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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
Your Turn to Suffer is an altogether weird slice of horror that takes a few sharp turns in the telling, but which is at its best when indulging in the bizarre.
The opening chapter is creepy, but deceptively so, stoking our interest in Lori's suffering, yet holding back on the true horror, even as it misleads us into expecting something safe and familiar. "Confess and atone - or suffer" is such a great line, but it really only scratches the surface of what's involved here.
Where the story takes its first sharp turn is in the fifth chapter, where what we expect to be a cruel reprimand from the boss turns into a giddy threat to "Tear off one of your tits with my teeth" (and worse!), and where instead of blaming Lori for her bad day, a coworker's sob story ends with the disgusting offer to share in eating a bloody, half-eaten cat. Yeah, suddenly, this just got interesting!
The mythology of the tale is a little shaky, with the rules seeming to change to suit the story but, in all fairness, even the monsters admit they're making it up as they go. The human-looking monsters are the scariest, perhaps because they are more relatable, but the ways in which the monstrous Shadowkin can corrupt those around us is horribly fascinating. There's a scene involving a young mail carrier and a busty housewife twice his age that grossed me out and made me squirm in ways few horror novels have ever managed.
Without betraying any surprises, the most significant sharp turns comes in the latter chapters, where what seemed to be a lazy motive is (thankfully) revealed to be a red herring, and where the driving force behind the horror is simpler than we can imagine, and yet carries far more serious consequences than we feared. A lot of people get to suffer in Your Turn to Suffer, and when it goes batshit off-the-rails crazy, that's where the story finds its dark, bloody, shadowy heart.
https://beauty-in-ruins.blogspot.com/2021/03/horror-book-review-your-turn-to-suffer.html
The opening chapter is creepy, but deceptively so, stoking our interest in Lori's suffering, yet holding back on the true horror, even as it misleads us into expecting something safe and familiar. "Confess and atone - or suffer" is such a great line, but it really only scratches the surface of what's involved here.
Where the story takes its first sharp turn is in the fifth chapter, where what we expect to be a cruel reprimand from the boss turns into a giddy threat to "Tear off one of your tits with my teeth" (and worse!), and where instead of blaming Lori for her bad day, a coworker's sob story ends with the disgusting offer to share in eating a bloody, half-eaten cat. Yeah, suddenly, this just got interesting!
The mythology of the tale is a little shaky, with the rules seeming to change to suit the story but, in all fairness, even the monsters admit they're making it up as they go. The human-looking monsters are the scariest, perhaps because they are more relatable, but the ways in which the monstrous Shadowkin can corrupt those around us is horribly fascinating. There's a scene involving a young mail carrier and a busty housewife twice his age that grossed me out and made me squirm in ways few horror novels have ever managed.
Without betraying any surprises, the most significant sharp turns comes in the latter chapters, where what seemed to be a lazy motive is (thankfully) revealed to be a red herring, and where the driving force behind the horror is simpler than we can imagine, and yet carries far more serious consequences than we feared. A lot of people get to suffer in Your Turn to Suffer, and when it goes batshit off-the-rails crazy, that's where the story finds its dark, bloody, shadowy heart.
https://beauty-in-ruins.blogspot.com/2021/03/horror-book-review-your-turn-to-suffer.html
This is my first of Tim Waggoner's work, and I am hooked. The story didn't go like I was expecting from the description. It was extremely creative. There was gore and horror elements, both of which I enjoy. The descriptions were vivid. Driving home from work at night I imagined I was on the Nightway, very creepy. I will be reading more from Tim Waggoner again.
Thank you to Flame Tree Publishing and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this e-ARC.
Thank you to Flame Tree Publishing and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this e-ARC.
Your Turn to Suffer is an otherworldly horror novel featuring the terrifying Cabal.
The protagonist, Lori, is a normal person. She suffers from severe migraines, but generally she lives an ordinary life. She has an ordinary job, and has normal problems.
That is, until she encounters sinister otherworldly beings who inform Lori that she must confess, or else. The problem is that she has no idea of what she's done. Then things turn dark. Very dark.
This is a wild ride. From the off, Waggoner holds no punches. It's clear straightaway that Your Turn to Suffer isn't going to hold off on the dark imagery.
The book is like a nightmare come to life. In certain sections, I was reminded of James Herbert. This is a good horror book.
I would recommend this to all horror fans. This was my first book by this author, but it definitely won't be my last.
Thanks to Tim Waggoner, NetGalley, and Flame Tree Press for this advanced copy.
The protagonist, Lori, is a normal person. She suffers from severe migraines, but generally she lives an ordinary life. She has an ordinary job, and has normal problems.
That is, until she encounters sinister otherworldly beings who inform Lori that she must confess, or else. The problem is that she has no idea of what she's done. Then things turn dark. Very dark.
