LOCAL GODS by Mark Hurst @MarkHur41481024

5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: Recommendation

In a Nutshell: An assassin who needs to lie low discovers strange happenings in the village of Little Baddington...

Local Gods is a dark and terrifying little gem that I looked forward to getting back to each time I had to put it down.  London assassin Pete Collins allows personal vengeance to enter into his paid work, which does not please the faceless men he serves.  On the advice of his handler, he drives into deepest Gloucestershire, out in the sticks, to avoid any heat that might come his way.  

After a strangely cool reception on the night of his arrival (with the exception of new pub landlord Craig, who has made the mistake of trying to inject Little Baddington with the culture of Hampstead), Pete becomes increasingly unsettled by every experience in the village, and every local with whom he comes into contact.  And it's only going to get worse.  Suffice to say that Pete the contract killer soon starts to feel like the 'goodie'.

I love a story that surprises me all the way through, with developments I can't predict at all, and this was one such.  It's not a particularly long book, I imagine about 65 or 70K words (though I might be wrong, as the words do tend to whizz by when you're eagerly turning the pages!).  It's beautifully edited, with never a superfluous sentence, just the right amount of detail and atmosphere, with characters that pop into life as soon as they appear.  And the ending ... so, so good.  Really wish I hadn't finished it, though!

As is probably obvious, I highly recommend this novel.  If you're not the sort of person who spooks too easily...

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT by Erich Maria Remarque

 5 GOLD stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: Looked for it after re-watching the recent German remake of the film

In a Nutshell: A young German man's experiences in World War I

I was surprised, when I started to read this book.  I expected it to be heavy going, a lengthy tome, but it's far from that.  It's not very long (I would estimate about 70K words), and the first person point of view of Paul Bäumer, the protagonist, flows along in a highly readable fashion; it's like reading a diary.  I'd finished it in just two days, couldn't put it down.  

It goes without saying that the novel illustrates the absolute evil of war, and reminds one of the pointlessness of all that those millions of poor men suffered on the Western Front, for nothing much at all apart from making those who profit from such carnage even richer and more powerful.  Meanwhile, Paul and his friends gradually change from enthusiastic lads who were lied to by their teachers about the glory of war and how it was their duty to enlist, to shell-shocked and lost men who can relate only to each other; nothing prepared them for the horror of trench warfare, and no words can explain it to those back at home.

Echoing the cover, it's just the best war novel I've ever read.  Read it!! (btw if you're buying off Amazon, be careful not to get an abridged version)

'I am twenty years of age but I know nothing of life except despair, death, fear,  and the combination of completely mindless superficiality with an abyss of suffering.  I see people being driven against one another, and silently, uncomprehendingly, foolishly, obediently and innocently killing one another.  I see the best brains in the world inventing weapons and words to make the process that much more sophisticated and long-lasting.  And watching this with me are all my contemporaries, here and on the other side, all over the world - my whole generation is experiencing this with me.'

This picture says so much, no matter which country's generals demanded you be sent off to kill and be killed by men just like you - the Cameron Highlanders, before and after WWI.

A MOONLIT PATH OF MADNESS by Catherine McCarthy @serialsemantic

 5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: Twitter; have read and enjoyed others by this author before.

In a Nutshell: Eerie visions in an old family house in Wales, at the turn of the 20th Century.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which I read in just a few days.  Grace Morgan from Vermont inherits the old family home in Newport, South Wales and, after the death of her mother, makes the decision to move back there with faithful maid Lilah.  Family mysteries and secrets abound, and Grace begins to have curious visions, as did her mother.

A Moonlit Path of Madness is a quieter work of the supernatural horror genre - I'm not much of a one for ghoulies and ghosties, but this is more about the emotions of the characters than things that go bump in the night.  Those emotions are so well portrayed, the whole story so atmospheric - and who could resist that glorious cover?  The writing flows, and I was completely immersed all the time I was reading it, eager to know what would happen, wrong about most of my predictions, which is always a plus!

I've just tried to write about the ending three times and deleted each time, because it's hard to do so without giving clues, so I'll simply say that it's just right, with an essence of melancholia that fits so well with the rest of the story

CROW COUNTRY by Emily Sullivan

 4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: freebooksy

In a Nutshell: Bleak post-apocalyptic world in which men are mean and crows are ... huge.

“Everyone was, in one night, made basic again. For when the Lord snapped his fingers, the Devil took the stage. What tremendous music he made”.

