Originally posted on my blog Books Forget Me Knot.

4.5 stars

I am very excited to bring you Will Millar’s debut novel, Infernal Machines. It is a highly intricate piece of fiction that left me totally unhinged. I never would have been involved with letting the world know about Miller’s work if it had not been for a tweet I saw on Twitter to sign up for his blog tour. I jumped at the chance because as an aspiring writer I know how important it is to get your work known, it’s even twice the challenge for an indie author. With that said, I love helping out indie authors any way that I can.

Alright, so I’m rambling here. On to the review!

*cue in ultra cool whooshing sound affect*

The prologue to the Infernal Machines left me curious as we are introduced to the cryptic signs of a murder. It made excited, haunted, and thoroughly intrigued to read more. Miller’s writing style is different from what I normally read and can be compared to the subtle horror that is true to 80′s horror films. I really liked the ambiguity that Miller gives us at the beginning, and in turn sets a grounding foundation for the premise of the novel.

The following first few chapters were a little hard to get through. We are introduce to several pivotal characters, switching p.o.v’s from each one. I like exposition – don’t get me wrong – but I found some parts boring. This was my initial thought. I’m glad that I kept reading because the flushing out of characters becomes very important for the novel. It was the bases while Miller constructs the world without it being too much that you just groan and want to give up.

My favorite characters were definitely Paulie and Stoner.I’m not a boy nor have their kind of mindset but I wanted to be their friend. I wanted to go on their exhilarating adventures of investigations with them. I wanted to be that girl who wanted to always tag along because of how awesome it would be! Also, let’s not forget Dee, which is totally awesome! I just loved how she was a little sassy and very strong. People picked on her but she fought right back. This kind of connection between a character and the reader is what I always enjoy. It’s the sign of a great and talented writer.

For the horror aspect of the story, it’s more suspense and the acts of human monsters (serial killers, white supremacists) and inhuman behavior. The legend of the Junkman was really creepy and when I read about him and what he did….well my heart felt like it was going to fall out of my chest. I don’t read horror often, but I was completely enthralled by the subtle detail Millar describes for a scene or the sinister expression on one of the characters faces. It made my skin crawl. This is another sign of how phenomenal of a writer Miller is.

One last thing that I absolutely enjoyed was how the story takes place within a few years. I liked this idea very much as it wasn’t constrained to a day or a week. The effects that the past had caused the events of present and future. This was a brilliant added detail to the story and I give a gazillion brownie points to Millar for this aspect.

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel and would recommend it to everyone who is looking for a new suspense YA horror novel without the cliches. Will Millar’s, Infernal Machines is purely brilliant, unique, and creative. It’s a great coming of age story filled with mystery, suspense, and twists and turns that will have you completely and utterly wanting more. Nothing is what it seems. Millar just throws a curve ball that is just….well, I guess you’ll just have to find out!

I’m definitely a fan of his work now and can’t wait to see what else he comes up with!