ASYLUM BY MICHAEL CHAMBERS
GENRE: HORROR
REVIEW DATE: MAY 14, 2021
Kiersten and her friends love ghost hunting; their idea of a good time is rooting around haunted houses. Tonight was supposed to be no different. Kiersten is hoping the night’s spooky antics will take her mind off her troubles. This time they’re exploring Creighton Asylum, but tonight it’s not ghosts who threaten them.
Kiersten and her friends must try and survive as a very real killer chases them through the halls of the locked asylum. He knows every inch of the building by heart, and he has some nasty surprises in store for them.
Can Kiersten and her friends survive a night in the Asylum?
Asylum is a horror thriller by Micheal Chambers and narrated by Kay Webster. This novella focuses on Kiersten and her friends exploring the old and nightmarish facility, Creighton Asylum. In hopes to find ghost, ghouls and things that go bump in the night for internet fame. Instead of finding internet fame, they find something that bumps back and hunts Kiersten and her friends down. This thriller kept me interested from start to finish.
What I enjoyed.
Asylum reminds me of those 90s teen scream movies you see in the movie theaters. It has the tropes you find in these stories. Horny and drunk teens. The killer stalking his prey throughout the story, etc. However, that’s not a bad thing in this story. Chambers does an outstanding job in morphing those everyday cheesy horror tropes into something dark, thrilling and hair-raising.
There are graphic scenes in this story however, Chambers does an outstanding job at bringing them to life. So if you are squeamish, I have warned you.
With every audiobook lets talk about the narrator. Kay Webster voice acting really pulls you into the story and makes it seem like you are there with the characters.
What I didn't enjoy
The graphic scenes were well put together, but I feel Chambers relied on them heavily to bring out the horror element of the story.
What would have really made the story stand out was making the Asylum come to life. He touches on the Asylums past briefly. With Chambers’ creative mind, I feel he could have done a lot more to really bring out the creepy aura of the asylum building itself.
Overall
The Asylum is a great quick read or listen if you want a good horror story. Chambers turns something that reminds you of a cheesy 90s teen horror movie into a worthwhile horror story. Through Websters narration, I really felt like I was there. What really would have upped that creepy vibe was if the Asylum had more lore. At the end of the creepy day, this listen was an enjoyable one and Chambers has a genuine talent for the horror genre.
Final Score
4 out of 5 stars.
HARVEST NIGHTS
GENRE: HORROR
REVIEW DATE: MARCH 25, 2022
“A Lovecraftian horror tale inspired by Native American Myths and colonial times”
Harvest Nights is a story told through a young boy named Chua (Snake), who narrates the story of how the days were gone and replaced by nights when a strange shooting star appeared in the sky in 1811 Colonial America (Great Comet of 1811). During those dreadful nights, Chua, and later three other people, will have to survive the other worldly creatures that will stop at nothing to eat. A Lovecraftian horror story featuring famous historical figures and creatures inspired by Native American myths.
Harvest Nights, written by Ahmed Alameen is a satisfying novella full of horror and twists. Days have turned into never ending nights. The story centers on a young Native American boy by the name of Chua. With never ending nights come never ending dangers. Hunted down by horrors of the night, strangers must come together to survive so that they may see another night.
What first caught my eye about this story was the mash up between Lovecraftian horror and Native American folklore. Alameen does a great job at combining the two. If you are a fan of Lovecraftian horror and Native American folklore, you will enjoy this read. Alameen does his research on both subjects and does them both justice with his writing. A standout example of this would be his use of Skinwalkers. I know very little about them, but this story has made me more curious about them and left me wanting to learn more about them and other Native American stories.
With horror, there comes your typical tropes. Jump scares, gore, etc. Are there these tropes in this story, yes. However, what Alameen focuses on is the suspense element more than anything else, which makes the gore and jump scares more impactful.
My only complaint that I have about this splendid story is Alameen didn't dive more into Native American folklore. He did a great job of utilizing this element. I would have loved to see more of it.
Harvest Nights is a great horror novella. The splicing of Lovecraftian and Native American horror makes for a very riveting story. Alameen use of suspense to build up the horror within this book, which really makes it stand out. I look forward to seeing what Alameen will write next.
Final Score
3 out of 5