A strange book ... highly atmospheric, and that was what kept me reading.  That and wanting to know if the main character, Judge, would make it.

It's almost three decades after some event that caused a blackout across America, a situation never reversed.  Alas, we never find out what happened on October 9th, nearly thirty years before, or why fertility has been affected.  This isn't really a criticism as the book is about the events of the present; I just like to know the full story!  Judge lives in Colorado, in the new town of Genesis, run by a man known only as Law (at first).  Gradually, little bits of information are dropped in to show the reader details about the past.  I liked the way this is done, as by the time this appeared I really needed to know what the backstory between Law and Judge was.

As well as dealing with the usual horrors of a post-apocalyptic world, the inhabitants of Genesis must take cover from the crows, grown huge and predatory.

I found the writing style compelling (in that I couldn't have not read until the end) yet frustrating at times, when something was not explained as much as I would like; at other times, though, this was most effective.  Occasionally there were odd word choices, unusual ways of describing a feeling, the weather, the atmosphere that mostly worked very well but now and again had me thinking, what does she mean?  I noted afterwards that the author writes Westerns, and this book is very much in that vein.  It's raw, bleak, with little comfort for the characters and a dark portrayal of the worst in man.

I liked it.  It's good.  Now I want to read a prequel!

SEED by Ania Ahlborn @aniaahlborn #TuesdayBookBlog

 4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: Amazon browse

In a Nutshell: Low key horror, family drama about demonic possession

This is a solid 4* book (I did contemplate an extra half star).  Jack lives with wife Aimee and daughters Abby and Charlie.  At the age of six, Charlie begins to display some worrying traits - Aimee and Abby are disturbed and confused by this, but Jack knows what is going on - he sees himself in his daughter.

As the story develops we see how Jack uncovered the awful truth that he is the victim of demonic possession.  This is nothing like The Exorcist; it's much more subtle.  The plot moves through Charlie's increasingly erratic behaviour, and is interspersed with tales from Jack's childhood; slowly, slowly, the truth about why he left his childhood home and what happened to his parents, is revealed.  The pace of the book seemed a little slow at points during the middle (one big event would have made all the difference), but I didn't get bored with it, at all.  The last chapters are great, and wrap it all up so well; I was glad the author dared to make the ending all it should have been, and not go with a cop-out HEA.

Ms Ahlborn writes in a most engaging fashion, and Charlie is truly terrifying ... in a subtle, low-key way.  It would make a terrific film or limited series.  I'd read another book by her, for sure; I definitely recommend if you like this sort of story.

UNDEAD by Mark Brendan #RBRT

3.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)

On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: Three macabre novellas of blood, terror and the living dead

In the first of these horror novellas, a man falls foul of the Spanish Inquisition and finds himself on a curious island where he comes under threat from unhuman terrors.  The second tale is about a necromancer in the eighteenth century, and the final one about some members of Napoleon's forces stationed in Northern Africa, who are looking for a way out of their situation.

All three stories are highly inventive, and I very much enjoyed some aspects of all of them.  My favourite was the last one, about the French deserters; this one really kept my attention and I was engrossed.  The atmosphere of the time was so well written, and I particularly liked the early scenes at the site of the battle.  I also liked the sections of the first one where the hero is a galley slave. The stories are fairly gory but not unnecessarily so; it worked.

I felt that the book, as a whole, could have done with a better copy editor/proofreader, as there were some wrongly used words and many punctuation errors, mostly missing vocative commas.  The content editing is fine; the stories flowed well and were told in a way that kept my attention. It was just the incorrect punctuation and other errors that should have been picked up, that distracted me.  Also, I felt that on several occasions the dialogue was too modern for the relevant periods in history.  Not horrendously so, but I think an experienced copy editor could polish them up to something first rate.

MISTS AND MEGALITHS by Catherine McCarthy @serialsemantic

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I read the final story, Carreg Samson, in a horror anthology and thought it was excellent, so wanted to read more.

In a Nutshell: low-key horror/supernatural stories set in Wales

I read this over a period of two days, and was most impressed.  Catherine McCarthy's love of her country and the spiritual attachment she feels to its past are so evident, all the way through; I haven't been to Wales for many years, and it made me want to go back there.

