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pxisxngirl's review against another edition
4.0
This was the first "horror" type book that I have read and I absolutely loved it! It constantly keeps you on the edge of your seat!
skateanddonate's review against another edition
5.0
Another fantastic book by J.A. Konrath. Fast paced, action filled, clever intricately weaved plot. I actually started this book when it was released in April then put it down after a few pages, because I was going to the fair and it wouldn't fit in my back pocket (so I switched to a different book). I was pissed last night when I picked it up, because I had waited so long to read this FANTASTIC story. The only good side to having waited is Trapped should be released soon. Before reading I didn't get the mixed reviews on if this book was the scariest or not. Now that I've read it I do. It isn't one of those scary, because something startled you IT IS one of those books where the possibilities of it happen or has already happened in the real world is freaking terrifying!! Excellent in depth research that educates you while being seamlessly woven into the story. Definite a MUST READ book. Started it late last night and by page 44 I was hooked. Couldn't put it down and ended up staying up all night to finish it.
the_real_mosscap's review against another edition
4.0
"Afraid" by Jack Kilborn is self-branded as a horror novel. I typically don't enjoy horror novels. In fact, I go out of my way to avoid reading them, unless they're written by Stephen King. It's not just because I don't like to be scared, it's also because I read as a method of relaxation; being all torqued up over who's going to be brutally, graphically murdered next is not conducive to my idea of relaxation.
That said, "Afraid" is definitely a horror novel, and once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down.
The action in the book starts extremely quickly and doesn't let up until the end. The plot twists and turns relentlessly, and I had no idea how it was going to resolve itself until the very end. Make no mistake, though, this isn't one of those books that has plot twists for the sake of plot twists; each sudden change in direction is delightfully fraught with anxiety and the book is ultimately the better for it.
The villains in the book are spectacularly demented, and the line between "good guy" and "bad guy" is perpetually blurred.
All in all, a nonstop rollercoaster ride of unyielding fright and a very, very good read.
That said, "Afraid" is definitely a horror novel, and once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down.
The action in the book starts extremely quickly and doesn't let up until the end. The plot twists and turns relentlessly, and I had no idea how it was going to resolve itself until the very end. Make no mistake, though, this isn't one of those books that has plot twists for the sake of plot twists; each sudden change in direction is delightfully fraught with anxiety and the book is ultimately the better for it.
The villains in the book are spectacularly demented, and the line between "good guy" and "bad guy" is perpetually blurred.
All in all, a nonstop rollercoaster ride of unyielding fright and a very, very good read.
berninator94's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I was totally enraptured with this story around page 7. The immediate suspense and shock from the first chapter might lead one to believe the rest of the book would be flat. They'd be dead wrong.
This was an engrossing story, and Streng and Francine are two of my favorite book characters. Also, the animal death trope is narrowly avoided. I loved it from cover to cover!
This was an engrossing story, and Streng and Francine are two of my favorite book characters. Also, the animal death trope is narrowly avoided. I loved it from cover to cover!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, and Torture
Moderate: Body horror and Stalking
lisaeirene's review against another edition
3.0
The book was really good; the writing was strong; really enjoyed the main characters. The story itself felt far-fetched at times but I was able to get over that and enjoy the story for the most part. The reason I don't give it 4 stars instead is because it's REALLY gruesome. Some of it was really hard to read.
vdarcangelo's review against another edition
5.0
This review originally appeared in FANGORIA and GOREZONE
Jack Kilborn's AFRAID (Book Review)
Thursday, 09 April 2009 07:15 Vince Darcangelo BOOKS
Some horror novels go for the mind, others the gut. Jack Kilborn’s AFRAID goes for the groin. It goes for the knees. It goes for the heart. It punches out your teeth and makes you swallow them.
Then it goes after your family.
A mysterious helicopter crash in the remote Wisconsin town of Safe Haven leads to a rash of grisly murders. The townsfolk are tortured and exterminated by an elite, almost supernatural military strike team, but nobody knows why. Turns out the crash was no accident, and Safe Haven harbors a dark secret spanning decades and continents.
Unfolding in the course of about 12 hours, AFRAID is non-stop action that never lets you come up for air. Aside from a few digressions, this book is noticeably lacking in exposition, there are no chapter breaks. And it is better for it. The characters do not have time to think, only react. Neither does the reader. The reader is set on edge and never allowed to relax.
