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spookyoctopusreads's review against another edition
3.0
I kept debating what to say about this one for quite some time before I sat down to type this. To be honest, this book just wasn't something that drew me in, even though it could easily be read in one sitting, and has received quite a few glowing reviews.
On the one hand, I enjoyed the soft, but fresh, take on the apocalypse trope. The world seems to be ending when Nick and his friends return from a hunting trip to find the streets empty and the town boarded up with not a soul in sight. They soon learn that the government has made a mistake when they released infected flies to kill off a tent worm invasion. The flies actually end up killing off far more than the tent worms. That set-up alone makes this a scary, and seemingly realistic, scenario. It would certainly be enough to give me a full blown panic attack.
On the other hand, I just couldn't get into the story. The concept was there, but I just didn't find myself connecting to the characters or having any inkling of concern for them. I just read through the pages feeling very ho-hum about the entire thing. The execution of the events preceding the fly invasion and Nick's return home were rather lifeless and vanilla, in my opinion. I felt that the most compelling characters in the story were the children, and I would have loved to have seen them developed more. Seeing the fly apocalypse through the eyes of children who don’t know if they’ll ever play in the sunshine again would have been more interesting to me.
Although the premise was a good one, there just wasn’t enough going on in the book to really garner my full attention. There was lots of sitting in the house talking about what was happening and what could happen. We just kept hearing about it but didn’t really “see” much of the apocalypse. Each time I thought the story was picking up, the moment was fleeting and then quickly dissipated.
On the one hand, I enjoyed the soft, but fresh, take on the apocalypse trope. The world seems to be ending when Nick and his friends return from a hunting trip to find the streets empty and the town boarded up with not a soul in sight. They soon learn that the government has made a mistake when they released infected flies to kill off a tent worm invasion. The flies actually end up killing off far more than the tent worms. That set-up alone makes this a scary, and seemingly realistic, scenario. It would certainly be enough to give me a full blown panic attack.
On the other hand, I just couldn't get into the story. The concept was there, but I just didn't find myself connecting to the characters or having any inkling of concern for them. I just read through the pages feeling very ho-hum about the entire thing. The execution of the events preceding the fly invasion and Nick's return home were rather lifeless and vanilla, in my opinion. I felt that the most compelling characters in the story were the children, and I would have loved to have seen them developed more. Seeing the fly apocalypse through the eyes of children who don’t know if they’ll ever play in the sunshine again would have been more interesting to me.
Although the premise was a good one, there just wasn’t enough going on in the book to really garner my full attention. There was lots of sitting in the house talking about what was happening and what could happen. We just kept hearing about it but didn’t really “see” much of the apocalypse. Each time I thought the story was picking up, the moment was fleeting and then quickly dissipated.
motherhorror's review against another edition
5.0
This review appeared originally in a published issue of SCREAM Mag 2019
Flies are disgusting. I can’t stand it when there’s a fly in my house making that incessant buzzing noise or tapping against the window as it tries to stupidly escape through the glass. Let’s not even talk about what flies are before they mature into adulthood. Those hideous creatures that feast on anything reeking, dead or dying.
They make my skin crawl and I’m sure I’m not alone in this. For so small an insect, flies, especially in number, induce the heebie-jeebies in us all.
That’s why this book, WAITING OUT WINTER is such a thrilling story! Author Kelli Owen takes the horror trope of an apocalyptic plague and scales it down to the smallest threat- the fly and its spawn.
But these are not your every day flies. Due to some kind of government engineering gone wrong, the flies are carriers of disease. One bite will kill you slowly and painfully.
This novella was rich with well developed characters. Instead of following this pandemic tragedy on a large scale, the author zeroes in on a family and the day to day struggles they face. It’s an emotional rollercoaster as the reader engages in the family’s victories and losses. My favorite aspect of this book was how realistic it was. It infiltrated my real-life fears-especially when there was a huge, slow fly trapped in the car with me while I was driving. I rolled all the windows down and I was relieved when it finally found its way out!
I highly recommend this novella to fans of apocalyptic, nature horror. It’s a page-turning, compelling read that leaves you feeling nervous about flies but hopeful that mankind will always find a way. I can’t wait to read the sequel, HATCH. It has a spider on the cover which already makes me creeped out.
5 out of 5 skulls
Flies are disgusting. I can’t stand it when there’s a fly in my house making that incessant buzzing noise or tapping against the window as it tries to stupidly escape through the glass. Let’s not even talk about what flies are before they mature into adulthood. Those hideous creatures that feast on anything reeking, dead or dying.
They make my skin crawl and I’m sure I’m not alone in this. For so small an insect, flies, especially in number, induce the heebie-jeebies in us all.
That’s why this book, WAITING OUT WINTER is such a thrilling story! Author Kelli Owen takes the horror trope of an apocalyptic plague and scales it down to the smallest threat- the fly and its spawn.
But these are not your every day flies. Due to some kind of government engineering gone wrong, the flies are carriers of disease. One bite will kill you slowly and painfully.
This novella was rich with well developed characters. Instead of following this pandemic tragedy on a large scale, the author zeroes in on a family and the day to day struggles they face. It’s an emotional rollercoaster as the reader engages in the family’s victories and losses. My favorite aspect of this book was how realistic it was. It infiltrated my real-life fears-especially when there was a huge, slow fly trapped in the car with me while I was driving. I rolled all the windows down and I was relieved when it finally found its way out!