In every collection such there will be those you love, those you like, and those that don't quite hit the spot for you, but there is not one weak story in Mists and Megaliths.  One of the aspects I loved was that I didn't guess how any of them were going to end.  Not one - and the writing itself made me fall into the story, each time.  My favourites were:

MÃRA - about a husband and wife who purchase a 'spirit box' before moving into a new house, not knowing what they are living with... in the notes for the story (there are notes for each one, a feature I liked very much, as it made them mean so much more), we learn that this is semi-autobiographical.  It's a real shocker.

RETRIBUTION - about a certain darkness that falls over a village and its church, and what Ewan Jenkins does to remedy this.

COBLYNAU - an old man with dementia, sitting by a window in a residential care home, wonders when the Coblynau, the mythical goblin-like creatures that haunt mines and quarries, will arrive for him.  I loved this one partly because it made me think of visiting my mother in the care home in which she lived for around six years before she died (Alzheimer's), and how we would see her struggle to find the words she wanted to say.  Also, it reminded me of sewing her name tapes into her clothes!

CARREG SAMSON - I was pleased to find this one at the end, and enjoyed reading it again.  Carreg Samson is a huge, ancient stone that has watched the movements of man over millennia, and knows that another period of darkness is coming soon...

If you're a fan of the darkly mystical and folklore (or is it more than just folklore?), you will love these stories.  Well done, Catherine McCarthy - a fine collection!

LATER by Stephen King

 4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads 

How I discovered this book: Amazon browse

In a Nutshell:

I love some Stephen King (The Stand, Misery, Thinner, IT before the bit at the end with the daft spider), but am not a massive fan, finding some of them unnecessarily long with too many daft spiders, etc, but that fabulous cover made me look twice.

Jamie Conklin can see dead people.  As he explains, not like in the Bruce Willis film; he sees them just after they die, for a short period of time until they fade away.  During this time he can talk to them - and once dead, they never lie.

Jamie lives in New York with his mother Tia, a literary agent.  He was a young child when he first discovered he could see the dead; terrified of this at first, he learns to live with it.  The story takes a darker turn when others want to exploit his gift for their own ends.

Of course Mr King is a master storyteller and this had me pretty much glued to the page all the way through; it's gripping, funny, sinister and relatable, all at once, and coasts along nicely, always with the hint that something much, much worse is going to happen.  I enjoyed the whole New York vibe, though I was disappointed by the ending - it just sort of stops.  Like King couldn't think of a really good way to end it, so he wrote the last big action scary bit then wrapped it up.  There's a bit of a twist at the end, but it doesn't have that much bearing on the story.  It's a good length for a quick, couple of days read - about 230 pages - and a book I looked forward to getting back to each time.  If it'd had a worthy ending, I'd have given it 5*.

DIABOLICA BRITANNIA by various authors @serialsemantic @john_f_leonard @kabauthor #RBRT

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: through Twitter, though it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member; thus, I am reviewing it for Rosie's blog, too.

In a Nutshell: Anthology of horror short stories by various authors, proceeds to go to the NHS's Covid-19 research.  

I'm delighted to see that this anthology, for such a good cause, is still doing well on Amazon.  At just £2.99 or $3.77 (or equivalent, depending on where you are), everyone should purchase a copy!

Keith Baird, whose project this is and who published the book, has brought together a fine group of horror authors to bring you a selection of stories, all very different, that covers the wide range of the horror genre as a whole, so there's something for everyone. As with any such collection, some stand out more than others, though of course this is largely a matter of personal taste.

My favourites are the first and last:

Carreg Samson by Catherine McCarthy
About an ancient stone, all that it has seen over millennia, and the dark 'It' that counters man's greed and destruction of the earth.  Loved every word.

Call The Name by Adam L. G. Nevill 
Another story about the destruction of the earth by man, set forty years in the future; it's a long one, a fine way to end the anthology; fabulous.

Others that stood out for me:

The Secret of Westport Fell by Beverley Lee
A superbly atmospheric story set in the 19th century, about a young woman who, failing to find a husband, goes to live in the back of a dark, misty beyond to tend her ailing aunt.  

We Plough The Fields and Scatter by Stephanie Ellis
Eerie, sinister traditions in a remote village that doesn't want anyone to leave...

Linger by John F Leonard
A man is bequeathed a mansion by his father, who he has never met, and discovers it might be more of a curse than a gift.  What lurks behind that hidden door?

