Genre: Horror
Publisher: Limitless Publishing LLC
Publication Date: 8th Dec 2015
Pages: 306
MY REVIEW:
A copy of Dwelling
(Subdue Book 1) was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author Thomas
S Flowers in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is
published by Limitless Publishing LLC.
Thomas S Flowers III. It’s a name you may not be familiar
with. I have only read one other thing he has written which was his short story
Lanmo in the wonderful anthology, The Black Room Manuscripts from The
Sinister Horror Company. You can read the full review, which includes the Lanmo review here. I absolutely loved Lanmo. It was one of my favourites in
the book so when I got the chance to read Dwelling
I jumped at it.
Little did I know that this book would affect me in oh so
many ways.
A group of friends who have been together since their
childhood are now adults, with troubles they could never have foreseen when
they formed the “Suicide Squad” back in 1995.
With lives affected by war, in so many devastating and
different ways, physical and psychological problems are slowly becoming the
least of the group’s worries.
When Maggie moves into 1475 Oak Lee Road, an evil is
unleashed. An evil hell bent on bringing the friends back together. An evil
hell bent on destroying everything.
Our main characters in this story are five friends that
have known each other since childhood. In many ways they are stereotypical of
the types of people who would be brought together in a group. This is not a
negative. In many respects it is a huge positive because we will all relate to
someone within the group.
We have Ricky and Jonathan. They have stuck together
through thick and thin and even joined the army together. It’s no secret that
Ricky dies and Jonathan is left with the scars from the battle, both physical
and psychological. His torment is just beginning. Ricky’s wife Maggie was
always left behind when he was overseas. Now she is left behind to pick up the
pieces after his death. Again mental torment is her biggest demon. Jake was the
quiet one of the group and is now a Presbyterian minister. His demons force him
into a life of vice to fill the void his fading faith leaves within his soul.
Bobby is on the run, from his friends and from himself. Particularly his “other” self.
This story is a masterclass on character writing. From
the very outset you can relate to every single person in this story. Every
single one of them is genuine in their makeup and their actions making them
some of the most believable characters I have ever read about. Thomas S Flowers
has got this part of his writing exactly right. In this Book One of the series,
you spend time meeting the characters and getting inside their heads, quite
literally. Some of the scenes where the individual characters are searching
deep within their minds and souls for answers, are mesmerising. Absolutely
stunningly jaw dropping.
The plot is something you don’t know an awful lot about
at this stage because this is Book One. You do find out where the evil is, but
not a lot about what the evil is, or
why it is doing what it is doing. You know where it is going to lead in Book
Two and what it wants people to do but where it is going to actually go is anybody’s
guess.
One thing I can say with absolute certainty is that the
writing in this book is top notch. This is up there with the best in terms of
character building and also building the tension and excitement and mystery and
intrigue for what is going to happen further into the story.
Jonathan’s part of the story in particular, affected me
in a way that, emotionally, I have not felt in a long long time when reading a
book. He suffers from PTSD and the early scenes describing the turmoil he is going
through within his head are truly amazing. I have to admit to shedding a couple
of tears when reading this book early on. I know Mr Flowers served in the
military so I can only guess at how much he actually saw and how much of what
he saw rears its ugly head in this book but in terms of trying to get across
what someone suffering from PTSD has to go through on a daily basis, I think he
got this 100% spot on. It’s harrowing to read. It’s horrific.
If it was your intention to highlight the trials of someone
with PTSD Mr Flowers, then bravo sir. You convinced me of how horrific it must
be for people without over sensationalising it to the point where it sounded
unbelievable. This aspect of the book should give a lot of people a lot of food
for thought. It certainly did for me.
But that’s not all the story is about. It is a horror
story after all. Again with this being Book One, it’s all about building things
up. It’s all about introducing you to the main players and setting the scene
for what is to come. Once again this could not have been done any better.
You know there is evil. You know where it is. You sort of
know what it wants. You have no idea how it is going to get there or what its
ultimate goal is. Add into this a few sub plots and ghosts running around and
seemingly haunting every person in the book, no matter where they are, you have
a story that is building perfectly into what is an extremely emotional,
chilling and very creepy tale.
This definitely has the potential to turn into a perfect
horror story in the truest form of
the word. A story that will take a while to come to its conclusion over a few
books that I’m sure will keep everyone who reads it gripped to the very end.
This is old skool horror writing at its best from a new kid on the block who
will definitely take a watching in future.
To summarise: a horror story that has epic written all over it. From
emotionally draining scenes of war and post war to surreal scenes of ghosts to
super creepy scenes of evil trying to escape its lair. This story has it all.
Superb.
General rating:
★★★★★ very easy full marks!
Horror rating:
★★★★★ as above!
If you would like to help support Confessions of a Reviewer,
then please consider using the links below to buy Dwelling (Subdue Book 1) or any other books from Thomas. This
not only supports me but also lets me know how many people actually like to buy
books after reading my reviews.
Thanks.
Book Synopsis:
A group of inseparable childhood friends are now adults,
physically and psychologically devastated by war…
A horrifying creature emerges from a sandstorm just
before Ricky Smith dies in battle. Forced to leave base housing, his widow
Maggie buys a home on Oak Lee Road in the town of Jotham. Maggie is isolated in
the historic house…and disconcerted by strange clicking sounds inside the
walls.
Jonathan Steele attempts to drink the painful past away…
Jonathan was wounded in that fateful battle and now
suffers from PTSD. He wants to put the nightmare behind him, but when Ricky’s
ghost appears with cryptic warnings about Maggie’s house, he begins to question
his sanity.
Bobby Weeks is a homeless veteran struggling with a
lycanthropic curse…
Afraid of bringing harm, Bobby stays far away from those
he loves. But after a full moon, a mysterious woman approaches him and reveals
a vision about a house with a sinister presence, and he realizes staying away
might no longer be an option.
Minister Jake Williams lost his faith on the battlefield…
While Jake will do anything to reconnect with God, he
turns to vices to fill the religious void. But a church elder urges him to take
a sabbatical, and a ghost tells him to quit the ministry, and his life is more
out of control than ever.
When Maggie wakes in a strange subterranean cavern, she
can’t deny her home harbors dark secrets. Desperate, she sends letters to her
old friends to reunite in Jotham, and events conspire to draw them all to the
house…unaware of the danger awaiting them.
The friends have already been through hell, but can any
of them survive the evil dwelling beneath the House on Oak Lee?
Thomas
is living a rather simple and quite life with his beautiful wife and amazing
daughter, just south of Houston, Texas.
And
for more about Thomas, visit his site or find him on social media:
Website – Facebook – Twitter – Goodreads – Amazon Page
No comments:
Post a Comment