I highly recommend this novella to fans of apocalyptic, nature horror. It’s a page-turning, compelling read that leaves you feeling nervous about flies but hopeful that mankind will always find a way. I can’t wait to read the sequel, HATCH. It has a spider on the cover which already makes me creeped out.
5 out of 5 skulls
charshorrorcorner's review against another edition
4.0
A few years ago we had an invasion of caterpillars that was so bad we would be driving over a carpet of them to get into our garage. Seriously, our blacktop was a moving wave of caterpillars. It freaks me out to this day, but hey-at least they didn't fly. Just think about how hard it is to avoid flies.
WAITING OUT WINTER is about an invasion of killer flies; a government experiment gone wrong, (don't they always?) However this isn't your average romping, chomping creature feature. This is a quiet little horror story, taking place during an apocalypse, but focused on the disaster from a small town and family point of view. It's not gory, but it is poignant, sad and scary.
This was a short, entertaining story and only my second from Kelli Owen. I recommend it and I will be on to the second novella shortly!
You can get a copy here: https://amzn.to/2IhDEJZ
*I bought this book with my hard earned cash and Kelli Owen was kind enough to sign it for me. Thank you, Kelli!*
WAITING OUT WINTER is about an invasion of killer flies; a government experiment gone wrong, (don't they always?) However this isn't your average romping, chomping creature feature. This is a quiet little horror story, taking place during an apocalypse, but focused on the disaster from a small town and family point of view. It's not gory, but it is poignant, sad and scary.
This was a short, entertaining story and only my second from Kelli Owen. I recommend it and I will be on to the second novella shortly!
You can get a copy here: https://amzn.to/2IhDEJZ
*I bought this book with my hard earned cash and Kelli Owen was kind enough to sign it for me. Thank you, Kelli!*
teamredmon's review against another edition
4.0
I started reading Waiting Out Winter one afternoon and by the time I looked up, I was done with it! Yes, it's a novella but it really pulls you in. The book is about a believable apocalypse. In order to deal with a nuisance of parasitic worms eating plants, scientists genetically engineer some flies to kill the worms. Instead, they carry a disease that's deadly to humans.
I think my favorite part of this book is that it focuses on only a few people in a small town. While the entire world is affected we see all of it through the eyes of one small group of people. I thought the characters were well developed and interesting. I would like to read more books like this that deal with unusual causes for the end of the world.
I hear there's a sequel to this called HATCH and I'll definitely be checking that out to read more about this world.
I think my favorite part of this book is that it focuses on only a few people in a small town. While the entire world is affected we see all of it through the eyes of one small group of people. I thought the characters were well developed and interesting. I would like to read more books like this that deal with unusual causes for the end of the world.
I hear there's a sequel to this called HATCH and I'll definitely be checking that out to read more about this world.
brennanlafaro's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up for Goodreads.
This book offered a take on an end-of-the-world type plague that almost makes you snicker at first, but is increasingly terrifying as you go along. In Waiting Out Winter, death comes via a single bit from an infected fly. Zombies, you can barricade yourself away from, but a fly? No matter how airtight you think you’ve sealed yourself in, there’s always going to be the chance one gets in.
This is where Kelli Owen injects a lot of the horror into this story. There is an especially tense and well-written scene in which a character attempts to find a fly in the darkness, knowing they must kill it before it can bite them. I also liked the added danger in this created world where the sickness turns animals into rabid, hungry beasts, adding another layer of danger for an already tenuous group of survivors.
I will rarely fault a novella for being too short, and generally don’t care for reviews that do, but this is largely dependent on the author packing a complete story into my short time spent with them. This book in its complete form felt like chapter one in an apocalyptic epic. Owen lets us know that the story continues in the Hatch, but as a reader, I felt like this portion of the story had a little more to tell me.
Waiting Out Winter also does a fair bit with the survivors we spend our time with. There was room for them to be more fleshed out, but I had no problem empathizing when bad things happen, both with the character it happens to and the characters left to deal with the aftermath. A sure sign that the groundwork was laid, whether I noticed or not.
Truth be told, I will almost certainly pick up The Hatch. I know these survivors already, and there’s nothing I hate worse than spiders.
This book offered a take on an end-of-the-world type plague that almost makes you snicker at first, but is increasingly terrifying as you go along. In Waiting Out Winter, death comes via a single bit from an infected fly. Zombies, you can barricade yourself away from, but a fly? No matter how airtight you think you’ve sealed yourself in, there’s always going to be the chance one gets in.
This is where Kelli Owen injects a lot of the horror into this story. There is an especially tense and well-written scene in which a character attempts to find a fly in the darkness, knowing they must kill it before it can bite them. I also liked the added danger in this created world where the sickness turns animals into rabid, hungry beasts, adding another layer of danger for an already tenuous group of survivors.
I will rarely fault a novella for being too short, and generally don’t care for reviews that do, but this is largely dependent on the author packing a complete story into my short time spent with them. This book in its complete form felt like chapter one in an apocalyptic epic. Owen lets us know that the story continues in the Hatch, but as a reader, I felt like this portion of the story had a little more to tell me.
Waiting Out Winter also does a fair bit with the survivors we spend our time with. There was room for them to be more fleshed out, but I had no problem empathizing when bad things happen, both with the character it happens to and the characters left to deal with the aftermath. A sure sign that the groundwork was laid, whether I noticed or not.
Truth be told, I will almost certainly pick up The Hatch. I know these survivors already, and there’s nothing I hate worse than spiders.
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