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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
As a firm favorite author, Glenn Rolfe, I was over the moon to be reviewing his new release, August’s Eyes. Dreams that bleed into reality? Reminiscent of Nightmare on Elm Street…yes, please!
John has a great life. Fulfilling career, beautiful wife, a roof over their head. The only thing that is missing from their life is a baby. Sarah longs to complete their family but John feels settled with how they are now. They’ve tried before and he can’t bear to see that hurt etched upon his wife’s face again. Things begin to change for John when he starts having disturbing dreams. There seems to be no rhyme or reason for their content but is the passage of time trying to alert him to something? Dreams are such a weird phenomenon. They feel so real at the time, awakening to confusion and the physiological effects of what our subconscious puts us through. August’s Eyes is an examination of how realities can become blurred, how the brain is our ultimate defense strategy.
These dreams are getting to John. Daily activities like work and interactions with colleagues are affected by the amount of restful sleep he isn’t getting. He just attributes it to stress but when he makes an appointment with Dr. Soctomah, his wife’s therapist, it becomes apparent that his brain is compartmentalizing traumatic events. His sessions with the therapist shake John’s life foundations. John’s memories, pain, and state of mind come over him like the rushing waves of a tsunami.
John’s hometown, Spears Corner has a dark history. It has around twelve graveyards and death is written upon its foundations. A native American tribe resided on land here and ultimately perished at the hands of Spears Corner’s founder. The past has a habit of remembering the deeds committed and John knows this better than anyone.
Glenn Rolfe has this habit of writing seriously creepy characters and August’s Eyes is no exception. His words are as heavy as lead and the narrative is heavy with potential. It is the perfect storm of angst. The story is emotive and a true depiction of how the human condition is the real evil lurking in the dark shadows. Rolfe has a repertoire of cunning and depravity and he isn’t hesitant to subject his readers to a fresh helping.
August’s Eyes was a superb read, which I read in intense excitement. I savored every dark word.
John has a great life. Fulfilling career, beautiful wife, a roof over their head. The only thing that is missing from their life is a baby. Sarah longs to complete their family but John feels settled with how they are now. They’ve tried before and he can’t bear to see that hurt etched upon his wife’s face again. Things begin to change for John when he starts having disturbing dreams. There seems to be no rhyme or reason for their content but is the passage of time trying to alert him to something? Dreams are such a weird phenomenon. They feel so real at the time, awakening to confusion and the physiological effects of what our subconscious puts us through. August’s Eyes is an examination of how realities can become blurred, how the brain is our ultimate defense strategy.
These dreams are getting to John. Daily activities like work and interactions with colleagues are affected by the amount of restful sleep he isn’t getting. He just attributes it to stress but when he makes an appointment with Dr. Soctomah, his wife’s therapist, it becomes apparent that his brain is compartmentalizing traumatic events. His sessions with the therapist shake John’s life foundations. John’s memories, pain, and state of mind come over him like the rushing waves of a tsunami.
John’s hometown, Spears Corner has a dark history. It has around twelve graveyards and death is written upon its foundations. A native American tribe resided on land here and ultimately perished at the hands of Spears Corner’s founder. The past has a habit of remembering the deeds committed and John knows this better than anyone.
Glenn Rolfe has this habit of writing seriously creepy characters and August’s Eyes is no exception. His words are as heavy as lead and the narrative is heavy with potential. It is the perfect storm of angst. The story is emotive and a true depiction of how the human condition is the real evil lurking in the dark shadows. Rolfe has a repertoire of cunning and depravity and he isn’t hesitant to subject his readers to a fresh helping.
August’s Eyes was a superb read, which I read in intense excitement. I savored every dark word.
A really enjoyable serial killer thriller that is packed full of heart. I loved the characters and the supernatural twist. Recommended, especially if you enjoy Grady Hendrix.
There is a ghoul stalking the town of Spears Corner, kidnapping and brutally murdering children. John Colby, our protagonist, sees one of these abductions as a child, but runs away and never reports it.
As a grown up, he has forgotten this incident entirely, but is plagued by nightmares - visions of disfigured children asking him to choose his grave.
John's life begins to spiral out of control, and he has to figure out how to decipher his dreams with the help of his partner Sarah, and their young teenage friend Pat.
This was my first Glenn Rolfe novel, and it definitely won't be my last. August's Eyes is a great achievement. I found it very readable; I was totally invested in the characters. The main characters are believable, and react as humans would to such incredible circumstances.
The elements of horror are genuinely scary, and Rolfe paces the novel very well.
I would point out that there are descriptions (although they are not explicit) of child abduction and murder, so if that's not for you, I would possibly avoid this.
I would recommend August's Eyes to any fans of horror. Glenn Rolfe is great!
Thanks to Glenn Rolfe, NetGalley, and Flame Tree Press for this ARC.
As a grown up, he has forgotten this incident entirely, but is plagued by nightmares - visions of disfigured children asking him to choose his grave.
John's life begins to spiral out of control, and he has to figure out how to decipher his dreams with the help of his partner Sarah, and their young teenage friend Pat.
