The Sleep - Jim Goforth 5/5 stars
I was given a sneak peek of The Sleep and should've reviewed this already, but I'm a bit of a slacker when it comes to prompt reviews. I did enjoy this one a lot, and feel that as a writer, Jim is finally hitting his stride. Each novel is better than the one before it, but you can still see who his influences are, yet it doesn't come off as a rip off at all. This is dark, classic horror, with a simple plot, and enough violence to keep fans happy. The Sleeper is the sort of novel that makes you look at thunderstorms in a different way. We know how powerful they are, but then Jim comes along and gives you something new to fear. This is the mark of a great writer. Instead of latching onto the latest trend, or retreading ideas that already exist, Jim creates something unique, and yes quite terrifying.
The Sleep feels like a movie in book form, and it moves at a steady clip. You are pulled into the story and like the characters, you're a part of the action. It seems like a simple tale dealing with urban legends, but it's far more devious than that. Each character has their own reasons for embarking on this trip, and of course those reasons are totally selfish. Once the Beaststorms begin, you can almost hear Jim giggling as he literally unleashes hell. If you like you're horror dark, you've come to the right place. If you're at all squeamish, well you should just read something else. What's in these storms will give you nightmares.
Goforth layers his novel with violence, and gore, but there's a compelling story here. That's what makes The Sleep so good. It's a dark, gritty novel that reminds us that it's the things we can't see that are the most terrifying. When it comes to horror no one writes like Goforth. This is a guy that takes the genre back to it's early days of true terror, and suspense, and writes like a man possessed. This is the future of horror and each novel gets him one step closer to mainstream success.
I was given a sneak peek of The Sleep and should've reviewed this already, but I'm a bit of a slacker when it comes to prompt reviews. I did enjoy this one a lot, and feel that as a writer, Jim is finally hitting his stride. Each novel is better than the one before it, but you can still see who his influences are, yet it doesn't come off as a rip off at all. This is dark, classic horror, with a simple plot, and enough violence to keep fans happy. The Sleeper is the sort of novel that makes you look at thunderstorms in a different way. We know how powerful they are, but then Jim comes along and gives you something new to fear. This is the mark of a great writer. Instead of latching onto the latest trend, or retreading ideas that already exist, Jim creates something unique, and yes quite terrifying.
The Sleep feels like a movie in book form, and it moves at a steady clip. You are pulled into the story and like the characters, you're a part of the action. It seems like a simple tale dealing with urban legends, but it's far more devious than that. Each character has their own reasons for embarking on this trip, and of course those reasons are totally selfish. Once the Beaststorms begin, you can almost hear Jim giggling as he literally unleashes hell. If you like you're horror dark, you've come to the right place. If you're at all squeamish, well you should just read something else. What's in these storms will give you nightmares.
Goforth layers his novel with violence, and gore, but there's a compelling story here. That's what makes The Sleep so good. It's a dark, gritty novel that reminds us that it's the things we can't see that are the most terrifying. When it comes to horror no one writes like Goforth. This is a guy that takes the genre back to it's early days of true terror, and suspense, and writes like a man possessed. This is the future of horror and each novel gets him one step closer to mainstream success.
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