It starts out--save for the prologue which foreshadows very bad things on the road ahead--deceptively-calm, almost lackadaisical, as it tells the story of two older childhood friends, not quite drinking age, out to drink some beer and raise some hell. There are scenes where they try to steal beer at a grocery store and Tooth (because he had his front teeth ran over), playfully fights with his friend and narrator's sister. The narrator, Roger, seems like a fun-loving guy who loves horror and comic books and living life. He's a geek that readers can relate to and like.

I was thinking, hey, maybe this is not going to be a horror story after all. Maybe it will be kinda Boy's Lifeish. I was okay with that, because the writing style and characters were fun. The boys are out in the dark woods shooting off guns when it happens.

They hear a woman screaming. Enter brutality.

Fans of extreme, gory horror. This is a brutal read, almost torture porn at times, but frightening because it might happen in some rural area.

I won't spoil the horrific fun, but it goes a direction that is so twisted and sadistic that even Edward Lee would smile. The last 70% of this book is pure horror gold. I want to say in retrospect that it was genius to have such a slow beginning, but it was a bit too long to make everything perfect. It was such a dramatic and violently shocking change of pace that I said aloud, "wow!"

This is one of the best, truly scary horror novels I've read in a while. A story with sharp, hungry teeth that will shock and disturb both new and seasoned horror readers. Warning: it's not for the faint-hearted!

Approximately 232 pages.

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Created Aug 13, 2013 at 6:26pm • Submit your own review...