This is a wild ride. From the off, Waggoner holds no punches. It's clear straightaway that Your Turn to Suffer isn't going to hold off on the dark imagery.
The book is like a nightmare come to life. In certain sections, I was reminded of James Herbert. This is a good horror book.
I would recommend this to all horror fans. This was my first book by this author, but it definitely won't be my last.
Thanks to Tim Waggoner, NetGalley, and Flame Tree Press for this advanced copy.
You ever crave true horror but can't find a title to scratch the itch? This is the one you're looking for.
Physical therapist, Lori, lives a relatively uncomplicated life until the mysterious Cabal appears out of nowhere and demands that she “confess and atone — or suffer.” Bizarre nightmare creatures continually chip away at her safety, her sanity, and everything she loves until she can uncover and atone for her own horrible truth.
Your Turn to Suffer is the most intense book I've read in a very long time. This title is dedicated to David Lynch, and that definitely makes sense. The sudden slips between normalcy and the surreal dreamscape are nightmarish to say the least. It’s cryptic, bizarre, horrible, beautiful, and most of it remains just out of reach. Until it doesn’t.
Around the midpoint, there are some short scenes involving minor characters and townspeople when the nightmare hits. This is the turning point where the plot stops being distinctly Lynchian and diverges into something paranormal yet hyperrealistic at the same time. The effect is gutting.
The terms “splatterpunk” and “extreme horror” are sometimes used interchangeably, but this, I feel, is the difference. Yep, there’s a lot of gore, but the story touches on obvious fears as well as psychic horrors that I didn’t even know existed. Some scenes were pure fantasy a la Beetlejuice, while others were way too real.
About a quarter of the way through, the book reaches a point that would be climactic in the hands of other authors, but Mr. Waggoner turns the heat higher and higher until we're burning, then turns it up one more time.
That said, I do think there are too many things going on in this world. The Cabal is made up of such diverse, um, entities that it's hard to know what’s scary and what’s just weird. Some of the scenes are so “out there” that it’s just too much. There are no rules whatsoever.
It’s hard to summarize this story and do it justice. Basically, if you like your horror with a side of mindf*ck, you should just read this. This one pulls out all the stops. I can’t imagine any reader would be unaffected by this brutal book.
CW: strong horror elements including animal abuse and a disturbing scene with child victims.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Physical therapist, Lori, lives a relatively uncomplicated life until the mysterious Cabal appears out of nowhere and demands that she “confess and atone — or suffer.” Bizarre nightmare creatures continually chip away at her safety, her sanity, and everything she loves until she can uncover and atone for her own horrible truth.
Your Turn to Suffer is the most intense book I've read in a very long time. This title is dedicated to David Lynch, and that definitely makes sense. The sudden slips between normalcy and the surreal dreamscape are nightmarish to say the least. It’s cryptic, bizarre, horrible, beautiful, and most of it remains just out of reach. Until it doesn’t.
Around the midpoint, there are some short scenes involving minor characters and townspeople when the nightmare hits. This is the turning point where the plot stops being distinctly Lynchian and diverges into something paranormal yet hyperrealistic at the same time. The effect is gutting.
The terms “splatterpunk” and “extreme horror” are sometimes used interchangeably, but this, I feel, is the difference. Yep, there’s a lot of gore, but the story touches on obvious fears as well as psychic horrors that I didn’t even know existed. Some scenes were pure fantasy a la Beetlejuice, while others were way too real.
About a quarter of the way through, the book reaches a point that would be climactic in the hands of other authors, but Mr. Waggoner turns the heat higher and higher until we're burning, then turns it up one more time.
That said, I do think there are too many things going on in this world. The Cabal is made up of such diverse, um, entities that it's hard to know what’s scary and what’s just weird. Some of the scenes are so “out there” that it’s just too much. There are no rules whatsoever.
It’s hard to summarize this story and do it justice. Basically, if you like your horror with a side of mindf*ck, you should just read this. This one pulls out all the stops. I can’t imagine any reader would be unaffected by this brutal book.
CW: strong horror elements including animal abuse and a disturbing scene with child victims.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Tim Waggoner has a unique storytelling voice that I have come to enjoy over the last year. His wheelhouse is taking familiar horror tropes and fashioning something new and fresh. I’ll write my review next week and share my reading experience—I took a lot of notes—but I will say, this book surprised me. I thought I knew what I could expect from Waggoner but YOUR TURN TO SUFFER was totally unexpected. Disturbing, bizarre, and totally off the rails.
