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wyll's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
2.5
kind of difficult to get through; the narrative is really bogged down by unnecessary references to pop culture and today's technology. the beginning is too slow, and the majority of the characters are seemingly only defined by the abuse they either inflict or have suffered (all of which just feels... pointless). the only thing that really shines is that bret is a good dad, and he adds another star to my rating because he really was such a good father. i just don't get the motives of the lady of the lake..... maybe if there were more detail about why everything is really happening, i'd be more impressed
the_coycaterpillar_reads's review against another edition
3.0
Becoming by Glenn Rolfe is a fun rampant creature feature. Rolfe in my opinion is one of the very best at creatures. You can always rely on him to bring action and horror in one tightly packed nightmarish sandwich. One thing about his stories is the knowledge that you’re in it until its over, each page leads you onwards – your snacks will go uneaten, and your coffee will go cold but the story burns bright through the minutes.
Becoming can be categorised into a coming-of-age tale. I did enjoy it, but I didn’t think it was one of his strongest outings. There’s several different themes running throughout – difficult parental relationships, sexual abuse, and body horror. Descriptions akin to Lovecraftian horror and the writing was enjoyable. The small-town horror felt realistic without being dramatically over the top and the scenes and POV’s were fluid and uninterrupted.
Becoming is a story about an unearthed entity residing in Jade Lake in a small town in Maine. It begins with a teenage boy being dragged into the lake by a creature with mysterious tentacles. This is witnessed by his friend, Michele Cote. She’s instantly worried for her friend – in the time that he was pulled under, her suspicions instantly turn to acknowledgement that he would surely have drowned. She rushes home to tell her dad and is met with scepticism. I mean who wouldn’t be? A tentacle pulling a boy to his death? It sounds like the ramblings of the overactive imagination of a teenager.
Michele has a difficult relationship with her mother. She doesn’t have any respect for her – she has obvious disdain for her, the way her parents’ relationship has dwindled, her choice to smoke cigarettes, and the rules she imposes on her daughter. She believes she does it to ruin her life. Isn’t that just what all teenagers believe at some point? I know my fifteen-year-old has similar reactions to things we impose upon him but really its only because we DO care. This element brought a sense of realism to an otherwise unbelievable story.
The creature of Jade Lake – The Green Lady pushes out her chosen one – Greg Hickey to do her bidding. The tentacles are used for ill-gotten gains. They change the host and they become one of them. From then on, these creatures aim to change all of the inhabitants of Avalon, Maine. I’d advise you to not get attached to the characters – Rolfe isn’t scared to make those hard creative decisions. Characters die. He doesn’t shy away from gore and grisly ends.
It’s a fun and quick read but I did feel like there was something missing from the story. The ending wasn’t tied up as well as I would typically like, but it was fine. Character development wasn’t as strong especially with the main protagonist, Michele. I know she was a teenager and that was what the author was going for but she felt a bit shallow, maybe a bit empty even before the action took off.
Becoming can be categorised into a coming-of-age tale. I did enjoy it, but I didn’t think it was one of his strongest outings. There’s several different themes running throughout – difficult parental relationships, sexual abuse, and body horror. Descriptions akin to Lovecraftian horror and the writing was enjoyable. The small-town horror felt realistic without being dramatically over the top and the scenes and POV’s were fluid and uninterrupted.
Becoming is a story about an unearthed entity residing in Jade Lake in a small town in Maine. It begins with a teenage boy being dragged into the lake by a creature with mysterious tentacles. This is witnessed by his friend, Michele Cote. She’s instantly worried for her friend – in the time that he was pulled under, her suspicions instantly turn to acknowledgement that he would surely have drowned. She rushes home to tell her dad and is met with scepticism. I mean who wouldn’t be? A tentacle pulling a boy to his death? It sounds like the ramblings of the overactive imagination of a teenager.
Michele has a difficult relationship with her mother. She doesn’t have any respect for her – she has obvious disdain for her, the way her parents’ relationship has dwindled, her choice to smoke cigarettes, and the rules she imposes on her daughter. She believes she does it to ruin her life. Isn’t that just what all teenagers believe at some point? I know my fifteen-year-old has similar reactions to things we impose upon him but really its only because we DO care. This element brought a sense of realism to an otherwise unbelievable story.
The creature of Jade Lake – The Green Lady pushes out her chosen one – Greg Hickey to do her bidding. The tentacles are used for ill-gotten gains. They change the host and they become one of them. From then on, these creatures aim to change all of the inhabitants of Avalon, Maine. I’d advise you to not get attached to the characters – Rolfe isn’t scared to make those hard creative decisions. Characters die. He doesn’t shy away from gore and grisly ends.
