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jmtaylor1981's review
5.0
Dwelling is the first book of the Subdue Trilogy by my friend, Thomas S. Flowers. It follows a group of life long friends, Ricky, Johnathan, Maggie, Bobby and Jake, torn apart by war, time, ghosts & fear.
Horror is usually not in my list of genres to read but this was an enthralling read that will suck you in from the first page. The book is well paced and I was barely able to put it down. There's not a lot that this book does not have, War, Historical Fiction, Suspense, and a colorful flair for WTF?!
The characters are very well developed and leave little hidden as far as thoughts, emotions, weaknesses or fears.
I also enjoyed the little Easter egg hidden in the pages about a uniquely sinister arm chair.
This was a very entertaining read and I can't wait to start Emerging, Book Two in the series.
Horror is usually not in my list of genres to read but this was an enthralling read that will suck you in from the first page. The book is well paced and I was barely able to put it down. There's not a lot that this book does not have, War, Historical Fiction, Suspense, and a colorful flair for WTF?!
The characters are very well developed and leave little hidden as far as thoughts, emotions, weaknesses or fears.
I also enjoyed the little Easter egg hidden in the pages about a uniquely sinister arm chair.
This was a very entertaining read and I can't wait to start Emerging, Book Two in the series.
vondav's review
4.0
A group of children in the 90s set up a gang called the Suicide Squad. Now adultsthis book tells the story of the difficulties that they each suffered in the Iraq war and a house in Jotham, Texas.
Johnathon got injured whilst on tour, when a RPG got fired into his vehicle killing Ricky his best friend and causing him to loose his leg. Jake is now a vicar struggling with his faith due to what he saw in Iraq, Bobby served in the infantry, but cannot talk about what he did is now homeless and a werewolf and Maggie is Ricky's widow. She is struggling with the loss of her husband and after being threatened with eviction decides to pack up and move to Jotham to an abandoned house that they all visited one summer when they were children.
All three men are drinking to stop them thinking about the war, but strange things are happening to them, causing them to question what is going on. Bobby is getting help from a wiccan to try and get him to come to terms to what he is and Johnathon and Jake start seeing their fallen comrades.
Whilst reading the military sections of the book, the author made me understand more what the soldiers had to face on a daily basis, the fears and anxiety they suffered whilst doing their duty in Iraq and then having to adapt to a civilian life whilst suffering physical and mental scars.
The house in Jotham offers the horror element to the story and whilst the history of the house is slowly revealed, you still do not know what the horror is. These scenes when read made my skin crawl and I was totally involved in this story. It will make your imagination go wild whilst you try and work out what the monster is in the basement and why he wants the suicide squad.
You will have more questions once you have finished this book, like how did Bobby become a werewolf, what has happened to the previous owners of the house and what did the suicide squad get up to in the house in the 90s. Remember this is only book one and I am hoping that book 2 and 3 will answer these. I will definitely read them.
This is the first book that I have read by this author and I enjoyed how I got totally lost in this story.
Johnathon got injured whilst on tour, when a RPG got fired into his vehicle killing Ricky his best friend and causing him to loose his leg. Jake is now a vicar struggling with his faith due to what he saw in Iraq, Bobby served in the infantry, but cannot talk about what he did is now homeless and a werewolf and Maggie is Ricky's widow. She is struggling with the loss of her husband and after being threatened with eviction decides to pack up and move to Jotham to an abandoned house that they all visited one summer when they were children.
All three men are drinking to stop them thinking about the war, but strange things are happening to them, causing them to question what is going on. Bobby is getting help from a wiccan to try and get him to come to terms to what he is and Johnathon and Jake start seeing their fallen comrades.
Whilst reading the military sections of the book, the author made me understand more what the soldiers had to face on a daily basis, the fears and anxiety they suffered whilst doing their duty in Iraq and then having to adapt to a civilian life whilst suffering physical and mental scars.
The house in Jotham offers the horror element to the story and whilst the history of the house is slowly revealed, you still do not know what the horror is. These scenes when read made my skin crawl and I was totally involved in this story. It will make your imagination go wild whilst you try and work out what the monster is in the basement and why he wants the suicide squad.
You will have more questions once you have finished this book, like how did Bobby become a werewolf, what has happened to the previous owners of the house and what did the suicide squad get up to in the house in the 90s. Remember this is only book one and I am hoping that book 2 and 3 will answer these. I will definitely read them.
This is the first book that I have read by this author and I enjoyed how I got totally lost in this story.
gatun's review
4.0
Dwelling is an enjoyable read. I purchased the sequel and am looking forward to reading it. The Dwelling centers around a group of childhood friends who are connected by more than just fond memories. Ricky and Jonathan served together in military deployed to the mid east. Maggie, Ricky's wife, and her sister, Karen, who married Jonathan, waited for them to return safely. Bobby returned from his military service damaged beyond repair. Jake also served in the military as a chaplain. Back in civilian life, he has lost his faith from what he experienced there.
In an attack on their armored vehicle, Ricky dies and Jonathan sees something that haunts him. Then Ricky begins to haunt Jonathan. Bobby is haunted by a solider who he failed to save. Bobby is haunted by the moon. All the hauntings are connected. The hauntings are herding the friends to a hell that makes their war experiences pale in comparison. If they do not reconnect and work together, the evil will pick them off one by one. An enjoyable horror with a fresh plot.