This was my first Glenn Rolfe novel, and it definitely won't be my last. August's Eyes is a great achievement. I found it very readable; I was totally invested in the characters. The main characters are believable, and react as humans would to such incredible circumstances.
The elements of horror are genuinely scary, and Rolfe paces the novel very well.
I would point out that there are descriptions (although they are not explicit) of child abduction and murder, so if that's not for you, I would possibly avoid this.
I would recommend August's Eyes to any fans of horror. Glenn Rolfe is great!
Thanks to Glenn Rolfe, NetGalley, and Flame Tree Press for this ARC.
It’s been a while since I dived blindly into a horror, and I was really craving a bit of pure terror after reading some tame thrillers and historical fiction.
This is the story of John Colby, to whom we are first introduced to in 1994 at the age of just 14. We see him witness something terrible and then bury the memory in a dark corner of his mind without ever talking about it to anyone.
In the present day John works as a social worker and is married to Sarah. His life is good if it weren’t for the strangest nightmares that somehow seem to haunt him at daytime too. When he goes to see a therapist, he finds that he is missing parts of his childhood memories. For example, why can't he remember the murder of his childhood friend in 1994 at the hands of a serial killer?
Reading about John’s nightmares was like watching a Tim Burton movie, the characters August and One Eye would be a perfect example for a Burton movie.
This is the story of John Colby, to whom we are first introduced to in 1994 at the age of just 14. We see him witness something terrible and then bury the memory in a dark corner of his mind without ever talking about it to anyone.
In the present day John works as a social worker and is married to Sarah. His life is good if it weren’t for the strangest nightmares that somehow seem to haunt him at daytime too. When he goes to see a therapist, he finds that he is missing parts of his childhood memories. For example, why can't he remember the murder of his childhood friend in 1994 at the hands of a serial killer?
Reading about John’s nightmares was like watching a Tim Burton movie, the characters August and One Eye would be a perfect example for a Burton movie.
*An e-copy of this book was kindly provided to me by the publisher, Flame Tree Publishing, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
And Rolfe does it again. I am never disappointed when it comes to his style of horror and August’s Eyes certainly delivered on that. The story almost reads as a reimagining of John Wayne Gacy’s horrific legacy IMO, but mix in shamanic magic and folklore and you have an extension of the depravity and madness.
August’s Eyes hits different. Yes, there are some supernatural elements to it, but the overall fear factor of the events that happen within the story is very real. Spears Corner could be anywhere in the world with ordinary people that you see every day with a history that, with a bit of digging, could be found to be real. That’s what makes it frightening. (That and the spiders. Ugh.) John Colby makes for an interesting flawed protagonist, I wasn’t too sure if I was to root for him or not. It speaks to the ability of Rolfe’s writing to have a reader really wonder what type of outcome you want for the main character. This reader, however, will not complain about the end result as I found it fitting.
Perhaps this book should come with a trigger warning as it does depict the darker side of humanity and children. The summary does not make it clear what the reader is in for, so consider yourself forewarned before diving in.
And Rolfe does it again. I am never disappointed when it comes to his style of horror and August’s Eyes certainly delivered on that. The story almost reads as a reimagining of John Wayne Gacy’s horrific legacy IMO, but mix in shamanic magic and folklore and you have an extension of the depravity and madness.
August’s Eyes hits different. Yes, there are some supernatural elements to it, but the overall fear factor of the events that happen within the story is very real. Spears Corner could be anywhere in the world with ordinary people that you see every day with a history that, with a bit of digging, could be found to be real. That’s what makes it frightening. (That and the spiders. Ugh.) John Colby makes for an interesting flawed protagonist, I wasn’t too sure if I was to root for him or not. It speaks to the ability of Rolfe’s writing to have a reader really wonder what type of outcome you want for the main character. This reader, however, will not complain about the end result as I found it fitting.
Perhaps this book should come with a trigger warning as it does depict the darker side of humanity and children. The summary does not make it clear what the reader is in for, so consider yourself forewarned before diving in.
"August's Eyes" was a captivating story that creates a thin veil between the spirit and the living worlds. Our main character, John has a traumatic past that he doesn’t quite remember but when his nightmares start to leak into his everyday life, he must uncover what demons are hiding in his shadows. I was thoroughly entertained throughout this story. There wasn’t any part of the “August’s Eyes” that I found to be lacking. The character development was great, but I do wish there was more background information on said characters.What I did find issue with is that “August’s Eyes” is a mixed bag of everything horror wise. You have creeps, ghosts, old magic, and an oblivious protagonist.But it was one of those situations where you couldn’t really do the story without including all those things unfortunately it still made it feel messy. Glenn Rolfe is a wonderful author and with his callbacks throughout his stories, his characters being extremely relatable and flawed I always look forward to more of his work in the future.
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Years after witnessing the abduction of a boy and doing nothing about it, social worker John Colby suddenly begins to have bad dreams. Then while he is awake he begins to see a boy from his dreams. A boy named August.
I'd like to thank Flame Tree Press for sending me an ARC of this book to read and review.
