Beautifully written, swiftly paced and brutal, oh so brutal.
I’m finally back to catching up on book reviews! Nick Youker, the author of today’s book, submitted this for review a year ago. Yeah… That’s exactly why I’m accepting fewer reviews this year. Ya’ll deserve way better turn around. Regardless, here’s
Land of the Hoosier Dawn
Written by: Nick Younker
Genre: Horror, Supernatural, Mystery, Splatter Punk
Publishing Info: Fogstow Jamison Press (March 17, 2016)
Book Description: “October, 1993. Police chief Linton Derr was living in a tiny river town in Southern Indiana when a fog cloud rose out of the noxious Ohio River and laid siege to it. For a few quick moments, some of the townsfolk were trapped inside its ominous mist, writhing in violent pain, before it rolled past and dissolved.
The next day, those people awoke to a new dawn and their lives would be forever changed. They had emerged as sentient beings in rapidly changing bodies and the town of Fogstow, Indiana became ground zero for the new Hoosier Dawn. [amazon.com]
Overall
It was a little hard getting into this story at first. It felt a little too much like a research paper at the beginning, but as soon as the focus shifts from setting the doomed atmosphere and onto the characters it quickly gains momentum. The great thing about this book is that you know something horrible is going to happen to this adorable small town, but you have no idea what happens or what the cause of it is. The tension leading up to the big moment is thick. So you spend the first half of the book waiting for the other shoe to drop, and trying to see if you can figure out how it’s all going to turn out.
The Characters are the stars here
There are some beautifully crafted characters in the book. A whole town’s worth of them in fact. Police Chief Linton Derr is the pivotal character, but there are so many great ones who make the book worth reading. Love interests, abusive parents, neglected fathers, years old friendships, and spunky groups of kids that would feel right at home in “IT” by Stephen King. They all play a beautiful role in this novel and it’s the relationships between the characters in this book that makes the horror so tragic, the struggle so tangible.
Although, be prepared to hate the author at times. Because you end up on an emotional roller-coaster thanks to these expertly written characters. I don’t want to spoil those moments of slamming the book closed. But I will say this happened for me multiple times, because I was so attached to certain characters. I’m still mourning their loss.
Scenes that will stick with me
If you’re ok with the emotional roller-coaster and are looking for something that taps into your splatter punk fascination. Then you are going to adore this book. It’s the scenes where the fog takes over the town that you’ll be left playing back through your mind. They’re so vividly written it’s going to be hard to get them out of your mind. It’s some seriously next level gross-out. *shudders* Everyone the fog touches goes through a violent transformation and what is created has such a stomach churning hunger for violence that I could hardly stand to read those sections.
Verdict
For the splatter punk fans out there and people who want to read a well written and ruthlessly violent book, it really is a 5 blood spattered star read. Clive Barker fans, you’re going to love this.
Triggers that are also spoilers
Rape, child abuse, cannibalism, death, lots and lots of horrible violent death that with make you holler at the pages.
Find a Copy
Connect with the Author
fogstowjamison.com ♦ @NYounker ♦ Facebook
Horror Made 