Scan barcode
mxsallybend's review against another edition
4.0
What happens when found footage and cursed videos meet creepypasta Internet memes? When Slender Man becomes The Screamer? Ask Terry West, because he knows . . . and he’s not afraid to share all the grisly details.
Of course, in an age of cloud computing and steaming media, cursed VHS tapes are a quaint memory. So, how do you keep the cursed footage genre alive? If you’re talking Transfer, then you take that technology and make it a part of the story. Howie and Nick are media professionals, digitizing and restoring amateur video footage, working in cloud folders, and bantering over their work when they discover an incomprehensible file.
It appears from nowhere. It has no time coding. It can’t be re-watched. It can’t even be recorded on a cell phone. And the nauseating, blood-curdling scream of its monstrous star cannot be contained by volume controls or mute buttons. It’s impossible. It can’t exist. And the two men are obsessed.
Because of them, because of their camaraderie and their intensity, this story gets under your skin and in your head. We want answers as much as they do, but the more we know, the less we want them to keep searching. It’s too dangerous, and the stakes are literally life and death.
The grainy, poorly lit footage of the green room with its cannibalistic inhabitants and moss-covered graves is creepy enough on its own, but when it begins infecting real life, that’s when the story gets interesting.
https://femledfantasy.home.blog/2019/12/09/book-review-transfer-by-terry-m-west/
Of course, in an age of cloud computing and steaming media, cursed VHS tapes are a quaint memory. So, how do you keep the cursed footage genre alive? If you’re talking Transfer, then you take that technology and make it a part of the story. Howie and Nick are media professionals, digitizing and restoring amateur video footage, working in cloud folders, and bantering over their work when they discover an incomprehensible file.
It appears from nowhere. It has no time coding. It can’t be re-watched. It can’t even be recorded on a cell phone. And the nauseating, blood-curdling scream of its monstrous star cannot be contained by volume controls or mute buttons. It’s impossible. It can’t exist. And the two men are obsessed.
Because of them, because of their camaraderie and their intensity, this story gets under your skin and in your head. We want answers as much as they do, but the more we know, the less we want them to keep searching. It’s too dangerous, and the stakes are literally life and death.
The grainy, poorly lit footage of the green room with its cannibalistic inhabitants and moss-covered graves is creepy enough on its own, but when it begins infecting real life, that’s when the story gets interesting.
https://femledfantasy.home.blog/2019/12/09/book-review-transfer-by-terry-m-west/
paulataua's review
2.0
Howie and Nick work the late shift at a video transfer and media services when a strange AVI clip appears. They watch and then it mysteriously disappears. Each night another clip arrives and they are slowly drawn in. The story then slowly builds right up to its pretty weak ending. Two stars tells it all.
slimeandslashers's review
mysterious
3.5
3.5 rounded up for GR. This is a short and creepy story that is easy to digest in one sitting!
howlinglibraries's review against another edition
5.0
He heard the whispers from the darkness. It sounded like a hundred voices — a hundred ghosts — calling his name.
I've been meaning to check out Terry M. West's work for years, and own a few of his books on my kindle, but somehow hadn't read anything until Transfer—and I'm only mad at myself for waiting so long, because wow, I am such an instant fan.
Transfer follows a couple of guys who work overnights in a video editing shop, where they pass the time in fairly mundane ways—that is, until they start finding unnatural video clips intermingled with their other files each night, each evening's snippet growing more and more sinister and strange. It begins to completely consume Howie and Nick until they can't possibly walk away, and the two men decide they have to know where these files are coming from.
I was absolutely blown away by how powerful of a punch this tiny novella packed. The characters immediately draw you in, and the fear element is so... primal, for lack of a better word. It felt like the terrors being described in this story were simultaneously incredibly modern, given their relation to technology, and yet so deep-rooted in me that I couldn't imagine having not been chilled to the core by the descriptions Terry offers of this wicked, cruel threat. I'm honestly an incredibly difficult reader to rattle, but for a couple of days after finishing this novella, I kept finding my thoughts drifting back to this awful creature and it unsettled me a little every time.
Whether you love horror novellas or are brand new to the format, Transfer is one you can't afford to miss. It's original, brutal, and downright horrifying — truly, Terry's imagination is twisted in the best way and I can't wait to read more from him.
All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to the author for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
5hadow_girl's review against another edition
The wait is over!
The pre-release of TRANSFER showing up in the New Releases section of my Kindle has been driving me batty!
Now that the wait is over, I already devoured it.
The throwback cover and creepypasta vibe are awesome. (Yes, I was a creepypasta fan... don't judge.)
The setting at the video transfer store, (night-shift!), is the perfect backdrop. I was sucked in instantly.
The pre-release of TRANSFER showing up in the New Releases section of my Kindle has been driving me batty!
Now that the wait is over, I already devoured it.
The throwback cover and creepypasta vibe are awesome. (Yes, I was a creepypasta fan... don't judge.)
The setting at the video transfer store, (night-shift!), is the perfect backdrop. I was sucked in instantly.
thebookdreamersalley's review
4.0
This book was sent to me on exchange for an honest review (which will later be on my blog).
I really enjoyed this book!
I must set a warning for language, but I have no issue with that.
Perfect length and natural dialogues, credible and well-rounded characters that get to your heart, good sense of humour that keep you stick to the pages from beginning to end.
A great horror story with a stereotyped epilogue you wouldn't want to miss if you're into this genre!!!
Highly recommended.
Thanks, Terry!
I really enjoyed this book!
I must set a warning for language, but I have no issue with that.
Perfect length and natural dialogues, credible and well-rounded characters that get to your heart, good sense of humour that keep you stick to the pages from beginning to end.
A great horror story with a stereotyped epilogue you wouldn't want to miss if you're into this genre!!!
Highly recommended.
Thanks, Terry!
More...