It’s a fun and quick read but I did feel like there was something missing from the story. The ending wasn’t tied up as well as I would typically like, but it was fine. Character development wasn’t as strong especially with the main protagonist, Michele. I know she was a teenager and that was what the author was going for but she felt a bit shallow, maybe a bit empty even before the action took off.
johnlynchbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Becoming is the third title I’ve read by Glenn Rolfe, and as I’ve come to expect, it’s very good. One thing I love about Rolfe is that it seems the entire genre is his comfort zone. Although I’m sure that it isn’t easy, Rolfe is certainly making it appear simple for him to write in all the different horror sub genres.
In Becoming, Rolfe tries his hand at small town invasion horror. He plays this hand well and walks away with a win. Set in the small town of Avalon, Maine, there’s something in the water. Literally. People are going missing, and eventually return...different.
The lakeside setting of Avalon works very well for this book. It’s easy to picture this small town quickly becoming overrun by whats plaguing the lake. It reminds me a lot of Salem’s Lot in that respect. Rolfe writes his characters well in this book. I’m a sucker for horror centered on children and coming of age tales, so I did enjoy following Michelle’s POV throughout the book. Clint Truman has a good character arc, and one of the worst father son relationships I’ve read in a long time. There was some truly disturbing stuff going on with the elder Truman.
My only complaint about the book is the resolution, I wasn’t a big fan of the ending, I thought it came on a bit abrupt and wrapped things up too cleanly, but that doesn’t detract from absolutely loving the rest of this book.
If you’re looking for some good old fashioned throwback horror you should definitely pick this one up. It goes without saying I’m becoming a huge Glenn Rolfe fan, and this is another hit for him.
In Becoming, Rolfe tries his hand at small town invasion horror. He plays this hand well and walks away with a win. Set in the small town of Avalon, Maine, there’s something in the water. Literally. People are going missing, and eventually return...different.
The lakeside setting of Avalon works very well for this book. It’s easy to picture this small town quickly becoming overrun by whats plaguing the lake. It reminds me a lot of Salem’s Lot in that respect. Rolfe writes his characters well in this book. I’m a sucker for horror centered on children and coming of age tales, so I did enjoy following Michelle’s POV throughout the book. Clint Truman has a good character arc, and one of the worst father son relationships I’ve read in a long time. There was some truly disturbing stuff going on with the elder Truman.
My only complaint about the book is the resolution, I wasn’t a big fan of the ending, I thought it came on a bit abrupt and wrapped things up too cleanly, but that doesn’t detract from absolutely loving the rest of this book.
If you’re looking for some good old fashioned throwback horror you should definitely pick this one up. It goes without saying I’m becoming a huge Glenn Rolfe fan, and this is another hit for him.
magpie_666's review against another edition
4.0
Becoming - 3/5
I found it a bit busy and hard to keep track of who was where
Boom Town - 4/5
I found it a bit busy and hard to keep track of who was where
Boom Town - 4/5
storyphoria's review against another edition
2.0
FULL REVIEW AT:
https://aicpod.com/review/becoming-by-glenn-rolfe/
This well paced creature feature SHOULD be a fantastically fun read for fans of that genre. If you enjoy the “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” type of monster and horror stories, it should be right up your alley. There’s the oft used, and very enjoyable, “monster in the lake” trope in which a horrible monster presents itself as a beautiful woman to lure in unsuspecting people. We even get the “monster infects one or two people so that they can do the monsters bidding from there on out” trope. All fun horror story ideas I typically would enjoy.
Rolfe maintains a solid pace from start to finish that had me flipping pages because it all seemed so dire, I needed to see what happened next.
But, the amount this book suffers from poor or non-existent editing, nearly forced me to DNF this book and left me wholly disappointed after finishing it. At the end of the day it feels like a fun idea in need of a good edit and a little polishing to make it a fantastic read, but as it stands right now it’s just not there. At least not for me.
https://aicpod.com/review/becoming-by-glenn-rolfe/
This well paced creature feature SHOULD be a fantastically fun read for fans of that genre. If you enjoy the “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” type of monster and horror stories, it should be right up your alley. There’s the oft used, and very enjoyable, “monster in the lake” trope in which a horrible monster presents itself as a beautiful woman to lure in unsuspecting people. We even get the “monster infects one or two people so that they can do the monsters bidding from there on out” trope. All fun horror story ideas I typically would enjoy.
Rolfe maintains a solid pace from start to finish that had me flipping pages because it all seemed so dire, I needed to see what happened next.
