‘Afraid’ fast-paced horror
Most reviewers don’t like horror, be it books or movies. Why? I don’t know. Maybe they expect too much, maybe they want shimmering writing or a grand moral lesson.
For me, when it comes to horror, I just want to be entertained.
Jack Kilborn’s “Afraid” does just that.
The small town of Safe Haven, Wis., is under attack by a vicious military force. They’ve brutally murdered many of the townsfolk and are hunting those who remain. Their goal is to isolate, terrorize and annihilate the town, as well as finding one particular resident, who holds the answers to the invasion.
Kilborn crafts the book with no chapter breaks, a technique that keeps the pace on fire. The book is written in short sections, which switch from narrator to narrator, allowing readers to follow the gruesome violence as it unfolds around Safe Haven.
Fran Stauffer, closing up the diner where she works, has a nasty introduction to one of the commandos. He has killed her last customer by slashing his neck. Fran manages to get to a back window. She tries to escape through the broken glass, and just when she thinks she’s free, the killer grabs her ankle.
Seconds ticked away, and still he did nothing but hold her. The anticipation was torture.
Then his other hand touched her bare calf and began to knead it, rubbing up and down.
Fran screamed, this intimate gesture somehow ratcheting up her terror. A moment later, her shoe was pulled off. Then she felt her sock peeling down. What the hell was this guy doing?
She found out when something warm and wet enveloped her toes.
He was sucking them. ...
His teeth scraped the knuckle of her little toe, then locked around it.
Oh, Jesus, no ...
Fran’s little toe isn’t the only thing to get butchered in this gory tale, and the body count will be high by the time the commandos are done.
Kilborn uses traditional horror techniques to scare his readers: spooky noises, something grabbing out of the darkness, a character going just where the reader knows danger awaits. (Don’t do it, stupid!) But these familiar situations make the book all that more fun.
“Afraid” may not be the next “Great Gatsby,” but it certainly will keep fans of horror turning pages and coming back for more.