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readbydusk's review
5.0
The Fearing is an apocalyptic tale which will be released in four parts over the next four months. This is the first time I'm reading a book in a serialised format so I'm excited to participate! And this is a fantastic opening to the book, full of tension and chaos and horror. There are three points of views, and I'm drawn to all the characters. I'm afraid for them and whatever's in store. I was particularly surprised by the turn of the character Adam but in a good way!
I thought that the writing is vivid and sharp, and no words are wasted. The dialogue sounds natural and there are even brief moments of humour. The characters are left in the dark, facing unimaginable horrors. There is a scene involving butterflies that had me cringing! Nothing is safe in this world. What do you do when your worst fears come to life? Bring on Book Two!
Thank you to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
book blog | twitter | instagram
I thought that the writing is vivid and sharp, and no words are wasted. The dialogue sounds natural and there are even brief moments of humour. The characters are left in the dark, facing unimaginable horrors. There is a scene involving butterflies that had me cringing! Nothing is safe in this world. What do you do when your worst fears come to life? Bring on Book Two!
Thank you to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
book blog | twitter | instagram
mlc_1316's review
5.0
I have to say I’m pretty new to horror that’s published outside of the Big 5. I've read King, Hill, Koontz, and Rice, as well as the classics by Lovecraft, Jackson, and Poe. When a librarian friend and I attended StokerCon this past May for Librarian’s Day a whole new world, or underworld one might say, was opened to me.
I was lucky enough to have met John F. D. Taff who was signing and giving away copies of The Fearing Book One – Fire and Rain. My friend gushed over his collection, Little Black Spots, on the drive up, so I decided to move this up my TBR pile.
The book begins with Adam, who is absolutely terrified of everything. He stays locked in his apartment, imaging all the horrible things that may happen to him if he ventures out, except for the necessities he needs to live. One day he takes a trip to the near-by diner and makes a startling discovery about himself. In Missouri, disaster strikes a high school, leaving a trio of teens to fight their way back to town. In the desert, a group of retirees are trying to make their way home to Phoenix when disaster strikes and have to flee imminent danger.
Taff expertly seizes hold of you and never really lets go. He deftly handles and balances all three narratives in the story, keeping you engaged and connected with the characters. I felt I got to know all of them in equal parts. I consumed it over the course of a few days because of work and life stuff, but could easily be read in one sitting.
I also loved his evocative prose: "The actual meter lay a few feet away, dented, broken open, spilling drops of its own glittering, silver blood across the pavement." That description really struck me when I read it.
In blurbs and praise for his previous works I kept seeing John F. D. Taft referred to as the King of Pain. I quietly wondered how he got that title. Now I know why. Damn. The scene where the trio of teens make that discovery was absolutely brutal to read. And that cliffhanger of an ending left me counting the minutes until Book 2 is published later this month.
I'm definitely going to request this title and series be added to our library's collection and begin recommending this series to library users who enjoy apocalyptic fiction.
The King of Pain. Long may he reign!
5/5 dark stars
I was lucky enough to have met John F. D. Taff who was signing and giving away copies of The Fearing Book One – Fire and Rain. My friend gushed over his collection, Little Black Spots, on the drive up, so I decided to move this up my TBR pile.
The book begins with Adam, who is absolutely terrified of everything. He stays locked in his apartment, imaging all the horrible things that may happen to him if he ventures out, except for the necessities he needs to live. One day he takes a trip to the near-by diner and makes a startling discovery about himself. In Missouri, disaster strikes a high school, leaving a trio of teens to fight their way back to town. In the desert, a group of retirees are trying to make their way home to Phoenix when disaster strikes and have to flee imminent danger.
Taff expertly seizes hold of you and never really lets go. He deftly handles and balances all three narratives in the story, keeping you engaged and connected with the characters. I felt I got to know all of them in equal parts. I consumed it over the course of a few days because of work and life stuff, but could easily be read in one sitting.
I also loved his evocative prose: "The actual meter lay a few feet away, dented, broken open, spilling drops of its own glittering, silver blood across the pavement." That description really struck me when I read it.
In blurbs and praise for his previous works I kept seeing John F. D. Taft referred to as the King of Pain. I quietly wondered how he got that title. Now I know why. Damn. The scene where the trio of teens make that discovery was absolutely brutal to read. And that cliffhanger of an ending left me counting the minutes until Book 2 is published later this month.