This was my second book by this author and I highly enjoyed it. Was creepy and almost paranoia felling read. Who can she trust? Who are the canal people? What do they accuse her of doing? Very engaging and fast going read
This was great - a dark, twisted horror that pulled in elements of Clive Barker and other luminaries but with it’s own twists. Their were some absolutely brutal deaths in this novel and the way the author described the fantastical world was brilliant. Sometimes I find that novels with a different dimension can be difficult to understand however, for me, the world of the Cabal was dark, twisted and imaginative. More recommended for those who like their horror with some body shocks than paranormal affairs but, in general, this is a must read - whipped through in a couple of days and left me reeling for more!
Your Turn to Suffer tells the story of Lori. Lori is a physical therapist leading a perfectly normal life until one day she’s accosted in the supermarket by a woman with goat-like eyes who tells her to confess and atone – or suffer. Lori is not quite sure what she should be confessing nor what she should atone for, but before she can properly think things through, her suffering has already begun…
First targeted by clawed shadowy creatures, then tortured by members of the so-called Cabal, is Lori experiencing a lifelike nightmare, is it real, is it both? I wasn’t sure for quite a while, but in any case it’s terribly nightmarish and there I was, sitting in the sunshine on a balmy spring day… covered in goosebumps!
Before long, not only Lori is targeted. No one is safe, her co-workers, friends and family are all accosted, hurt, tortured to get Lori to confess and atone. What exactly? Well who knows?! Lori doesn’t. And so neither does the reader, although we do know that something must have happened, something bad that Lori has apparently forgotten, something that put into motion other actions or events, all leading up to… this. Call it what you want, butterfly effect, karma, it won’t stop until Lori has figured out what she did or didn’t do, and unravelling these memories really kept this mystery lover’s mind whirring!
The mystery of it all is definitely what I enjoyed most about Your Turn to Suffer. What is it that Lori has to confess, what does she need to atone for, what has she done to bring down the Cabal’s wrath on herself and everyone she knows and cares about? Speaking of, who are these Cabal members anyway? Are they real, are they a highly realistic figment of the imagination? Are they people, are they demons? So many questions spurring me on!!
One more thing we need to talk about. Now I’m going to assume that if you’re a horror reader and you’re interested in this book, you, like me, don’t have many triggers. But just in case, I’m going to mention two minor story elements that might not go down well with some readers. Firstly, there are some goings-on with a dead cat (it’s dead, you don’t see it suffer, only people suffer in this book!). I’m a cat person myself – although not as much as one of the characters ahem
First targeted by clawed shadowy creatures, then tortured by members of the so-called Cabal, is Lori experiencing a lifelike nightmare, is it real, is it both? I wasn’t sure for quite a while, but in any case it’s terribly nightmarish and there I was, sitting in the sunshine on a balmy spring day… covered in goosebumps!
Before long, not only Lori is targeted. No one is safe, her co-workers, friends and family are all accosted, hurt, tortured to get Lori to confess and atone. What exactly? Well who knows?! Lori doesn’t. And so neither does the reader, although we do know that something must have happened, something bad that Lori has apparently forgotten, something that put into motion other actions or events, all leading up to… this. Call it what you want, butterfly effect, karma, it won’t stop until Lori has figured out what she did or didn’t do, and unravelling these memories really kept this mystery lover’s mind whirring!
The mystery of it all is definitely what I enjoyed most about Your Turn to Suffer. What is it that Lori has to confess, what does she need to atone for, what has she done to bring down the Cabal’s wrath on herself and everyone she knows and cares about? Speaking of, who are these Cabal members anyway? Are they real, are they a highly realistic figment of the imagination? Are they people, are they demons? So many questions spurring me on!!
One more thing we need to talk about. Now I’m going to assume that if you’re a horror reader and you’re interested in this book, you, like me, don’t have many triggers. But just in case, I’m going to mention two minor story elements that might not go down well with some readers. Firstly, there are some goings-on with a dead cat (it’s dead, you don’t see it suffer, only people suffer in this book!). I’m a cat person myself – although not as much as one of the characters ahem
Title: Your Turn to Suffer
Author: Tim Waggoner
Pub: Flame Tree Press
Pages: 246
Rating: 3.5/5
A huge thank you to the author, Flame Tree Press and Random Things Tours for allowing me to be part of the blog tour.
Synopsis:
Lorelai Palumbo’s life is turned upside down when a sinister group called the Cabal begin to harass her constantly. The Cabal accuse her of committing unspeakable crimes in the past which she now has to pay for but the only thing is, she doesn’t know what she is supposed to have done. Now the Cabal are tearing her life apart piece by piece, torturing her mentally and physically. The only hope she has to salvage her life is to atone to what the Cabal thinks she has done, whatever that is.
Review:
It was the book description that pulled me right in, I enjoy a good horror and I like books to affect me, so I hoped this would give me the on edge feeling I craved. The red figures as the Cabal intrigued me, I wanted to uncover who they are. I enjoy dark reads so I was eager to get stuck in.
