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A review by michael_benavidez
The Fear by Spencer Hamilton
5.0
I received a free copy of the book by the author, however I also bought the fucking thing to have some skin in the game.
Why?
Cuz it's a good book. Also I like having physical copies of the things I'm reading. Screens hurt my fragile eyes.
A Pandemic Horror Story is what it's labeled as, and as such it's pretty timely in its narrative. Whether it affected me because I'm a Texan, I'm a minority that's faced a few of the things the characters here have gone through, or because the Covid pandemic has yet to reveal any end in sight, I am still uncertain.
As it is, the story takes our two protagonists, a newlywed couple that each have baggage of their own to work on, through the beginnings of the Covid crisis and works it into something...more.
There's a very real element at play here. From the homophobia, the racism, the fear that this virus instilled in people at its beginnings, really deliver a fast pace beginning that slip into something in the lines of The Shining. It becomes a small scaled claustrophobic tale that hangs on the two main characters, where time ceases to exist. Time ceases to be a meaningful character as it wibble wobbles through, becoming less and less part of the plot as the mental health and situations begin to wibble wobble into insanity. Spencer writes in a way that seems like a nice slow start, and then shifts gears several times, speeding along into something that's expected and yet unexpected all at once.
This isn't to say it's without its flaws. I do feel like the beginning could have been stretched a bit further, getting a better grasp and full view of the characters, as well as the oncoming storm that is the Covid fear. There are certain things that did feel out of place in the very real world setting, that had it not been set in Texas, and having a grasp on what it's like here, it would not have been as believable as it was.
But these are just nitpicks, things that I would have liked to relish in more. however, as it stands, the story is a delicious read that may spike the anxiety (it did mine), and despite it's decently long length, a fast read.
Why?
Cuz it's a good book. Also I like having physical copies of the things I'm reading. Screens hurt my fragile eyes.
A Pandemic Horror Story is what it's labeled as, and as such it's pretty timely in its narrative. Whether it affected me because I'm a Texan, I'm a minority that's faced a few of the things the characters here have gone through, or because the Covid pandemic has yet to reveal any end in sight, I am still uncertain.
As it is, the story takes our two protagonists, a newlywed couple that each have baggage of their own to work on, through the beginnings of the Covid crisis and works it into something...more.
There's a very real element at play here. From the homophobia, the racism, the fear that this virus instilled in people at its beginnings, really deliver a fast pace beginning that slip into something in the lines of The Shining. It becomes a small scaled claustrophobic tale that hangs on the two main characters, where time ceases to exist. Time ceases to be a meaningful character as it wibble wobbles through, becoming less and less part of the plot as the mental health and situations begin to wibble wobble into insanity. Spencer writes in a way that seems like a nice slow start, and then shifts gears several times, speeding along into something that's expected and yet unexpected all at once.
This isn't to say it's without its flaws. I do feel like the beginning could have been stretched a bit further, getting a better grasp and full view of the characters, as well as the oncoming storm that is the Covid fear. There are certain things that did feel out of place in the very real world setting, that had it not been set in Texas, and having a grasp on what it's like here, it would not have been as believable as it was.
But these are just nitpicks, things that I would have liked to relish in more. however, as it stands, the story is a delicious read that may spike the anxiety (it did mine), and despite it's decently long length, a fast read.