Even if the purpose of its publication didn't make it a 'must buy', it's worth getting for these five stories alone.  😈 😱

Burntbridge Boys by John F Leonard

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: Football-themed horror novella

I've read quite a few of John F Leonard's shorter length horror tales, and always enjoy both his original story ideas and characterisation.  Burntbridge boys is set in 1979 and is about Sammy 'the butcher' Rafferty, a former footballer, football club manager and general bad boy, whose glory days are over; he is currently on the run from the police and from unfriendly criminal types.  When Sammy finds himself in the decaying stadium of a defunct club, it seems that his dreams might not be over after all....  

Much of the story includes flashbacks to the 1960s, detailing Sammy's career and how deeply he became involved in the corruption to do with the game: the pay offs, the dodgy transfers, the darker side of life for many of those involved.  Sammy's backstory is as much a part of the whole as the supernatural side, which I liked; in itself, it's something of a horror story.

I very much liked the unravelling of the ghostly mystery in the last 20% of the story, the strongest part; Sammy's meeting with Burntbridge's Chairman Millicent is stunningly good.  I felt that some of the earlier parts would benefit from a bit of fine-tuning, perhaps another draft or the hand of an experienced copy editor to tidy up some over-use of the subordinate clause and to make the delivery more concise.  A little more attention to detail could raise this author's work to the next level.

Having said that, it really is an excellent story, and I love the way Mr Leonard doesn't shy away from the distasteful, and builds tension so well - I think if you have an interest in football, you'll love it, especially if you like your fiction on the dark side, but even if you actively dislike it, as I do, you'll still enjoy!

HIGHLAND COVE by Dylan J Morgan @dylanjmorgan #RBRT

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In A Nutshell:  Five twenty-somethings investigate a supposedly haunted abandoned asylum on a Scottish island.

A highly atmospheric story that gathers momentum like skeletal fingers walking slowly up your back, Highland Cove is a book that will delight lovers of dark, horrifying ghost stories that do not necessarily end well... 

The party of five who set out on this foolish mission—to make a documentary in a haunted asylum on a lonely Scottish island—each have their own story, and the characters are well-defined, particularly Liam, for whom this project is something of a passion, and Alex, the sceptical rich boy who has been invited purely because he is willing to fund it.  Dylan Morgan's descriptive powers are first class, and I particularly liked the meeting in the pub, early on, with the old sailor who was to take them across from the mainland.

I was pleased to find that the horror certainly ramps up during the second half, with many surprises, and I thought the last twenty per cent was actually the best part, with a twist in the tale or two that I didn't expect, at all.  I felt that some of the detail in the first half could have been chopped down a little, but on the whole I'd say that this is a fine, well-written book with good plot, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who likes to become immersed in a novel on the gory horror end of the supernatural genre.

HIGHWAY TWENTY by Michael J Moore

3.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: Contemporary creature horror, small-town America

I enjoyed reading this—I like books set in small-town America, and this had a rather B-movie, pulp fiction feel to it, suitable for the genre.

The townspeople of Sedrow Woolley, Washington State, are disappearing—then they come back and they're ... different.  The book starts off with a man abducting a small boy, and finding that he has bitten off more than he can chew; a most compelling, if shocking, beginning.  The main characters are a mechanic called Conor and a homeless man, Percly, who sleeps in a disused train, and the story alternates between their chapters, written in third person point of view.

The great strength of this story is the characterisation and dialogue, which was spot on and totally convincing, particularly the highly likeable Conor, his wild and boozy girlfriend, Shelby, and his colleague, John.  It's a very easy read, a page-turner, and flowed well; Mr Moore can certainly spin a yarn, and the suspense was delivered well, too, with the story unravelling at a good pace.

My only complaint is that it did feel a bit too pulp fiction at times; I could imagine it being a slim volume that one might pick up in a 'dime store' in 1950s Sedrow Woolley, with a picture of a cartoon damsel in distress running away from a monster, on the front—it does need a better proofreader/copy editor, as I found more errors than I would expect, with issues like backwards apostrophes at the beginning of words, and the odd wrongly assigned dependent clause.  But it's good, and basically well-written.  If you enjoy these sort of stories and aren't too picky about minor errors, I think you'll love it.

NIGHT SERVICE by John F Leonard @john_f_leonard

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: A Bus Ride Into Hell

In this horror novella, Luke is on his third date with Jessica and, finally, is getting to spend the night with her - but first they have to get from their night out in the city centre to her home, in a village miles away.  Luke would get a taxi, but it would bankrupt him, so they settle on their only option: the night service.

Also on board are a drunk skinhead, a chatty old man, a woman and a baby, and three members of a rock band.  All seems, if not fine, then not too much of a worry, until the bus begins to speed up, and they begin to realise that the silent driver is missing out all the stops...

