BOOK REVIEW: Creature by Hunter Shea

BOOK REVIEW: Creature by Hunter Shea

Flame Tree Press – Fiction Without Frontiers
September 2018
Paperback, £9.95
Reviewed by Steph O’Connell

Horror / Supernatural

8/10

She had been in worse shape before. Much worse. Last rites and funeral arrangements kind of shape. Kate had come out of it like a modern-day Lazarus.
But she was tired. And hurting. And sick. Always so, so sick. She’d forgotten what it was like to wake up and not be in agony, muscles weak as a newborn’s.

The monsters live inside of Kate Woodson. Chronic pain and a host of autoimmune diseases have robbed her of a normal, happy life. Her husband Andrew’s surprise of their dream Maine lake cottage for the summer is the gift of a lifetime. It’s beautiful, remote, idyllic, a place to heal. But they are not alone. Something is in the woods, screeching in the darkness, banging on the house, leaving animals for dead. Just like her body, Kate’s cottage becomes her prison. She and Andrew must fight to survive the creature that lurks in the dead of night.

 

 

It’s hard to use the word “enjoy” to describe a reading experience which is unflinching and rather uncomfortable in its dealing with autoimmune and chronic pain issues, but there is something incredibly real and engaging in this story by Hunter Shea. 

The characters and their relationships feel like they could easily exist in the real world, and perhaps this is in part due to his own close connection with the subject matter, and the fact that his wife has her own host of autoimmune issues… so he’s been through his own private horror story on the subject 

Time, he felt, was closing in, gaining weight, incorporating into something that would take up more and more space. Like a child throwing a temper tantrum, it refused to be ignored. Time was both coming for them and running out. It had become a living, breathing entity, daring Andrew to look in its depthless eyes.

Some of the events were easy to predict and it was just a matter of waiting for the characters to catch up, but not in the incredibly frustrating way in which some books handle this, but other elements surrounding these predictions still kept this reader guessing.

On the one hand this is a story that looks unflinchingly at the struggles and emotions in a relationship where one partner deals with a chronic condition, inviting the reader into their lives. On the other hand, it’s a horror story (both body horror and other) that pulls absolutely no punches, and delivers one heck of a ride.

This was my first time reading Hunter Shea, it will not be my last.

 

 

Fiction Without Frontiers is a new imprint from Flame Tree Press with a focus towards horror, supernatural, crime, mystery thrillers, science fiction, and fantasy. 
This imprint was launched in September of 2018, with 6 titles from well known and emerging writers within the aforementioned genres, and another three titles releasing in October.
To find out more about Fiction Without Frontiers and their titles, visit their website, HERE!
Be sure to check back here regularly, as we will be reviewing the Fiction Without Frontiers range.

Category: Book Reviews, Other Reviews