Reviews

The Potted Plant by Thomas Gloom

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beadzombie's review

3.0

The story was as expected, with a plant much like Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors, but the ending was very disappointing.

This one missed the mark for me. I found the ending of this novella to be disappointing. The main character was sympathetic initially, but the more I read, the more I disliked how he was written. The story itself is solid, for the most part, with a killer plant reminiscent of Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors, with a twist. I was looking for a good horror novella, but this didn't quite hit the spot.

michael_benavidez's review

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4.0

Take Little Shop of Horrors but make Seymour an unforgiving asshole that you really don't want to root for (hehe root). In fact, just make the main character this absolutely hell-bent on revenge guy that's been wronged, and you've got yourself Thomas Gloom's latest novella.

Reading like something that feels apart of Tales from The Crypt, we're given the ugly side of being wronged. Where the main character doesn't just forgive and grow as a person, but instead festers in their sad sack ways, lets it grow (much like a plant, let's say) and lets it take them over completely, we're put in a ride that's imaginative, and twisted.

The story is pretty straight forward. Our protagonist is wronged by two important people, a juju magic sex queen gives him a chance and ability for revenge, and we follow that. No spoilers, but you can imagine how such a thing would go, and Gloom writes it with all the pent up emotions one would feel when refusing to let it go.

I do think that I let myself down in expecting a twist. I had reached the end, wanting and expecting to see it go wrong for the M.C because let's face it, he's a pretty horrible man in his own right. However, as I read this in one sitting, getting my face closer to the book as I got more invested, ready to see it bite him in the ass, it ended. I was blue balled. While I'm pretty impressed with him leaving it at such peak moment, I really REEALLLY wanted more, the after.

As a whole it's quality Gloom as is everything he does. If you've liked his other works, this is a nice follow, and a quick read to occupy the time while you wait for his other work to come out.