Never Need Anyone Ever Again”, is more of a novella than a short story. Thomas is a smart 14-year-old, with a bit of an arrogant streak, who is bullied in school. Most of it is verbal, but it eventually becomes physical. Thomas meets Brandon, who wants to help Thomas with his problem. Though intrigued, and happy to have a friend, Thomas refuses Brandon’s help. Thomas’ life continues into adulthood, though not necessarily as he would have liked. This is an excellent story, and you really feel for Thomas and almost hope he takes Brandon up on his offer. Who can’t relate to a kid being bullied at some point in their lives? While Thomas can be annoying, Hamantaschen writes him with much empathy, even while Thomas denies his own desperate need for friendship.

Other fantastic stories include “That’s Just the Way Things Are These Days”, about a rare and strange disorder that affects a small portion of boys during puberty in a very unexpected manner; “Rococo Veins and Lurid Stains”, about a teenager contemplating suicide and what drives her thoughts; “Faithfully and Lovingly”, about a young couple destroyed by tragic events, though the tragedy ultimately continues; and “Story Title Revealed About Halfway Through”, about a young man who feels no emotions and cares for nothing, though a new treatment may have brought him too far in the other direction.

All the stories in A Deep Horror That Was Very Nearly Awe are highly engaging. Hamantaschen has a way of writing that completely draws you in and makes you feel something—anything—for all his characters.

Recommended

Contains some adult language and (minor) sexual situations; also contains some gore

Revieweed by Colleen Wanglund

Posted on October 28, 2018 by , Reply

Book Review: The Deep by Nick Cutter

The Deep by Nick Cutter

Pocket Books, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-4767-1774-6

Available: Paperback, mass market paperback,  library binding, Kindle edition, audiobook

 

With his second novel, The Deep, author Nick Cutter has his modus operandi firmly established: keep the number of main characters to five or less, put them in an isolated setting, add in a biological menace to terrorize the characters, and a dash of blood, and voila, you have a thriller/horror novel.  It’s the formula he uses, and he does it very well.  This book moves at a fast clip: no lengthy expositions or wasted time.  It’s a good thriller from one of the better writers of the genre.

 

The plot: it’s present day, and the human population is being ravaged to extinction by a new disease called the ‘Gets.  The only possible hope for a cure lies in a research station at the bottom of the Marianas Trench in the Pacific, in the form of a new sort of biological organism.  As the book opens, contact with the three scientists at the research station has been lost.  Luke Nelson is the brother of Clayton Nelson, one of the scientists trapped on the bottom.  For reasons unknown to Luke, he’s brought in to make the trip to the bottom and re-establish contact with Clayton and the others.   Once he gets to the station, mayhem results.  The biological organism is not what it seems, and it bends reality for all the humans, causing deadly results.

 

Most of the book takes place in the claustrophobic environs of the research station. The characters quickly realize they are trapped in a station where reality and fantasy, through their dreams and nightmares, quickly meld together: distinguishing between them becomes almost impossible.  Cutter’s skill really shines here.  You start to feel claustrophobic on reading some of the sequences, such as the ones with characters trapped in corridors or ducts.  Add in the terror the characters feel from the creatures (or figments of their nightmares) pursuing them, and you have a first rate thriller.  The descriptions are perfect: Cutter really lets you feel the emotions of the characters as they struggle to survive.  The backstory on Luke Nelson and Clay Nelson is filled in with chapters interspersed throughout the book that reference a point in their lives growing up.  As it turns out, those chapters are not just asides for understanding the characters, but play a part in the overall story thread. These chapters do help flesh the brothers out, but they won’t change your thinking about them.  They are pretty much good or evil: there’s very little in-between.

The only drawback to the book is the ending, which felt rushed and seemed confusing, asking more questions than it answered.  After over 480 pages of excellent writing, the last 10 just felt tacked on.  Outside of that, this is an excellent thriller/horror novel, recommended for adults and teens alike.

 

Contains: violence, mild gore

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

 

Posted on October 26, 2018 by , Reply

Book Review: A Breath After Drowning by Alice Blanchard

A Breath After Drowning by Alice Blanchard

Titan Books, 2018

ISBN-13: 978-1785656408

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook, audio CD

 

Alice Blanchard drags the readers into the darkness with A Breath After Drowning. This psychological thriller dives down into the characters’ psychology, their trauma, and the deep pits that therapy and grief can dig, in a story that is as close to perfect as it can be in the thriller genre.

Our protagonist is child psychologist Katie Wolfe, whose sister was brutally murdered. Henry Blackwood sits on death row for the murder, yet his family remains in town. The opening chapters, which involve the suicide of a tortured teen, will rip a wound in the reader’s mind that is never given a chance to heal. Almost immediately afterwards, Katie is given another case, a teen whose troubles might lead Katie into waters too deep and black for her to survive. Every character seems to be tied somehow to Katie’s past: either the murder, or her turbulent upbringing. How she teams up with the retired detective who still lives with the case is worth the price of the book itself.

To reveal more would give away one of the many serpentine plot twists that deepen as the story unfolds. Blanchard chisels characters that darken with each layer.

Reminiscent of Gillian Flynn, Paula Hawkins, with the rawness of Stephen King’s suspense novels, this one’s highly recommended for anyone craving a thriller that will leave a scar. Blanchard is definitely an author to follow.

 

Reviewed by Dave Simms

Posted on October 3, 2018 by , Reply
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