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redrubies's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
alwroteabook's review against another edition
5.0
Five star first half, three star ending - full review here - https://www.alwroteabook.com/2020/04/10/we-are-monsters-by-brian-kirk/
the_coycaterpillar_reads's review against another edition
4.0
We Are Monsters is Brian Kirk’s debut novel and what a debut it is. The walk of sanity is a knife-edge. One slip and you can tumble to your death via a savage tumbling that cracks you open. Coping mechanisms may not be healthy and realities shift. One day you are a fully functioning individual, the next you are embarking on a divine mission to rid the world of demonic evil. Is sanity truly sane? Why were people committed to insane asylums for teenage pregnancy, infidelity and mild depression…are the realms of diagnosing insanity moral/accurate? When the real apocalypse arrives and if it’s anything close to this, dig a hole and throw yourself in because that is your only chance at survival.
Brian Kirk tackles some real hard-hitting themes – mental health, radical research which has immoral connotations and psychiatric treatments. The book is primarily told in the perspectives of Alex (Psychiatrist), Eli (Chief Medical Director) and Alison (Social Worker). Dr Eli Alpert has built his stellar reputation at Sugar Hill Hospital for his humanistic approach to mental health treatment. He believes that compassion and drug free methods has a higher success and relapse rate rather than purely medicinal treatments. He has a dark and troubling past which comes back to haunt him.
Dr Alex Drexler has constantly pissing against the wind. You really got to feel for the guy. He is at the top of his game, waiting in the wings for Eli to retire and capture the end goal of Chief Medical Director Position. Both Alex and Eli have different ethos. Alex having formulated a medicine that could potentially cure Schizophrenia. If only it wasn’t for that pesky issue of testing on humans without backing. His marriage, his career and his financial stability is riding upon this being regulated. The scenes with Dr Drexler testing his medicine gave me major anxiety. My eyes watered, my heart wanted to escape, and my stomach felt like it was on the super spin cycle.
Sugar Hill is seriously creepy. Chills down your spine, skulking along the corridors awaiting an axe murderer to end you. It restricts your breathing, engages your fight or flight response. Fear is an icy sweat. Fear is imagination losing all semblance of sanity. Fear is a broken psyche. This book gave me serious Gothika and Shutter Island feels. Brian Kirk is nerve-splittingly brilliant at examining the human condition. He has pulled back the layers of life to highlight how mental health is shoestring – pull too hard and it’ll break.
The second half of the book really goes into top gear. It’s on steroids. Just when you think that you know the remits of sanity, you are smacked across the face with a 2×4. It’s not the monsters that we should be fearful of…It’s insanity. It’s raw and excruciating, but at the end of it all it is indescribably human. It gains traction, it’s unique and terrifying.
Brian Kirk has created a true skin crawler. We Are Monsters has disguised itself as the most unapologetic trojan horse. If you enjoy deep, psyche breaking horror, this should hit the spot.
Brian Kirk tackles some real hard-hitting themes – mental health, radical research which has immoral connotations and psychiatric treatments. The book is primarily told in the perspectives of Alex (Psychiatrist), Eli (Chief Medical Director) and Alison (Social Worker). Dr Eli Alpert has built his stellar reputation at Sugar Hill Hospital for his humanistic approach to mental health treatment. He believes that compassion and drug free methods has a higher success and relapse rate rather than purely medicinal treatments. He has a dark and troubling past which comes back to haunt him.
Dr Alex Drexler has constantly pissing against the wind. You really got to feel for the guy. He is at the top of his game, waiting in the wings for Eli to retire and capture the end goal of Chief Medical Director Position. Both Alex and Eli have different ethos. Alex having formulated a medicine that could potentially cure Schizophrenia. If only it wasn’t for that pesky issue of testing on humans without backing. His marriage, his career and his financial stability is riding upon this being regulated. The scenes with Dr Drexler testing his medicine gave me major anxiety. My eyes watered, my heart wanted to escape, and my stomach felt like it was on the super spin cycle.
Sugar Hill is seriously creepy. Chills down your spine, skulking along the corridors awaiting an axe murderer to end you. It restricts your breathing, engages your fight or flight response. Fear is an icy sweat. Fear is imagination losing all semblance of sanity. Fear is a broken psyche. This book gave me serious Gothika and Shutter Island feels. Brian Kirk is nerve-splittingly brilliant at examining the human condition. He has pulled back the layers of life to highlight how mental health is shoestring – pull too hard and it’ll break.
The second half of the book really goes into top gear. It’s on steroids. Just when you think that you know the remits of sanity, you are smacked across the face with a 2×4. It’s not the monsters that we should be fearful of…It’s insanity. It’s raw and excruciating, but at the end of it all it is indescribably human. It gains traction, it’s unique and terrifying.
Brian Kirk has created a true skin crawler. We Are Monsters has disguised itself as the most unapologetic trojan horse. If you enjoy deep, psyche breaking horror, this should hit the spot.
kirkw1972's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this debut psychological horror. I looked at the reviews beforehand it they seem quite polarised. You never quite know what to expect when that happens but I’m erring on the positive side. It’s a book of two parts with the first setting the scene of Alex testing his untried miracle cure for schizophrenia on first his brother and then a crazy serial killer. However the serum allows the patient to create new worlds which are transferred onto others. It’s a thought provoking piece and complicated in some areas complicated (and if you’ve read any of my reviews before I’m no good with science) but I followed enough to be creeped out with what was happening. People need to accept pasts, reconcile themselves with their less than desirable personality traits and so on. It all gets very crazy so fitting it’s set in a mental health facility.