In an attack on their armored vehicle, Ricky dies and Jonathan sees something that haunts him. Then Ricky begins to haunt Jonathan. Bobby is haunted by a solider who he failed to save. Bobby is haunted by the moon. All the hauntings are connected. The hauntings are herding the friends to a hell that makes their war experiences pale in comparison. If they do not reconnect and work together, the evil will pick them off one by one. An enjoyable horror with a fresh plot.
rincondejoss's review
4.0
I received this book from the narrator of my own free will for an unbiased review.
And I liked it so much, it was so intriguing, beginning with the tale of this kids that when grown up went to war together and experience something pretty weird and even sinister together that ends in tragedy and from there a lot of interesting and creppy things began to take place and at the end I want, more than need to know what will happen next, because it's so intriguing since this house seem to be more alive than is said or more dead maybe? You should check this book out.
the narrator voice was so clear and the acting so accurate, I really immerse myself in the acting he delivered, it was like if I knew the people he was portraying it was amazing. this narrator has the kind of voice that will let you feel the story from beginning to end.
And I liked it so much, it was so intriguing, beginning with the tale of this kids that when grown up went to war together and experience something pretty weird and even sinister together that ends in tragedy and from there a lot of interesting and creppy things began to take place and at the end I want, more than need to know what will happen next, because it's so intriguing since this house seem to be more alive than is said or more dead maybe? You should check this book out.
the narrator voice was so clear and the acting so accurate, I really immerse myself in the acting he delivered, it was like if I knew the people he was portraying it was amazing. this narrator has the kind of voice that will let you feel the story from beginning to end.
mariepiperbooks's review
4.0
DWELLING is the first novel in Flowers' SUBDUE trilogy - and if I say too much, you might have to kill me. I'd hate to spoil something, so the best I can explain is that it's like the first novel in THE LORD OF THE RINGS. We are introduced to a group of well-developed characters and their shared backstory, much of it involving the effects of war on people now returned home. As the book goes on we see them experience strange things that would all seem to be building to something super-creepy. There's loads of super-creepy things happening and startling moments. I'm a big fan of Stephen King, and it reminded me a bit of IT - a group of childhood friends back together as adults to deal with possibly otherworldly beings. Like IT, DWELLING is a scary book, for real. I look forward to reading the rest of the series to see the conclusion!
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
waynewaynus's review
1.0
A massive collection of disparate and non connected story strands. A waste of time it goes no where. It holds promise and is well written but basically goes no where and doesnt develop. More like a collection of bad short stories.
Give it a miss.
Give it a miss.
lilyn_g's review
3.0
Dwelling is not a comfortable book to read. Jonathan, the character with PTSD, is written really well. The thoughts that he has about suicide… honestly, does anyone with PTSD not think about suicide frequently at times? From personal experience, I’d say no. Anyways, his pieces are definitely the most realistic and gripping, but not what I would call ‘entertaining’. I think for the same reason I avoid memoirs and stuff. I don’t need to read about real life issues! However, the realistic solemnness of Jonathan’s issues are pushed to the background by some of the more unusual things the other members of the Suicide Squad are going through.
At the halfway point in the book, I felt like it still hadn’t gelled for me. Yes, I’d been introduced to the main characters, and I knew it was definitely building to something, but I didn’t care. I didn’t feel like the throwbacks to the Augustus character were necessary, as we were already following a few viewpoints to begin with. Still, I hung in there because while it still hadn’t totally hooked me, it’s not like I wanted to walk away from the story either. There were occasional flashes of brilliant writing that swept you into the scene, especially in the beginning.
Finally, around the last quarter of the book, it looked like things were really starting to come together, and you knew that the author was finally getting to the good stuff. Unfortunately, it’s the last quarter of the book and the author is just now getting to the good stuff. That’s a little too much (more than a little, actually) time spent on set-up and character establishment. It definitely needs tightened up a bit, and some of the repetition done away with. And, I’m sad to report, the author never actually gets to the good stuff.
It feels like the entire book was one gigantic build up with absolutely no satisfactory climax. On one hand, I was really dissatisfied with it because I felt like with all the build-up, he had to be taking it somewhere awesome, but on the other hand it didn’t leave me screaming at the book about how cliffhangers were evil. So… it is what it is, and it’s not terrible, but it’s not nearly what it could have been.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.
At the halfway point in the book, I felt like it still hadn’t gelled for me. Yes, I’d been introduced to the main characters, and I knew it was definitely building to something, but I didn’t care. I didn’t feel like the throwbacks to the Augustus character were necessary, as we were already following a few viewpoints to begin with. Still, I hung in there because while it still hadn’t totally hooked me, it’s not like I wanted to walk away from the story either. There were occasional flashes of brilliant writing that swept you into the scene, especially in the beginning.
Finally, around the last quarter of the book, it looked like things were really starting to come together, and you knew that the author was finally getting to the good stuff. Unfortunately, it’s the last quarter of the book and the author is just now getting to the good stuff. That’s a little too much (more than a little, actually) time spent on set-up and character establishment. It definitely needs tightened up a bit, and some of the repetition done away with. And, I’m sad to report, the author never actually gets to the good stuff.
It feels like the entire book was one gigantic build up with absolutely no satisfactory climax. On one hand, I was really dissatisfied with it because I felt like with all the build-up, he had to be taking it somewhere awesome, but on the other hand it didn’t leave me screaming at the book about how cliffhangers were evil. So… it is what it is, and it’s not terrible, but it’s not nearly what it could have been.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.
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