REVIEW: Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger Hunt by Michaelbrent Collings

ASIN: B07ZR8HBC3

Available: October 31, 2019

Not that any of Michaelbrent Collings’ novels are timid, but this journey reads the rawest and grittiest I have seen from him.  Even the grungy cover implies that the game refuses to play nice. The bloody smiley face reminds me of both Alan Moore’s Watchmen cover and the “Have a nice day” t-shirt with a bullet hole between the eyes. I think this story marks a change for MbC, a new level of maturity in his work. 

         

PLOT

          Scavenger Hunt tells us of five diverse and unique characters forced into a deadly game similar to Saw or perhaps a nightmarish version of The Amazing Race. Abducted—an event they only vaguely remember—the group wakes in a metal room with no indication of where or when it is.  A mysterious Mr. Do-Good invites them to play his game of terrifying choices or die.

Collings seamlessly weaves themes of action versus consequence. The story pits the lure of wealth against the desperation to escape poverty. Fate (and Do-Good) is an aggressive dealer of life choices within the definition of Home and Heritage. These are characters who seek danger to feel safe, and as they do, images of family take new and tenuous forms.    

And the clock is always against them.

The pace of this episodic novel tears through an urban landscape, but the characters also to come to life with their depth. I cared about each of these people and their fates. What unsettles me most about this is that some of the characters were murders, embezzlers, and human traffickers. 

THE AUTHOR

          Michaelbrent Collings seeks out what most publishing professionals advise against: He writes in just about every genre imaginable. I don’t see that this has hurt him any. While he is one of the most successful indie horror writers on the planet, MbC’s catalog also includes tales about a highly skilled “FixIt” in the far reaches of space (The Darklights), a pack of hyenas that makes the most vicious lion seem docile by comparison (Predators), and even a YA fantasy where fighters battle in gladiator-style arenas nestled among five mountain tops.

          When I saw Collings had been nominated for a Bram Stoker Award, I cheered.  It wasn’t long ago when being an indie author meant you were precluded for consideration of any award. MbC has been a finalist multiple times now. He is a trailblazer.   

ARE YOU THE AUDIENCE?

          I would recommend this book for MbC fans—especially so they might see what he is capable of when he pushes the envelope.  Thriller fans would equally be entertained by Scavenger Hunt where enemies race for a common goal to save their own lives among heists and guns and untouchable hackers.

Buy Scavenger Hunt on Amazon. (Not an affiliate link.)

Michaelbrent Collings' website WrittenInsomnia.com. 

Writing Quality

Writers should never settle for less than their best work. Is that mere perfectionism on my part?  Maybe.  But why put out as much effort and soul mining as writing requires for something that is only "good enough"? On the other hand, I believe the audience should be considered equally. If we write to please only ourselves, then we are just tossing our stories into the abyss.  For a story to be whole, it must have an audience. Anything else is probably narcissism.

And ultimately I believe these two goals are not mutually exclusive.

What is your opinion?

REVIEW: Wild Hunt

October 11, 2019

Cover design by Istavan Kadar.

Wild Hunt

by Nancy Kilpatrick

ASIN: B07YR8BBZ5

I have read several of Nancy Kilpatrick’s vampire novels and was grateful to receive and an advance copy of Wild Hunt. It is set in a more modern time than her recent THRONES OF BLOOD series. I loved experiencing this world through the female lead, Loralie. She is blind but also a fortune teller, which in many ways makes her stronger and better able to see more than her supernatural captor.

Vampires from Nancy Kilpatrick’s imagination become some of the most wickedly unique I have ever read. This could have grown only from decades of loving the genre as much as her fans. Her creations are neither Dracula nor dark angels, but they are steeped in the gothic traditions we love and are just as attractive as their literary ancestors. These creatures are quick to enrage and brutal once there, but also oddly sympathetic. Kilpatrick never shies from where her imagination draws her or what her fans desire.

Nancy Kilpatrick’s Website

Buy Wild Hunt

(Amazon link. Not an affiliate.)