My one fault is there wasn’t enough of the POV from the serial killer. I felt his story was covered and resolved a bit too quickly but that’s a small bug bear as I enjoyed the rest of it. A good debut and looking forward to what the author does next
My one fault is there wasn’t enough of the POV from the serial killer. I felt his story was covered and resolved a bit too quickly but that’s a small bug bear as I enjoyed the rest of it. A good debut and looking forward to what the author does next
johnlynchbooks's review against another edition
4.0
We are Monsters, by Brian Kirk is the latest flametree release. This one a reprint of Debut previously published through the now defunct Samhain. If you haven’t read it, it’s time to fix that.
The Apocalypse Killer, recently deemed unfit to stand trial by way of insanity has been sent to Sugar Hill Psychiatric hospital for treatment. Dr. Alan Drexler is developing a cutting edge drug that help cure schizophrenia. Things look to be going Drexler’s way, but there are unforeseen side effects.
I was blown away by how much I enjoyed We are Monsters. I mentioned this to people while I was reading it, and I’ll say it here in this review. This book doesn’t read like an authors debut. It’s well thought out. Kirk spends a good portion of the book building his characters and the world they live in. This causes to make the first half read a bit slow, but I’m ok with that. You can’t complain about books with under-developed characters but complain when an author takes the time to actually develop his book.
As I said before, the characters are well done. As for the rest of the book? Once the ball gets rolling it really picks up steam. It would have been very easy for this book to go off the rails, and it does but just enough to make it a good kind of crazy. Kirk never loses control of his story, he gives it room to go nuts without ruining what he built in the first half.
I’m being a bit vague here, and that’s by design. I want to stay as spoiler free as possible. Fans of psychological horror MUST read this book.
The whole time I was reading this I would think to myself, this is what a horror movie written by Christopher Nolan would be like. I mean that in the best way possible. BUY THIS BOOK.
4.5 stars
The Apocalypse Killer, recently deemed unfit to stand trial by way of insanity has been sent to Sugar Hill Psychiatric hospital for treatment. Dr. Alan Drexler is developing a cutting edge drug that help cure schizophrenia. Things look to be going Drexler’s way, but there are unforeseen side effects.
I was blown away by how much I enjoyed We are Monsters. I mentioned this to people while I was reading it, and I’ll say it here in this review. This book doesn’t read like an authors debut. It’s well thought out. Kirk spends a good portion of the book building his characters and the world they live in. This causes to make the first half read a bit slow, but I’m ok with that. You can’t complain about books with under-developed characters but complain when an author takes the time to actually develop his book.
As I said before, the characters are well done. As for the rest of the book? Once the ball gets rolling it really picks up steam. It would have been very easy for this book to go off the rails, and it does but just enough to make it a good kind of crazy. Kirk never loses control of his story, he gives it room to go nuts without ruining what he built in the first half.
I’m being a bit vague here, and that’s by design. I want to stay as spoiler free as possible. Fans of psychological horror MUST read this book.
The whole time I was reading this I would think to myself, this is what a horror movie written by Christopher Nolan would be like. I mean that in the best way possible. BUY THIS BOOK.
4.5 stars
allred's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
I really liked this book in terms of its themes and the way it plays with the idea of insanity and reality but i thought it could have been scarier- it felt more like a fever dream than a horror fever dream and I kind of wish it felt more gripping.
none the less, fun to read would definitely recommend
there is a tw for attempted rape/trauma from csa so be warned
none the less, fun to read would definitely recommend
there is a tw for attempted rape/trauma from csa so be warned
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Rape
anniebartelsollosy's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
It started good and scary/gory but then got weird… I was hoping he would pull it all together so I kept with it but I don't feel like he did. I also was left a bit confused about something he tried to clarify and felt like I had questions. I feel like it basically ruined the good beginning part... which is too bad as it started out pretty good and scary.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Sexual assault
kmk182's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the characters and the writing was decent. However, I felt the book was pretty scattered. Going back and forth between an almost soap opera power struggle at a hospital, testing of a medicine, and a potential supernatural element. There was just too much going on and not in a good keep me guessing way.
sparethebs's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you Netgalley, Flame Tree Press and Brian Kirk for allowing me to read this advance copy in exchange for an honest review
Honestly, I didn't know what the heck to expect. I saw the words asylum and horror and stopped reading the synopsis from there. Well, first let me say I'm not a big fan of dystopian or any zombie kind of books/movies. Second let me say, this book just may have changed my mind!
The author took his time and developed the characters in a way that made you care about them. The patients are not always the one that have "issues" in an asylum. The very ones taking care of them may have much more serious things that are hidden away in their subconscious.
This book to me was more than just a horror or dystopian theme. It makes you think that not all monsters are make believe. We all have a little monster in us, it's just how we choose to live our lives and deal with those monsters that make us who we are.
Well done Mr. Kirk, you converted me :)
Honestly, I didn't know what the heck to expect. I saw the words asylum and horror and stopped reading the synopsis from there. Well, first let me say I'm not a big fan of dystopian or any zombie kind of books/movies. Second let me say, this book just may have changed my mind!
The author took his time and developed the characters in a way that made you care about them. The patients are not always the one that have "issues" in an asylum. The very ones taking care of them may have much more serious things that are hidden away in their subconscious.
This book to me was more than just a horror or dystopian theme. It makes you think that not all monsters are make believe. We all have a little monster in us, it's just how we choose to live our lives and deal with those monsters that make us who we are.
Well done Mr. Kirk, you converted me :)
memnoch's review against another edition
2.0
Disappointed. Great premise and it started out great. Slowly went down hill and was a struggle to finish.