REVIEW: SAVAGE

SAVAGE

BY

GARY FRY

Pages: 66

Publisher: DarkFuse

Published: 10 June 2014

On the cover:

(From the publisher's website.)

Driving home one day from a conference, Daryl seeks a shortcut through a barren countryside. He chances upon a mysterious village whose residents seem rather odd. But they have something to show him—a creature so strange he can hardly believe it exists.

And that's only the beginning of Daryl's problems, as he seeks to escape something far worse than he can ever imagine.

Something utterly horrific and extremely savage.

   This novella begins with an established Horror trope. You know, the one where someone gets lost and finds themselves in a place that is both surreal and eerie. Interestingly enough, to me at least, this happens in Yorkshire, where I moved four months ago. Although I live a little bit from where this is happening, I am familiar with the type of location this is set in.

   Tropes aren't something that are inherently bad, although for some reason they are often talked about as if that was the case, and in this case Fry does use it to good effect. It doesn't really transcend the trope it starts out with though, although it does tweak the story such that it moves in a slightly unfamiliar direction.

   Fry does a very good job at building the atmosphere of the novella. Mostly he does so through the main character, Daryl, a character we learn a lot about in a short timespan. Daryl is an excellent protagonist for a story like this, and the author has made a very good choice in who he lets us see what unfolds through. It's unclear whether Daryl is shaped by the story, or the story shaped by Daryl, he is just a so good fit that the distinction between the two gets pointless to me. I'll leave it with the character and story perfectly complement each other.

   I already mentioned that the story makes some tweaks to the trope it uses. I found those to be both refreshing and unsettling. Unsettling in the way that it does somewhat mess with your preconceptions. The way it doesn't quite turn how you expect it to makes the story a bit unreal. It just feels like it is not quite right, it just doesn't do what you thought it would.

   Of course that feeling of unease is a plus for a Horror story, and it heightens the feeling of unease and suspense that the story conveys. but it was a little bit distracting at times for me. Not the fault of the author, but a disconnect between the story and my preconceptions about how this trope will move.

   The only slightly weak point in this story is the ending. It felt a little unsatisfying to me. It is not a bad ending, it was just that the rest of the story gave me expectations of something a little bit more than what I got.

   Overall, this is a good read. It accomplishes both creating a great atmosphere and letting us get very close to the main character in a very short time. It does also tell a nice little Rural Horror story that manages to be unsettling in both its familiarity and unfamiliarity.

   If you want a quick Horror read that makes good use of a familiar trope, I can recommend picking this up. It is a tale that is well worth spending a little time with.

NOTE: I got an e-ARC of this from the publisher/NetGalley

LINKS:  Gary Fry   DarkFuse

REVIEW: REAPING THE DARK

REAPING THE DARK

BY

GARY McMAHON

Pages: 74

Publisher: DarkFuse

Published: 20 May 2014

On the cover:

(From the publisher's website.)

A streetwise getaway driver…

A drug raid that ends in bloodshed…

A violent criminal hell-bent on revenge…

A secret order of occultists…

And something summoned from the darkest depths of nightmare.

Who will survive this long, dark night, and how will it change them? And what kind of horror will be born from the chaos left behind?

If the old adage is true and we reap what we sow, then only evil can be unleashed by Reaping the Dark.

   The prologue is your clue here. After that it seems like just another Heist Gone Wrong story for well over half the story's length. So let's deal with that part of the novella first.
   McMahon introduces us to Clarke, a getaway driver for a small gang robbing a drug deal. Things inevitably go wrong, this is how the story starts. We get an excellent Noir tale of the aftermath of the botched robbery in the opening of part one. This is Crime Noir fiction at its best. The dark underbelly of  a modern city is given us without any polishing, and the protagonist shows himself to be considerably less than an angel himself. The atmosphere is excellent, you can see a vivid picture of the grimy locations and really get a sense of unease as we learn what kind of life Clarke is leading.

   The tension is high in the first part of the novella, but when everything shifts to a Horror direction it is cranked up several notches. The tension from the Horror aspect doesn't completely overshadow that from the Crime Noir. Instead they feed off each other and amplify it to an almost unbearable level. This is simply a very tense read.
   When the story "switches tracks" it is almost disappointing that the game is given away by the prologue. But only almost. It struck me a little bit after finishing that some of the tension of the first half or so is actually created by what we learn in the prologue. McMahon has given us a little teaser, and then he makes us wau\it for a long time to see what is coming. Seen in retrospect it is excellently done, and it makes the Horror payoff all the more satisfying when it comes.

   I won't say much about the ending except that it does play on a familiar (, to me at least,) Urban Myth in a way that does not feel cheap. It does in some way make for an easy explanation, but when it comes it simply feels like it was the natural explanation.
   The very end of the story, before the epilogue, is excellent and chilling. It is not wholly unexpected, but it still packs a powerful punch.

   Overall this is an excellent novella that manages to create a near perfect blend of Crime Noir and Horror. It is not a very short story, but it comes with all the fat trimmed off. At no point do you feel like words are wasted.
   I will say that I think this is a novella that can be picked up by fans of both Horror and Crime Noir, and they will get a satisfying read. It is also a story I would not hesitate to recommend to any fan of SFF or Crime. McMahon has simply written a great novella that will give you a tension-filled and satisfying hour or two.

NOTE: I got an e-ARC of this from the publisher/NetGalley

LINKS: Gary McMahon   DarkFuse