Born from the author's many travels on the night service in his younger days (it says in the notes at the back), this is a fun horror story that kept me turning the pages in its unravelling of unexpected developments, and well-painted atmosphere.  Although horrific, it is not without humour, and it sits well in the novella length, without any padding or excess detail that would slow it down.

The only aspect I was not so keen on was the constant use of the subordinate clause - short, staccato, incomplete sentences - to emphasise urgency, shock, fear.  I'm not necessarily a traditionalist when it comes to literary styles, and thought that sometimes, although not 'correct', it worked well, but other times it was used to the extent that it marred my enjoyment of the story.

The ending features another nice little twist; I'd say that if you love this genre and prefer shorter books that will only take you a couple of hours or so to read, you should like this.


Good article about sentences, subordinate and independent clauses HERE

MOUNTAIN MAN: PREQUEL by Keith C Blackmore @KeithCB1

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I've read the rest of the series, so this one appeared to me on Amazon!

In a Nutshell: Prequel to the 5 book Mountain Man series - the outbreak

I was so pleased to discover this - the first Mountain Man book starts a while into the zombie apocalypse, so it was great to find out how Gus got to where he is in Book #1.  Also - and I am sure I am not alone here - I always find the most exciting part of any post apoc series to be the very start, when people think 'something is happening, but maybe it'll be okay' - then come to the slow realisation that it's the very opposite, and life as they know it was breaking down even as they were kidding themselves.

In this prequel we see Gus in his pre-zombie days as a painter (of the decorating sort), on an emergency job during what will be his last normal evening of his life.  We see the night turn to shit as he is stranded in a shopping mall with a couple of work friends and a bunch of random people, wanting only to get back to the woman he loves.

The main characters (Gus and his friend Toby, mostly) are well-rounded and realistic, and the dialogue is great.  During the first half of the book I felt certain parts could have been edited down a bit, or just given a bit more spit and polish, but as Gus's plight gains momentum in the second half of the book I no longer cared; the last thirty per cent, in particular, is riveting.  

I still think Books #1 - #3 are the best of this series, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one, too.  If you love zombie series, or any post apoc, I can't recommend this series too highly.  Definitely going to have a crack at some of Mr Blackmore's horror books, too :).

MAKE ME KING by Keith C Blackmore @KeithCB1

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com

How I discovered this book:  Had read the rest of this series, so Amazon 'told' me when this one was out.

In a Nutshell: Book #5 of a zombie apocalypse series (Canada), but I'd say it stands up fairly well as a stand alone.

I read the first 4 books of this series some time ago and have a pretty lousy memory (I can't remember how book #4 turned out at all), but this was still fine to read on its own—however, I would most certainly recommend reading the first 3 books first, in particular, as they are a stunningly good example of their type, and steer away from many of the genre standards.

In Blackmore's post zombie apocalypse world, several years on, the 'mindless' have faded out... most of them, anyway.  All that's left is an empty world... or not so empty.  Gus, Scott and his friends are living on an island, but supplies must still be found.  Which is where the trouble starts.

I adored the first half of this book, with its sinister alternate chapters from the point of view of some bad guys - later, it features some of the best escape-from-zombies chapters I've read.  I was not so keen on the last 30-40%, which takes place in a bunker inside a mountain, because I could no longer picture it, despite there being much detail; a lot of this-happened-then-that-happened; scenes that would have worked brilliantly on screen but I didn't think translated so well to a book.  However, there were still some great plot developments, and it kept me reading.

If you like the horror end of the post apoc genre, I can't recommend Books #1 and #3 highly enough. 

THIS WILL BREAK EVERY BONE IN YOUR HEART by Keith Anthony Baird @kabauthor

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: Twitter

In a Nutshell: Long novelette/short novella, dark psychological fiction/horror: mind control.

This is a clever, short book about a boy called Zachary who is placed in an institute at a very early age, where he has contact with no humans apart from his carers for some years.  He is found 'parents' at around the age of 5, and from then on every aspect of his life is monitored and controlled by a shadow organisation.  His family, friends, the ups and mostly downs throughout his life—none of it happens by accident.  His formative years are damaging enough, but as the tragedies and losses pile up, he becomes increasingly paranoid and sociopathic.

