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sscalavera's review against another edition
4.0
In THE SHOT's opening moments, the state of things is made abundantly clear: our protagonist, one of the last remaining humans not subsisting and hallucinating wildly under the effects of an abundant and mysterious drug, is definitely on the side of the lost. The world has effectively ended already. He's just trying to figure out a place in it.
It's a familiar but seductive template, with echoes of Dawn of the Dead and I Am Legend (at least one of which is directly referenced in the pages), and Doctor Gaines executes the premise deftly, pulling in everything from filmic pastiche (a final against-all-odds showdown on the top floor of an apartment building is a highlight) to the kind of soul-searching you'd expect in a philosophical novel like Nausea or The Stranger.
All of this potentially ascribes a little too much pretension to what is, at its core, a deliberately-pulpy sci-fi horror novel that one can easily blaze through in around three hours or so. It's wildly enjoyable, at times terrifying and grotesque, and has a genius ending that left me both horrified and grinning like an idiot, if that makes a lick of sense. Definitely worth your time.
It's a familiar but seductive template, with echoes of Dawn of the Dead and I Am Legend (at least one of which is directly referenced in the pages), and Doctor Gaines executes the premise deftly, pulling in everything from filmic pastiche (a final against-all-odds showdown on the top floor of an apartment building is a highlight) to the kind of soul-searching you'd expect in a philosophical novel like Nausea or The Stranger.
All of this potentially ascribes a little too much pretension to what is, at its core, a deliberately-pulpy sci-fi horror novel that one can easily blaze through in around three hours or so. It's wildly enjoyable, at times terrifying and grotesque, and has a genius ending that left me both horrified and grinning like an idiot, if that makes a lick of sense. Definitely worth your time.
kevinwkelsey's review
4.0
A great little pulpy scifi thriller. Well written, and very self aware. Thoroughly enjoyable, like Cronenberg in his body-horror prime.
I would've liked another chapter in the middle, after the protagonist meets Arya, and before the big showdown. But, it works well as is, nice and concise.
I'll be keeping an eye on this Doctor Gaines fellow. I have a feeling we'll get lots more great stuff from him in the future.
I would've liked another chapter in the middle, after the protagonist meets Arya, and before the big showdown. But, it works well as is, nice and concise.
I'll be keeping an eye on this Doctor Gaines fellow. I have a feeling we'll get lots more great stuff from him in the future.
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