But, the amount this book suffers from poor or non-existent editing, nearly forced me to DNF this book and left me wholly disappointed after finishing it. At the end of the day it feels like a fun idea in need of a good edit and a little polishing to make it a fantastic read, but as it stands right now it’s just not there. At least not for me.
paperbackstash's review against another edition
3.0
A straight-up B-flick type horror story. The writing style keeps it simple and focused on what's going on in the present, so it's also a speedy and easy read.
The characters don't come alive much since they are mainly cannon fodder for the tentacles of doom, so they sort of blend together with the exception of a few. The beginning with the abused Cliff, the conscientious sheriff, and the loyal teenage Girl Melissa are a few who stand out.
Gore fans will enjoy the descriptions of slime and gooey things. The death count is as high as you'd expect from this type of story. If you have a thing for big tentacled creatures taking over a backwater town, you're in the right place.
The characters don't come alive much since they are mainly cannon fodder for the tentacles of doom, so they sort of blend together with the exception of a few. The beginning with the abused Cliff, the conscientious sheriff, and the loyal teenage Girl Melissa are a few who stand out.
Gore fans will enjoy the descriptions of slime and gooey things. The death count is as high as you'd expect from this type of story. If you have a thing for big tentacled creatures taking over a backwater town, you're in the right place.
wellwortharead's review against another edition
4.0
There's something fishy going on in Jade Lake, and it's not the trout casting that strange light.
Clint Truman, caring for his cancer riddled father Jack, is the first to notice a strange glow just below the surface.
"It was then he noticed, even though he wasn't breathing, that he was still alive."
Soon it will make it's presence known to the rest of the town.
"One by one, we'll all become."
An ancient evil makes it's return in the small town of Avalon. This was an action packed tale full of good old fashioned creature feature type fun. I would recommend it to all horror fans but especially those who love the old horror comics like I do.
I received a complimentary copy for review.
Clint Truman, caring for his cancer riddled father Jack, is the first to notice a strange glow just below the surface.
"It was then he noticed, even though he wasn't breathing, that he was still alive."
Soon it will make it's presence known to the rest of the town.
"One by one, we'll all become."
An ancient evil makes it's return in the small town of Avalon. This was an action packed tale full of good old fashioned creature feature type fun. I would recommend it to all horror fans but especially those who love the old horror comics like I do.
I received a complimentary copy for review.
motherhorror's review against another edition
4.0
Many thanks to the author for a copy of Becoming in exchange for an honest review.
I learned a new thing from my Twitter friends that love horror. Books that have a creature as the antagonist is called a "creature feature". Think Jaws, Jurassic Park, Rats, Invasive, The Hatching...you know: CREATURES!!!
Yay! *cheering*
I like creature features. This book, Becoming, is part of this wonderful genre where we get lots and lots of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" style mayhem and gore.
This story reads like an old school horror story where the action get rolling right from the first few pages-think X files where you get to see some kind of unexplained drama unfolding for a few minutes before the credits. My only complaint is that Rolfe has an extensive cast of characters. I feel like we're introduced to the whole town. Clocking in at just under 300 pages, this book isn't quite a novella and not quite a novel so I do think a few of the character dramas could have fallen to the editing floor but other than that, a few characters rise to the surface *see what I did there* as our heroic, gritty protagonists. There's a father and son relationship that's pretty unsavory and uncomfortable but you, know--it's part of the genre. There's a girl character I liked very, very much and lastly, is this book scary? Yes. It's tense, it moves at a breakneck speed and it's scary. I enjoyed this one and I recommend it--a fun ride!
I learned a new thing from my Twitter friends that love horror. Books that have a creature as the antagonist is called a "creature feature". Think Jaws, Jurassic Park, Rats, Invasive, The Hatching...you know: CREATURES!!!
Yay! *cheering*
I like creature features. This book, Becoming, is part of this wonderful genre where we get lots and lots of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" style mayhem and gore.
This story reads like an old school horror story where the action get rolling right from the first few pages-think X files where you get to see some kind of unexplained drama unfolding for a few minutes before the credits. My only complaint is that Rolfe has an extensive cast of characters. I feel like we're introduced to the whole town. Clocking in at just under 300 pages, this book isn't quite a novella and not quite a novel so I do think a few of the character dramas could have fallen to the editing floor but other than that, a few characters rise to the surface *see what I did there* as our heroic, gritty protagonists. There's a father and son relationship that's pretty unsavory and uncomfortable but you, know--it's part of the genre. There's a girl character I liked very, very much and lastly, is this book scary? Yes. It's tense, it moves at a breakneck speed and it's scary. I enjoyed this one and I recommend it--a fun ride!
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