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findingmontauk1 's review for:
Shelter for the Damned
by Mike Thorn
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Coming of age stories are always going to grab my attention. And then throw in some elements of horror and then you definitely have a reader out of me! In SHELTER FOR THE DAMNED, Mike Thorn's debut, we have a great mix of both. We also get a little more inside the main character's head as he struggles with feeling outcast, like he doesn't belong, a wife range of emotions and frustrations, as well as this descent into... well... finding THAT out will require you to read this book!
The story follows Mark and his friends as they are discovering a shack out in the middle of nowhere. They think it will be a good place to cut loose, relax, and smoke some cigarettes. After the first visit, something about the shack seems to grab hold of Mark. Mark, who is a known troublemaker already, begins to display even more violence and ends up getting suspended. His parents are trying to make heads or tails of what is happening, even though his dad is one of the most awful characters. I hope he was intended to be worse than the dad/sheriff from the film Pet Sematary 2 before AND after he gets killed and turns evil...
During his suspension he goes back to the shack. The shack is always calling to him. He sneaks out of his house and notices it is no longer standing. It is not there period. He gathers his friends to go check it out and it is surprisingly right where they all left it. At this point you are starting to wonder what is in Mark's head vs. what is really happening. Things just get worse and worse for Mark and his friends as he gets closer and more connected to the shack.
One of my only grievances reading this book is the repetitive use of any iteration of 'f*ck.' It felt like I was reading a Scorcese script at times and it got distracting to me. I could have read longer and not seen it on the page nearly as often and might have even had a better impact. That's just my 2 cents on that.
Fans of Christine by Stephen King and cosmic horror will eat this one right up! There are some great elements of both to be had in this stunning debut from Mike Thorn. He is a voice to look out for in the future! Be on the lookout for this to release around Feb 26th from JournalStone!
The story follows Mark and his friends as they are discovering a shack out in the middle of nowhere. They think it will be a good place to cut loose, relax, and smoke some cigarettes. After the first visit, something about the shack seems to grab hold of Mark. Mark, who is a known troublemaker already, begins to display even more violence and ends up getting suspended. His parents are trying to make heads or tails of what is happening, even though his dad is one of the most awful characters. I hope he was intended to be worse than the dad/sheriff from the film Pet Sematary 2 before AND after he gets killed and turns evil...
During his suspension he goes back to the shack. The shack is always calling to him. He sneaks out of his house and notices it is no longer standing. It is not there period. He gathers his friends to go check it out and it is surprisingly right where they all left it. At this point you are starting to wonder what is in Mark's head vs. what is really happening. Things just get worse and worse for Mark and his friends as he gets closer and more connected to the shack.
One of my only grievances reading this book is the repetitive use of any iteration of 'f*ck.' It felt like I was reading a Scorcese script at times and it got distracting to me. I could have read longer and not seen it on the page nearly as often and might have even had a better impact. That's just my 2 cents on that.
Fans of Christine by Stephen King and cosmic horror will eat this one right up! There are some great elements of both to be had in this stunning debut from Mike Thorn. He is a voice to look out for in the future! Be on the lookout for this to release around Feb 26th from JournalStone!