I'm definitely going to request this title and series be added to our library's collection and begin recommending this series to library users who enjoy apocalyptic fiction.
The King of Pain. Long may he reign!
5/5 dark stars
howlinglibraries's review
5.0
#1 Fire & Rain ★★★★★
#2 Water & Wind ?
He was too much of the world, and the world was too much of him.
Holy crap, that was such a fun little ride! This was my first time reading anything by John F.D. Taff, but a lot of my friends have raved about his works to me, so I had high hopes — and I definitely wasn't disappointed. The first chapter comes in with a bang, and it's a constant series of twists and turns and suspense from there until the last page.
The story switches perspectives between a few different groups of people, and they're all so varied and enjoyable that there's no one set of perspectives I liked less than any of the others (which is rare for me in multi-POV books!). While I thought Adam's chapters were the most intriguing, the chapters of the group of middle-aged and seniors were the most "true to life"-feeling, and then the teens were just downright fun.
This is the sort of read that you'll fly right through, which is both a blessing and a curse, because now I'm impatiently awaiting my review copy of book 2 in the series and I need to know what happens next! I definitely will be checking out more of John's work, but first and foremost, I have to know what other wickedness he's got up his sleeves for these characters.
Thank you so much to Grey Matter Press for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
evavroslin's review
5.0
* Review copy received from the publisher for review consideration *
I tend not to like post-apocalyptic horror or dystopian themes. I’ve enjoyed some in the past, but I’m more selective because many of the texts and films in this category are hit or miss for me. In spite of that, the first portion of The Fearing is something that I firmly stand behind. I tend to prefer Taff’s short fiction for the most part, but for The Fearing, all I can is: Believe the hype, folks. John Taff is the real deal. This book, in all its eventual serially to-be-released parts, deserves to be in serious awards contention next year.
You will definitely be chomping at the bit to see what happens next. According to Taff’s Twitter post, the schedule is as follows:
It’s like this for the serialized parts of THE FEARING:
Book One: Fire & Rain, July 9
Book Two: Water & Wind, Aug 20
Book Three: Air & Dust, Oct 1
Book Four: Earth & Ember, Nov 11
I tend not to like post-apocalyptic horror or dystopian themes. I’ve enjoyed some in the past, but I’m more selective because many of the texts and films in this category are hit or miss for me. In spite of that, the first portion of The Fearing is something that I firmly stand behind. I tend to prefer Taff’s short fiction for the most part, but for The Fearing, all I can is: Believe the hype, folks. John Taff is the real deal. This book, in all its eventual serially to-be-released parts, deserves to be in serious awards contention next year.
You will definitely be chomping at the bit to see what happens next. According to Taff’s Twitter post, the schedule is as follows:
It’s like this for the serialized parts of THE FEARING:
Book One: Fire & Rain, July 9
Book Two: Water & Wind, Aug 20
Book Three: Air & Dust, Oct 1
Book Four: Earth & Ember, Nov 11
onetrackmind77's review
4.0
I'd never heard of John F.D. Taff prior to The Fearing Series, but after reading a recent review, my interest was sparked. I'm a sucker for apocalyptic stories, so I took a chance and placed an order for Book One in the series. I was not disappointed. Excellent characters and a tension filled opener really sets the foundation for what's to come...plus the serialized format has me nostalgic for when The Green Mile was released by Stephen King. Eagerly anticipating the release of Book Two later this month.
onetrackmind77's review against another edition
3.0
While I enjoyed the serial format for The Fearing, I think I would have preferred to have it served up as one novel. My problem was that I had a difficult time keeping track of the cast of characters, and waiting a month between each installment left me disconnected and confused on who was who. Either I struggled with the delay between each book, or some of the characters weren't uniquely defined and tended to blend together. Either way, this was a fun ride with a unique story line.
alwroteabook's review
4.0
This is the first part of a four part serial, so I'll just post short reviews on here before knocking out a big one on the whole series. Anyway, it's an apocalyptic horror with interesting characters whose fears come to life. I blew through it in a couple of hours, and I'm onto part two. It's worth a look for horror fans.
Full series review here - https://www.alwroteabook.com/2020/01/02/the-fearing-by-john-fd-taff/
Full series review here - https://www.alwroteabook.com/2020/01/02/the-fearing-by-john-fd-taff/
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