The story is very well written, and a real page turner; I couldn't work out why any of it was happening or what the outcome was going to be.  In the last third of the book there is a massive twist, completely unexpected—and the purpose of the whole 'experiment' is revealed at last.  I'm usually pretty good at predicting stuff like this, but I didn't guess it.

It's a dark and distressing story, not for the faint of heart, but for anyone who likes low-key, psychological horror, and has an interest in behind the scenes mind control (that's me with both hands up), I'd most certainly recommend it.

THE HANDMAID'S TALE by Margaret Atwood

5 GOLD stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I've read one of Margaret Atwood's dystopian books before, Oryx and Crake, and liked it, though, like thousands of others, I was inspired to read this after watching the TV series.

In a Nutshell: Dystopian, set in an imaginary former America, in the 1980s

If you're one of the five people in the world who haven't seen the TV series,
much of America has become 'Gilead', ruled by Christian fundamentalists and cut off from the rest of the world; this is the story of one of the 'handmaids', rare fertile girls forced to bear children for high profile couples after sterility has become commonplace.

The story is told in the first person by 'Offred', though in the book we never have her real name confirmed, or that of her child.  It is slow in pace, especially at first, but this does, of course, reflect the pace of her life.  I did wonder, during the first few chapters, if anyone reading the story without having seen the series might take a while to appreciate it or even understand what is going on, as the world in which 'Offred' now lives is revealed to the reader only gradually.  I adored this book, all the way through, and couldn't read it fast enough, though I did feel frustrated by the lack of explanation - but when it comes, half way through, it is all the more shocking to find out how the 'normal' world became Gilead.

Although written in 1984, the story is chillingly prescient; Offred talks of the false flag* operations, designed to create fear within the people, so that they will not complain when their privacy and liberty is taken away ... then there is the lack of paper money, with transactions made only via 'Compubank'; another withdrawal of privacy and removal of a person's ability to stay anonymous.

Even though the people are kept relatively safe, they are fed, and have comfort and adequate medical attention, it is the the removal of liberty and the ability to communicate, and the ever-present, underlying threat should one not comply with all rules, that makes this the worse sort of horror story.

Obviously the TV show has ratings to think about, and so the story develops differently; viewers will want some happiness and resolution for June/Offred, some reconciliation, and a 'personal journey' for her, in which she grows, positively - but this was written in a time before heroines were required to be kick-ass.  The end is left open for almost all the characters... but after it finishes there is a great addition to the book that rounds it off in a different way: a transcript of a lecture given in the year 2195, talking about all that is known about the Gileadean era, much of it from Offred's account.  

Good news for those who, like me, can't get enough of either the book or the telly version - the long-awaited follow-up, The Testaments is out on September 10th.  

*...countries organize attacks on themselves and make the attacks appear to be by enemy nations or terrorists, thus giving the nation that was supposedly attacked a pretext for domestic repression and military aggression.

CONGEAL by John F Leonard @john_f_leonard

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I bought it when it came out, as I love this genre and very much liked this author's last book.  Then it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member, so I am reviewing it for Rosie too :)

In a Nutshell: Post apocalyptic/horror novella - nasty slimy stuff that covers the world!

Another fine novella that fits perfectly into the limited space - I do appreciate writers who understand how to use the shorter format so well.

Amelia had a happy life with a man she loved, but then the Clag arrived; now she's stuck in a deserted city with a guy she can't stand, as the nasty slimy stuff from the deep bowels of the earth rises up to swamp the world....

Having just read two post apocalyptic novels that centred round human relationships and practical survival, Congeal underlined to me how many subsections this genre has; this one is far into the 'horror' end.  Amongst its many strengths, I liked the short, sharp prose style, so appropriate for the horror and despair of Amelia's situation, though not without dry humour.  I also enjoyed that those in the group with whom she found herself trying to survive—a standard in all PA stories—were not all of the likeable, resourceful, charismatic variety, as is so often the case; Pete, Maurice, Yvonne and the others were types she would have avoided like the plague (pun intended) in real life.

A good ending, too—I had no clue about Amelia's fate, even by 95%.  Anyone who has read the author's recent novella The Bledbrooke Works will enjoy the connection between the two, but both are entirely stand alone.  Oh, and one more thing - in the flashbacks to Amelia's pre-apocalypse life, she refers to her mother as 'Mom', several times.  As she is English, living in England, and her story is written by a British author, I questioned this - out of place American English is one of my 'ouches', but apparently it's a Birmingham-Irish thing as well; just making this point in case it's one of your 'ouches', too.