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gray_reader_89's review
4.0
Reading this book while dealing with the real-world repercussions of an administration who did not take the pandemic seriously was very surreal. The beginning hit very close to home and then the story evolved into what could possibly happen if things didn’t improve.
I liked the characters and the devolution into madness with no help available. There were some time related issues that bothered me and I’m not so sure about the ending - but overall this was very readable and a story that will stick with me for quite a while.
I liked the characters and the devolution into madness with no help available. There were some time related issues that bothered me and I’m not so sure about the ending - but overall this was very readable and a story that will stick with me for quite a while.
pap3rcut__'s review
5.0
"Stephen King's The Stand could literally be the death of her."
When we started 2020 words such as pandemic and social distancing wasn't mentioned on a day to day basis but now it's a way of life. In times of a pandemic I thought it would be a great idea to escape in books and read about a pandemic...
The Fear is a pandemic based horror loosely inspired on the Covid-19 situation but much more dramatic and horrific as we follow Jacqueline (Jack) and Ashley (Ash) alone in a small apartment with The Fear. The women slowly become restless and paranoid and lash out at each other as Jack slowly loses her mind, resulting in her shutting herself away as she convinces herself the virus is inside her becoming more erratic.
This was a brilliant book and I thoroughly enjoyed it and I know for sure a lot of you guys would enjoy it too. The descreptive language was superb I especially enjoyed the description of Jack's swelling feet. I was left shocked and repulsed. I must mention the Cardigan man what a brilliant character which I felt amplified the sporadity of Jack as a character and brought a different dimension of horror to the novel. I felt like the Cardigan man was Jack's devil on her shoulder. As the book develops Jack becomes more delerious leaving Ash in a difficult situation does she protect herself or the woman she loves.
This book excelled in psychological horror as its heavily influenced on paranoia and claustrophobia which at times left me feeling uneasy. That being said this book is heavily character driven thankfully the two main characters gave us a greater insight into how the human mind copes with isolation and change. I often find horror books are difficult to end and feel that they finish abruptly but with The Fear the last couple chapters were probably the best and it ended naturally.
When we started 2020 words such as pandemic and social distancing wasn't mentioned on a day to day basis but now it's a way of life. In times of a pandemic I thought it would be a great idea to escape in books and read about a pandemic...
The Fear is a pandemic based horror loosely inspired on the Covid-19 situation but much more dramatic and horrific as we follow Jacqueline (Jack) and Ashley (Ash) alone in a small apartment with The Fear. The women slowly become restless and paranoid and lash out at each other as Jack slowly loses her mind, resulting in her shutting herself away as she convinces herself the virus is inside her becoming more erratic.
This was a brilliant book and I thoroughly enjoyed it and I know for sure a lot of you guys would enjoy it too. The descreptive language was superb I especially enjoyed the description of Jack's swelling feet. I was left shocked and repulsed. I must mention the Cardigan man what a brilliant character which I felt amplified the sporadity of Jack as a character and brought a different dimension of horror to the novel. I felt like the Cardigan man was Jack's devil on her shoulder. As the book develops Jack becomes more delerious leaving Ash in a difficult situation does she protect herself or the woman she loves.
This book excelled in psychological horror as its heavily influenced on paranoia and claustrophobia which at times left me feeling uneasy. That being said this book is heavily character driven thankfully the two main characters gave us a greater insight into how the human mind copes with isolation and change. I often find horror books are difficult to end and feel that they finish abruptly but with The Fear the last couple chapters were probably the best and it ended naturally.
coco_carre's review
4.0
Jacqueline (“Jack”) and Ashley move to Austin in order to start a new life together, away from their toxic families. But after Jack is attacked by a homophobe their first night in the city, she begins to see him everywhere, and Ashley is unable to tell if her wife's sightings of him are real or psychosomatic. Just as Jack is able to cope again, the coronavirus shutdown happens—and Ashley begins to see the attacker, too.
The main strength of this book is that it gives a very frank, warts-and-all depiction of trauma. Jack’s severe response to being brutally attacked while defending her wife doesn’t depict her as a saint, and it’s only with gradual steps forward that she’s able to get slightly better. The amount of disassociating, trouble focusing on work, and difficulty relating to her wife is absolutely realistic to her condition. In her more lucid moments, she also is able to realize that her response is hard on her wife, and feels guilt for not being able to do more, which creates a downward spiral, borne out of fear that Ashley will leave her.
These are all very familiar traps and patterns of someone suffering severe post-traumatic stress disorder, and Ashley’s side, which is also common but taboo to speak of, is also realistic. Ashley helps Jack selflessly but stretches herself to a breaking point in order to do so, while also enabling Jack’s illness – getting her concrete help isn’t brought up until far after it’s a possibility. The combination of factors here leads to a nightmare situation in their apartment. The psychological horror of the mental prison they find themselves in is compelling, and I finished the book in one sitting due to wanting to know how much worse it could get.
