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mxsallybend's review
4.0
The story starts off with a bang, establishing the darkly gothic setting of London's Wormwood Scrubs Prison. Already a tense place, full of men on the edge, the prison takes on an ever darker hue thanks to the mystery of the "North Wing Project" and the overcrowding it’s forced upon the general population. Toss in a field of hallucinogen weeds growing beneath the prison, a psychotic serial killer, and a Warden with delusions of grandeur (and greed), and you know things are not going to go well.
At first glance, the experiment at the heart of the story seems distressingly familiar. We’ve all read stories where a killer’s mind is recreated and projected via some sort of virtual reality simulation, but The Rift goes one better – it doesn’t safely recreate the psychotic wilderness, it thrusts us directly into it, with no safety net, no escape mechanism, and no means of pulling the plug.
The first scene inside James Jeter’s head is absolutely glorious in its creepiness. You know something’s wrong when the stream tastes odd, but the slow, bubbling rise of bodies is well done, and the spokesperson for his victims – complete with lips sewn shut – is both alluring and disgusting. By the time Michael Keeler begins the awkward, treacherous walk across a sea of rotting, floating bodies, we know this a dreamland worth exploring.
Much of the story revolves around Michael trying to find the trapped soul of James’ last victim, a boy whose body was never found, and who may still be alive. I’m cautious of spoiling the delicious twists that close out the story, but the discovery of the boy – not just trapped, but physically a part of a tree, requiring that he literally be carved free – is a fantastic scene.
Of course, a few villains always makes a rescue scene better, and while it takes a while before we meet the two prisoners sent into The Rift before Michael, but it’s well worth the wait. The way in which they’ve been twisted and altered by James’ mind is quite monstrous, but the fact that they like it better inside, despite being at the mercy of a mad man, puts it over the top.
On the one hand, I thought the ending was a bit obvious but, on the other hand, I never really expected Simon to pull it off. I love the darker endings, the ones where everything DOESN’T go quite right, and he played right into that personal literary perversion. If you’re looking for a well-written tale, with a good bit of imagination, it’s definitely worth a visit to The Scrubs.
At first glance, the experiment at the heart of the story seems distressingly familiar. We’ve all read stories where a killer’s mind is recreated and projected via some sort of virtual reality simulation, but The Rift goes one better – it doesn’t safely recreate the psychotic wilderness, it thrusts us directly into it, with no safety net, no escape mechanism, and no means of pulling the plug.
The first scene inside James Jeter’s head is absolutely glorious in its creepiness. You know something’s wrong when the stream tastes odd, but the slow, bubbling rise of bodies is well done, and the spokesperson for his victims – complete with lips sewn shut – is both alluring and disgusting. By the time Michael Keeler begins the awkward, treacherous walk across a sea of rotting, floating bodies, we know this a dreamland worth exploring.
Much of the story revolves around Michael trying to find the trapped soul of James’ last victim, a boy whose body was never found, and who may still be alive. I’m cautious of spoiling the delicious twists that close out the story, but the discovery of the boy – not just trapped, but physically a part of a tree, requiring that he literally be carved free – is a fantastic scene.
Of course, a few villains always makes a rescue scene better, and while it takes a while before we meet the two prisoners sent into The Rift before Michael, but it’s well worth the wait. The way in which they’ve been twisted and altered by James’ mind is quite monstrous, but the fact that they like it better inside, despite being at the mercy of a mad man, puts it over the top.
On the one hand, I thought the ending was a bit obvious but, on the other hand, I never really expected Simon to pull it off. I love the darker endings, the ones where everything DOESN’T go quite right, and he played right into that personal literary perversion. If you’re looking for a well-written tale, with a good bit of imagination, it’s definitely worth a visit to The Scrubs.
sticksnstout's review
4.0
Very imaginative. I love what he did with the other world and the crazy guy. Ending was cool, a bit predictable.
evavroslin's review
5.0
Wood is a skillful writer, which is obvious right off the bat. He absolutely knows the meaning of show, don't tell. His descriptions are vivid and alarming, and his character reactions appropriate but creepy, such as when Keller says that one of the prisoners makes his balls wither on the vine.
Keeler and his actions just keep getting more and more interesting the further that you read into the story. And he's full of surprises--at first, I thought "volunteer" meant that he was someone who volunteered as a guard at the prison. Turns out "volunteer" actually means he has 'willingly' signed up to become a test subject of sorts. Not fun.
Still, Keeler is sharp and quick-witted and he knows when he's being played or when someone's lying to him, great traits to have despite the sins that have landed him in jail.
You soon find out that this prison isn't an ordinary one. If anything, it reminded me of the prison that Alex De Large, ill-fated protagonist of "A Clockwork Orange", ended up in. Keeler's "assignment" is to find Lefford and Allard, two of the more dangerous prisoners housed in this facility, and Keeler is smart enough to know that it'll mean trouble for his reputation among the rest of the prisoners.
There are very few books that truly alter a person's literary landscape, and "The Scrubs" has been one of those for me. Although appropriately explicit when necessary, the book doesn't actually have as many "gross out" descriptions as I thought it would, so if you're afraid that it'll be too scary, I will say that once you find out what's really going on, the concept is actually more frightening than the descriptions of blood and guts.
Keeler and his actions just keep getting more and more interesting the further that you read into the story. And he's full of surprises--at first, I thought "volunteer" meant that he was someone who volunteered as a guard at the prison. Turns out "volunteer" actually means he has 'willingly' signed up to become a test subject of sorts. Not fun.
Still, Keeler is sharp and quick-witted and he knows when he's being played or when someone's lying to him, great traits to have despite the sins that have landed him in jail.
You soon find out that this prison isn't an ordinary one. If anything, it reminded me of the prison that Alex De Large, ill-fated protagonist of "A Clockwork Orange", ended up in. Keeler's "assignment" is to find Lefford and Allard, two of the more dangerous prisoners housed in this facility, and Keeler is smart enough to know that it'll mean trouble for his reputation among the rest of the prisoners.
There are very few books that truly alter a person's literary landscape, and "The Scrubs" has been one of those for me. Although appropriately explicit when necessary, the book doesn't actually have as many "gross out" descriptions as I thought it would, so if you're afraid that it'll be too scary, I will say that once you find out what's really going on, the concept is actually more frightening than the descriptions of blood and guts.
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