AFRAID quickly becomes an obsession. I read this book in a day. I had to.
Dark corners? This book is loaded with them. One of the most memorable is a junior high school gymnasium transformed into a charnel house. In one of the most gruesome sequences, a townswoman stumbles upon the atrocities taking place in the locker room. In an attempt to escape she accidentally gets stuck in the killer’s lair, hanging upside down from the ceiling, swaying back and forth above a stack of corpses. “The creaking got closer and all she could do was hang there, like a piñata waiting for the stick.” (148)
FYI: Kilborn is the pseudonym for mystery author JA Konrath, and AFRAID is his horror debut. To say Kilborn has come out swinging is an understatement. This isn’t just another retread spook tale. AFRAID is a horror novel on crystal meth.
Get this book. Then call in sick. Skip class. Shut off the phone. Light the candles. And crack open AFRAID.
You’ll read until your eyes hurt. And then you’ll keep reading. That’s what I did.
3 1/2 skulls
Jack Kilborn's AFRAID (Book Review)
Thursday, 09 April 2009 07:15 Vince Darcangelo BOOKS
Some horror novels go for the mind, others the gut. Jack Kilborn’s AFRAID goes for the groin. It goes for the knees. It goes for the heart. It punches out your teeth and makes you swallow them.
Then it goes after your family.
A mysterious helicopter crash in the remote Wisconsin town of Safe Haven leads to a rash of grisly murders. The townsfolk are tortured and exterminated by an elite, almost supernatural military strike team, but nobody knows why. Turns out the crash was no accident, and Safe Haven harbors a dark secret spanning decades and continents.
Unfolding in the course of about 12 hours, AFRAID is non-stop action that never lets you come up for air. Aside from a few digressions, this book is noticeably lacking in exposition, there are no chapter breaks. And it is better for it. The characters do not have time to think, only react. Neither does the reader. The reader is set on edge and never allowed to relax.
AFRAID quickly becomes an obsession. I read this book in a day. I had to.
Dark corners? This book is loaded with them. One of the most memorable is a junior high school gymnasium transformed into a charnel house. In one of the most gruesome sequences, a townswoman stumbles upon the atrocities taking place in the locker room. In an attempt to escape she accidentally gets stuck in the killer’s lair, hanging upside down from the ceiling, swaying back and forth above a stack of corpses. “The creaking got closer and all she could do was hang there, like a piñata waiting for the stick.” (148)
FYI: Kilborn is the pseudonym for mystery author JA Konrath, and AFRAID is his horror debut. To say Kilborn has come out swinging is an understatement. This isn’t just another retread spook tale. AFRAID is a horror novel on crystal meth.
Get this book. Then call in sick. Skip class. Shut off the phone. Light the candles. And crack open AFRAID.
You’ll read until your eyes hurt. And then you’ll keep reading. That’s what I did.
3 1/2 skulls
ashlyc's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, this is one of those rare books that puts you on the edge of your seat before the 3rd page and keeps you there till the end. Afraid is a must read for fans of the thriller/horror genre. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for any future novels by Jack Kilborn.
sydnapped's review against another edition
4.0
Full blown, all-out, balls-to-the-wall terror!
There were many, many times throughout reading this suspense story that my mouth dropped open in horror, surprise, or simply in some cathartic attempt to produce a sound that would somehow interpret and reconcile with the appalling and roller-coaster feeling of my whole inner being.
AFRAID is so downright guilelessly gripping and fast-paced that I read it in ONE sitting, and literally on the edge of my seat, not getting up even once!
There were NO boring parts, and in fact the story barely gave breaks to catch breaths; I just needed to keep turning those pages in the hopes of bringing the tension to an end, and boy, was there tension.
Page after page of unnerving, relentless suspense and with every paragraph passed, I wasn't sure how much more I could take.
Or in other words, I was AFRAID.
Another reviewer phrased it as "I got sucked in on the first page and didn’t come up for air until the end." - That about sums it up perfectly.
The bad guys in this book are very, very, very bad guys, and they do some really, really, really bad things.
So what is it about? Well, all you really need to know for now is that it starts with a helicopter carrying a secret Red-Ops team of super soldiers (government weapons) trained in psychological terror that crashes into a wooded area in Northern Wisconsin and unleashes those sick and twisted human monsters on a small, unknowing town to have their way with them.