The story definitely kicks off with a bang, you are thrown right into the story. From the very start to finish, there is action around every corner, keeping you on your toes. It was also evident from the start that the author is a very descriptive writer, who can really create an atmosphere.
I found the story like to be intriguing and I was interested to see how things would come together. I liked how I generally couldn’t call what would happen next and I found myself quite surprised by the story line, it was not what I expected at all, I generally though this would be mainly a cult read so I was pleasantly surprised. I also loved the fact that this is unlike any book I have read before.
I generally found myself lost and absorbed in the story at times. The story is told in two worlds/dimensions and although I did prefer it when told in the real world, I did find the story easy to follow. What I will also say is Tim is very ruthless with his characters so it is best to not get attached to anyone!
I enjoyed how dark the story got in places and I could feel the tenseness at times. Some of the scenes did get quite intense especially the Garden of Anguish and although I enjoyed this intenseness, I could imagine it would make squeamish readers uncomfortable at times. In places it was quite brutal and horrific, doing what a horror should do so if you’re planning on reading this do not expect a world where things become all well and good, that is not Tim’s style.
After reading Your Turn to Suffer, I had to take a little break before picking up my next book, just to digest what I had read which shows to me how good the writing style of the author is!
Author: Tim Waggoner
Pub: Flame Tree Press
Pages: 246
Rating: 3.5/5
A huge thank you to the author, Flame Tree Press and Random Things Tours for allowing me to be part of the blog tour.
Synopsis:
Lorelai Palumbo’s life is turned upside down when a sinister group called the Cabal begin to harass her constantly. The Cabal accuse her of committing unspeakable crimes in the past which she now has to pay for but the only thing is, she doesn’t know what she is supposed to have done. Now the Cabal are tearing her life apart piece by piece, torturing her mentally and physically. The only hope she has to salvage her life is to atone to what the Cabal thinks she has done, whatever that is.
Review:
It was the book description that pulled me right in, I enjoy a good horror and I like books to affect me, so I hoped this would give me the on edge feeling I craved. The red figures as the Cabal intrigued me, I wanted to uncover who they are. I enjoy dark reads so I was eager to get stuck in.
The story definitely kicks off with a bang, you are thrown right into the story. From the very start to finish, there is action around every corner, keeping you on your toes. It was also evident from the start that the author is a very descriptive writer, who can really create an atmosphere.
I found the story like to be intriguing and I was interested to see how things would come together. I liked how I generally couldn’t call what would happen next and I found myself quite surprised by the story line, it was not what I expected at all, I generally though this would be mainly a cult read so I was pleasantly surprised. I also loved the fact that this is unlike any book I have read before.
I generally found myself lost and absorbed in the story at times. The story is told in two worlds/dimensions and although I did prefer it when told in the real world, I did find the story easy to follow. What I will also say is Tim is very ruthless with his characters so it is best to not get attached to anyone!
I enjoyed how dark the story got in places and I could feel the tenseness at times. Some of the scenes did get quite intense especially the Garden of Anguish and although I enjoyed this intenseness, I could imagine it would make squeamish readers uncomfortable at times. In places it was quite brutal and horrific, doing what a horror should do so if you’re planning on reading this do not expect a world where things become all well and good, that is not Tim’s style.
After reading Your Turn to Suffer, I had to take a little break before picking up my next book, just to digest what I had read which shows to me how good the writing style of the author is!
I received a free review copy of Your Turn to Suffer from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review - my sincerest thanks to both the author and the publisher. :)
Mr. Waggoner does an excellent job of creating this nightmare filled psychosomatic world where things change in the blink of an eye and most of the way through you still aren't sure if the occurrences and creatures are actually real.
Sadly for me this is where the book started to fall apart and it's a damn shame because like I said his writing and world creation are superbly done and adrenaline inducing. The first 3/4's of the book are this intense wild ride through delirium and reality then this comes to a screeching halt with a rather suspect way of ending the book in my humble opinion. Without spoilers the ending happenings are just too plot armored for me and left me wondering "Why didn't they just do that on page 40?".
That said I have his Alien: Prototype novel and still have high hopes for that especially with his insane talent of world building and making you feel the terror/adrenaline.
Mr. Waggoner does an excellent job of creating this nightmare filled psychosomatic world where things change in the blink of an eye and most of the way through you still aren't sure if the occurrences and creatures are actually real.
Sadly for me this is where the book started to fall apart and it's a damn shame because like I said his writing and world creation are superbly done and adrenaline inducing. The first 3/4's of the book are this intense wild ride through delirium and reality then this comes to a screeching halt with a rather suspect way of ending the book in my humble opinion. Without spoilers the ending happenings are just too plot armored for me and left me wondering "Why didn't they just do that on page 40?".
That said I have his Alien: Prototype novel and still have high hopes for that especially with his insane talent of world building and making you feel the terror/adrenaline.