As for weaknesses: I felt that the ending of the book was much stronger than the beginning – the pacing of the first few chapters is extremely slow, and the dialogue feels less genuine than it does by the end of the book. I think that, in trying to be sensitive and not fetishizing of a lesbian relationship, the author used phrases like “the hottest sex ever” to describe the two love scenes between Jack and Ashley, while later scenes are more graphic. It comes across as a little crass and borderline pornographic, and I think that a classic “fade to black” may have come across better.
There are also quotations from the news and political figures at the beginning of each chapter, and a throwaway line that criticizes an American political figure. While I also find the people and situations referenced absolutely atrocious, I think that these took away from the message of the book. The racism, homophobia, paranoia, and the absurd 1984-like situation that caused Jack and Ashley’s difficulties in the first place to speak for themselves about the political situation in the United States with coronavirus. Many of the chapter introductions felt unnecessary and distracting, rather than adding value and context to the story.
All in all, I felt this was a solid addition to the genre, as well as being interesting for its two sapphic lead characters and setting during the coronavirus pandemic. If not for its few issues, I would have rated it a 4.5, but there is solid talent on display within this work. I would recommend horror fans who like a bleak, claustrophobic feeling to their books, or especially those who like body horror, to give it a try, and I would gladly read subsequent works from Spencer Hamilton.
Content warnings: gore, trauma, sexual assault, physical abuse, homophobia, racism.
The main strength of this book is that it gives a very frank, warts-and-all depiction of trauma. Jack’s severe response to being brutally attacked while defending her wife doesn’t depict her as a saint, and it’s only with gradual steps forward that she’s able to get slightly better. The amount of disassociating, trouble focusing on work, and difficulty relating to her wife is absolutely realistic to her condition. In her more lucid moments, she also is able to realize that her response is hard on her wife, and feels guilt for not being able to do more, which creates a downward spiral, borne out of fear that Ashley will leave her.
These are all very familiar traps and patterns of someone suffering severe post-traumatic stress disorder, and Ashley’s side, which is also common but taboo to speak of, is also realistic. Ashley helps Jack selflessly but stretches herself to a breaking point in order to do so, while also enabling Jack’s illness – getting her concrete help isn’t brought up until far after it’s a possibility. The combination of factors here leads to a nightmare situation in their apartment. The psychological horror of the mental prison they find themselves in is compelling, and I finished the book in one sitting due to wanting to know how much worse it could get.
As for weaknesses: I felt that the ending of the book was much stronger than the beginning – the pacing of the first few chapters is extremely slow, and the dialogue feels less genuine than it does by the end of the book. I think that, in trying to be sensitive and not fetishizing of a lesbian relationship, the author used phrases like “the hottest sex ever” to describe the two love scenes between Jack and Ashley, while later scenes are more graphic. It comes across as a little crass and borderline pornographic, and I think that a classic “fade to black” may have come across better.
There are also quotations from the news and political figures at the beginning of each chapter, and a throwaway line that criticizes an American political figure. While I also find the people and situations referenced absolutely atrocious, I think that these took away from the message of the book. The racism, homophobia, paranoia, and the absurd 1984-like situation that caused Jack and Ashley’s difficulties in the first place to speak for themselves about the political situation in the United States with coronavirus. Many of the chapter introductions felt unnecessary and distracting, rather than adding value and context to the story.
All in all, I felt this was a solid addition to the genre, as well as being interesting for its two sapphic lead characters and setting during the coronavirus pandemic. If not for its few issues, I would have rated it a 4.5, but there is solid talent on display within this work. I would recommend horror fans who like a bleak, claustrophobic feeling to their books, or especially those who like body horror, to give it a try, and I would gladly read subsequent works from Spencer Hamilton.
Content warnings: gore, trauma, sexual assault, physical abuse, homophobia, racism.
bozzi1's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
4.5
📕Spoiler Free Book Review📕
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The Fear - Spencer Hamilton @nerdywordsmith
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5
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Imagine being quarantined for months in your home while a pandemic ravages the world. Wait, haven’t we heard this one before?
Stay with me.
•
In Part I of The Fear we meet Ash (Ashley) and Jack (Jacqueline), a married couple embarking on their new life together, in a new apartment, and a new city, far away from childhood traumas and judgmental relatives. They have obstacles, both before and after inklings of a pandemic, but our introduction to their world is relatable, and all too realistic. I liked Ash and Jack immediately, but as I finished Part I, I was thinking, “OK Spencer, what are we doing here?”
Not to worry.
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Part II is an exploration into the human psyche. How well do you know your partner? How well do you know yourself? How far can a relationship be pushed when there’s no escaping each other, or your own mind? Still relatable, but now uncomfortably so, and fraught with tension over what will happen next.
•
Part III throws a match on the whole thing and gives us the first taste of true horror, thanks to a little outside influence. I briefly questioned why, but quickly realized I didn’t care as I raced through to see how far the madness would go.
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Part IV is a high stakes climax that will have you questioning everything you thought you knew. While Parts I-III were character driven and emotional, Part IV is non-stop action, violence, and pure awesomeness. I didn’t get the ending I was hoping for...I got a better one that I loved even more!
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Is this book for everyone? No. If you’re a Trump fan, you’re probably gonna want to stay away. Everyone else? READ THIS BOOK! You can thank me later💁🏻♀️
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