As other reviewers have mentioned, probably hundreds of times, this story contains a deluge of brutality and gore.
Violence and blood flow liberally, and NOBODY is safe.
While I don't exactly seek out books in the gore-fest genre, I am willing to read stories of substance and enigma. Although there is a lot of torture and slaughter of the very unfortunate residents in "Safe Haven", the story is also a thriller from the very first page that makes it hard to put down.
I love themes of fighting evil, but there's nothing at all supernatural happening in these pages; this time the monsters here are simply horrifying humans that Safe Haven locals must try to outwit and defeat.
If you think you can handle the gore, I do recommend this read, because horror aspects aside, there is really a great mystery to what is going on so much that this story comes off as cinematic in your head.
And as might reasonably be expected when feeling concern for characters in a story, especially one filled with so much anticipation and non-stop thrills, I probably did utter a lot of unintelligible, apprehensive noises while I read it.
AFRAID is a fun, horrific and original novel that is equal parts gruesome and intrigue, but when you pick it up to read it, you damn well better be strapped in for the shit that is about to go down.
One thing I can promise, you will want to make sure all the doors in your home are locked.
ta_ta_ta_tia's review against another edition
1.0
I won this book on Goodreads. I tried to finish it. I swear, but it was just soooo unbelievably bad.
Consider the an excerpt that begins on page 2, where a "killer" enters a house, pops microwave popcorn, throws kernels at his victim, and then kills her:
Maggie is sleeping while her husband, Sal, is out fishing late at night. Sounds coming from downstairs wake her up. She assumes it's her husband and closes her eyes and goes back to sleep.
"She opened them a moment later, when the sound of the microwave carried up the stairs. Then came the muffled machine-gun report of popcorn popping. Sal shouldn't be eating at this hour. The doctor had warned him about that, and how it aggravated his acid refux disease. . ."
She calls out his name a few times and bangs on the floor. No answer, so she gets annoyed and tries going back to sleep. She hears her husband's fishing boat in the distance and flips out, realizing the popcorn-popper is not her husband.
"She held her breath, trying to listen to noises from downstairs. Maggie did hear something, but the sound wasn't coming from the lower level. It was coming from the hallway right outside her bedroom. THE SOUND OF SOMEONE CHEWING POPCORN."
"More munching. Closer. He was practically in the room. She could smell the popcorn now, the butter and salt, and the odor made her stomach do flip-flops. . . . Chewing, right next to her bed. . . . The bag rustled. Something touched Maggie's face and she gasped. A tiny pat on her cheek. It happened again on her forehead, making her flinch. Popcorn. He was throwing popcorn at her."
"Maggie's voice came out in a whisper. 'What are you going to do?' The springs creaked as he sat on the edge of the bed. 'Everything,' he said."
Consider the an excerpt that begins on page 2, where a "killer" enters a house, pops microwave popcorn, throws kernels at his victim, and then kills her:
Maggie is sleeping while her husband, Sal, is out fishing late at night. Sounds coming from downstairs wake her up. She assumes it's her husband and closes her eyes and goes back to sleep.
"She opened them a moment later, when the sound of the microwave carried up the stairs. Then came the muffled machine-gun report of popcorn popping. Sal shouldn't be eating at this hour. The doctor had warned him about that, and how it aggravated his acid refux disease. . ."
She calls out his name a few times and bangs on the floor. No answer, so she gets annoyed and tries going back to sleep. She hears her husband's fishing boat in the distance and flips out, realizing the popcorn-popper is not her husband.
"She held her breath, trying to listen to noises from downstairs. Maggie did hear something, but the sound wasn't coming from the lower level. It was coming from the hallway right outside her bedroom. THE SOUND OF SOMEONE CHEWING POPCORN."
"More munching. Closer. He was practically in the room. She could smell the popcorn now, the butter and salt, and the odor made her stomach do flip-flops. . . . Chewing, right next to her bed. . . . The bag rustled. Something touched Maggie's face and she gasped. A tiny pat on her cheek. It happened again on her forehead, making her flinch. Popcorn. He was throwing popcorn at her."
"Maggie's voice came out in a whisper. 'What are you going to do?' The springs creaked as he sat on the edge of the bed. 'Everything,' he said."