This is a hard book to review because it is my first "Uncorrected" Arc and to be perfectly frank I'm not sure if that means that the story is still being worked on or if that means they haven't finished doing all the proofreading. Both of which can use some tending too in my opinion. While I am not docking points for some mistakes that I'm sure will be fixed like calling a character (Sarah) by the wrong name (Susan) in chapter 25 there were other issues about the book that bothered me.
Characters seemed to do things with no reasoning behind them. At one point in the story, a man sneaks into a car, retrieves something from it then closes the car door as quietly as he can. And immediately stands up and makes noise. In the context it was written it doesn't make much sense.
In another chapter, it is clearly stated that Sarah's mom moved to be closer to Sarah. On the very next page, Sarah is at her mom's house in her old room filled with old posters If this is the house her mom moved into to be closer to Sarah how would this be Sarah's old room?
The book seems to be made up of the same events happening over and over. John sees a face or lanky boy. John has a dream. There is an argument. There are spiders. Repeat. I was confused for much of the book as to who/what the antagonist was supposed to be and after reading half of the book I think I stopped caring. There were repeatedly references made to pop culture movies. This may not be the case at all but there was just something about them that made me begin to have the feeling that I was supposed to like the book because it was referencing so many classic movies. We like the same things so we should like each other.
I did not like the main character. It seemed like everyone would just give excuses for everything he did. Even those he wronged. I found one character jumping from the opinion of "You are having bad dreams" to "These dreams are real" very unbelievable and too convenient.
I found the secondary male lead a little too perfect for a teenager. And what I thought was a subplot developing for the female lead went nowhere and had no impact or reason to be in the story at all.
There is no detailed explanation of what is going on as far as the supernatural. You get a very vague summary that doesn't explain any details about how or what.
For me, the climax of the book was a huge letdown. I reread it several times and actually saying out loud "That's it?". It seems hurried and falls flat for me.
This is not a book I would recommend. I simply did not find it creepy, suspenseful, or very entertaining.
This and other reviews can be found on my review site at www.maitlandreviews.wordpress.com
I'd like to thank Flame Tree Press for sending me an ARC of this book to read and review.
This is a hard book to review because it is my first "Uncorrected" Arc and to be perfectly frank I'm not sure if that means that the story is still being worked on or if that means they haven't finished doing all the proofreading. Both of which can use some tending too in my opinion. While I am not docking points for some mistakes that I'm sure will be fixed like calling a character (Sarah) by the wrong name (Susan) in chapter 25 there were other issues about the book that bothered me.
Characters seemed to do things with no reasoning behind them. At one point in the story, a man sneaks into a car, retrieves something from it then closes the car door as quietly as he can. And immediately stands up and makes noise. In the context it was written it doesn't make much sense.
In another chapter, it is clearly stated that Sarah's mom moved to be closer to Sarah. On the very next page, Sarah is at her mom's house in her old room filled with old posters If this is the house her mom moved into to be closer to Sarah how would this be Sarah's old room?
The book seems to be made up of the same events happening over and over. John sees a face or lanky boy. John has a dream. There is an argument. There are spiders. Repeat. I was confused for much of the book as to who/what the antagonist was supposed to be and after reading half of the book I think I stopped caring. There were repeatedly references made to pop culture movies. This may not be the case at all but there was just something about them that made me begin to have the feeling that I was supposed to like the book because it was referencing so many classic movies. We like the same things so we should like each other.
I did not like the main character. It seemed like everyone would just give excuses for everything he did. Even those he wronged. I found one character jumping from the opinion of "You are having bad dreams" to "These dreams are real" very unbelievable and too convenient.
I found the secondary male lead a little too perfect for a teenager. And what I thought was a subplot developing for the female lead went nowhere and had no impact or reason to be in the story at all.
There is no detailed explanation of what is going on as far as the supernatural. You get a very vague summary that doesn't explain any details about how or what.
For me, the climax of the book was a huge letdown. I reread it several times and actually saying out loud "That's it?". It seems hurried and falls flat for me.
This is not a book I would recommend. I simply did not find it creepy, suspenseful, or very entertaining.
This and other reviews can be found on my review site at www.maitlandreviews.wordpress.com
Thanks to Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.
I guess I don’t know where to start, I just finished reading this and have some dried up tears I’m yet to wipe away. I really connected with the characters especially our main protagonist John. Messed up dreams, a shitty boss, a failing relationship, John has a lot going on. But, once John starts trying to decipher the dreams and get to the root of them things kick off. This book explores grief, regret, anger, irrationality and it’s done so in such a short but yet satisfying way. Excited to pick this one up and many more of Rolfe’s works. A+ and my favorite book of 2021 thus far.
I guess I don’t know where to start, I just finished reading this and have some dried up tears I’m yet to wipe away. I really connected with the characters especially our main protagonist John. Messed up dreams, a shitty boss, a failing relationship, John has a lot going on. But, once John starts trying to decipher the dreams and get to the root of them things kick off. This book explores grief, regret, anger, irrationality and it’s done so in such a short but yet satisfying way. Excited to pick this one up and many more of Rolfe’s works. A+ and my favorite book of 2021 thus far.
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes