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jesskfawcett's review against another edition
3.0
A gripping page-turner of a novel in the style of Dean Koontz / early Stephen King, I literally couldn't put this down until I'd finished!
A helicopter crash-lands in a sleepy American town, unleashing an elite band of soldiers whose mission is to isolate, terrorise and annihilate...
Yes, very reminiscent of Universal Soldier, but then why should that be a bad thing?!
A helicopter crash-lands in a sleepy American town, unleashing an elite band of soldiers whose mission is to isolate, terrorise and annihilate...
Yes, very reminiscent of Universal Soldier, but then why should that be a bad thing?!
aperfectmjk's review against another edition
5.0
"I'm not afraid of the dead, I'm afraid of what made them dead."
Better late than never right? So I'm a little behind on my reviews... why do one at all at this point you ask? Well, I'll tell you why... because this one deserves it.
So here's the thing... I LOVE horror movies, but when it comes to horror novels, well they're a tricky thing, aren't they? Sometimes horror just doesn't translate on the page quite like it does on the big screen. So, when I find a horror novel that delivers, well then it needs the praise it deserves. Am I right folks?
Be WARNED... gore, brutality, this thing is a bloody mess. This is not for the squeamish or easily afraid. When reading you will want to have all the lights in the house on and your guns loaded and a phone nearby in the event of an emergency.
A helicopter crashes in the small town of Safe Haven (sweet irony there) and it's not long before the small town is taken over by a small group of highly advanced supped up super soldiers. These "soldiers" aren't just your typical American soldiers however. They have dark pasts, and this experimental drug that enhances their abilities, well, let's just say that it doesn't exactly make for the perfect "ops" team.
As the soldiers descend on Safe Haven, they have one mission, find Sheriff Streng's brother. The plan is simple, do WHATEVER it takes to find Streng, and let NOTHING and NO ONE stop them. Only Sheriff Streng knows the whereabouts of his brother Wiley and he's not telling. He will do whatever it takes to stop these soldiers from destroying his town and the people in it. He soon realizes that it might just cost him his life.
This is my first novel by Jack Kilborn (aka J.A. Konrath) and it certainly did not disappoint. While there were aspects of this novel that were somewhat out of left field, there were others that were completely believable and downright terrifying. Kilborn was able to tap into a multitude of situations that any number of people would find terrifying. There is without a doubt some place in this novel that will terrify you. I'm sure of it.
I listened to the audio version narrated by Phil Gigante, and I have to say, he brings these characters to life for sure. He brought out the CRAZY and CREEPY in each and every one of the soldiers. Yet, at the same time he was able to bring empathy and warmth to characters such as Duncan, Josh, and Fran.
I definitely plan to check out some of Jack Kilborn's other novels. I'm certain they'll be just as entertaining.
Better late than never right? So I'm a little behind on my reviews... why do one at all at this point you ask? Well, I'll tell you why... because this one deserves it.
So here's the thing... I LOVE horror movies, but when it comes to horror novels, well they're a tricky thing, aren't they? Sometimes horror just doesn't translate on the page quite like it does on the big screen. So, when I find a horror novel that delivers, well then it needs the praise it deserves. Am I right folks?
Be WARNED... gore, brutality, this thing is a bloody mess. This is not for the squeamish or easily afraid. When reading you will want to have all the lights in the house on and your guns loaded and a phone nearby in the event of an emergency.
A helicopter crashes in the small town of Safe Haven (sweet irony there) and it's not long before the small town is taken over by a small group of highly advanced supped up super soldiers. These "soldiers" aren't just your typical American soldiers however. They have dark pasts, and this experimental drug that enhances their abilities, well, let's just say that it doesn't exactly make for the perfect "ops" team.
As the soldiers descend on Safe Haven, they have one mission, find Sheriff Streng's brother. The plan is simple, do WHATEVER it takes to find Streng, and let NOTHING and NO ONE stop them. Only Sheriff Streng knows the whereabouts of his brother Wiley and he's not telling. He will do whatever it takes to stop these soldiers from destroying his town and the people in it. He soon realizes that it might just cost him his life.
This is my first novel by Jack Kilborn (aka J.A. Konrath) and it certainly did not disappoint. While there were aspects of this novel that were somewhat out of left field, there were others that were completely believable and downright terrifying. Kilborn was able to tap into a multitude of situations that any number of people would find terrifying. There is without a doubt some place in this novel that will terrify you. I'm sure of it.
I listened to the audio version narrated by Phil Gigante, and I have to say, he brings these characters to life for sure. He brought out the CRAZY and CREEPY in each and every one of the soldiers. Yet, at the same time he was able to bring empathy and warmth to characters such as Duncan, Josh, and Fran.
I definitely plan to check out some of Jack Kilborn's other novels. I'm certain they'll be just as entertaining.
skateanddonate's review against another edition
5.0
Another fantastic book by J.A. Konrath. Fast paced, action filled, clever intricately weaved plot. I actually started this book when it was released in April then put it down after a few pages, because I was going to the fair and it wouldn't fit in my back pocket (so I switched to a different book). I was pissed last night when I picked it up, because I had waited so long to read this FANTASTIC story. The only good side to having waited is Trapped should be released soon. Before reading I didn't get the mixed reviews on if this book was the scariest or not. Now that I've read it I do. It isn't one of those scary, because something startled you IT IS one of those books where the possibilities of it happen or has already happened in the real world is freaking terrifying!! Excellent in depth research that educates you while being seamlessly woven into the story. Definite a MUST READ book. Started it late last night and by page 44 I was hooked. Couldn't put it down and ended up staying up all night to finish it.
very_vero's review against another edition
5.0
Rating: 5/5
OH MY GOD THIS BOOK!!! I have no words... but I'll try to find some, just so I can write a review.
Afraid is the first book by Jack Kilborn/J.A. Konrath that I've ever read, and let me tell you it's not going to be the last. I was in the perfect mental state for a book like Afraid. I really wanted to read something action packed, with a military experiment gone bad, and a group of people trying to survive. And Afraid was exactly that, plus it was terrifying and totally gory, which I adored.
So, in Afraid the small town of Safe Haven gets a surprise visit from a group of physically enhanced soldiers, created to bring mayhem and distraction, when a helicopter crashes near the town. None of the people has the slightest idea what is going on or why those people are suddenly after them. And what originally looks like a military mission gone bad, may turned out to be exactly what was planned for the little town.
This book as insane. So much action, never a boring moment, always someone's life in immediate danger, there was so much death and fights and running from the enemy, it was really insane, beautifully insane. The first few chapters were the most terrifying thing I've ever read, and I read them at night, right before sleep. The story is very addicting, once I had the book in my hands I couldn't stop reading.
I loved the characters, even the bad guys, there all just gave life to the story. Seeing them suffer and run for their lifes kept me on edge for the whole book. My favorite one has to be Duncan, the little kid involved in the story, he was pretty amazing for a kid. If things like that happened to me when I was his age, I'd just hide under bed until the bad guys found me.
Anyways, this is an amazing story. It has a movie sense about it. I could picture everything going on. But be warned, it is not for younger readers. There is so much torture and gore, that I would only recommend this to adults only and not the fainthearted ones.
OH MY GOD THIS BOOK!!! I have no words... but I'll try to find some, just so I can write a review.
Afraid is the first book by Jack Kilborn/J.A. Konrath that I've ever read, and let me tell you it's not going to be the last. I was in the perfect mental state for a book like Afraid. I really wanted to read something action packed, with a military experiment gone bad, and a group of people trying to survive. And Afraid was exactly that, plus it was terrifying and totally gory, which I adored.
So, in Afraid the small town of Safe Haven gets a surprise visit from a group of physically enhanced soldiers, created to bring mayhem and distraction, when a helicopter crashes near the town. None of the people has the slightest idea what is going on or why those people are suddenly after them. And what originally looks like a military mission gone bad, may turned out to be exactly what was planned for the little town.
This book as insane. So much action, never a boring moment, always someone's life in immediate danger, there was so much death and fights and running from the enemy, it was really insane, beautifully insane. The first few chapters were the most terrifying thing I've ever read, and I read them at night, right before sleep. The story is very addicting, once I had the book in my hands I couldn't stop reading.
I loved the characters, even the bad guys, there all just gave life to the story. Seeing them suffer and run for their lifes kept me on edge for the whole book. My favorite one has to be Duncan, the little kid involved in the story, he was pretty amazing for a kid. If things like that happened to me when I was his age, I'd just hide under bed until the bad guys found me.
Anyways, this is an amazing story. It has a movie sense about it. I could picture everything going on. But be warned, it is not for younger readers. There is so much torture and gore, that I would only recommend this to adults only and not the fainthearted ones.
pa11av's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing book. Takes no prisoners. Brutal pacing. Killer story and most of all, it scared me, a little bit.
And the ending made me go "fuck yeah!"
And the ending made me go "fuck yeah!"
amber_reads's review against another edition
2.0
The book did not impress me. I thought the whole small-town Wisconsin was done a bit one dimensional. The story had a good pace but didn't frighten me at all. Maybe those who scare easy would keep the lights on when reading this but it's closer to PG-13 than R when it comes to horror.
jennyjc's review against another edition
4.0
I was sort of shocked by how much I enjoyed this book. Be warned: it is horrifically gruesome. But I felt like the particularly bloody parts were more often than not useful for the plot and character building, rather than being included for shock value alone. I am normally not a fan of books that include torture scenes, but the plot was such a thrill I got over it fairly quickly, skimming when I needed to. Excellent thriller for Halloween. Can't say I'd recommend it, unless you have a very steely stomach, but it was certainly a good scare, and I could not put it down!
tracisbooks's review against another edition
21% in and I'm just going to say WTF. I've read some pretty gory and disturbing stuff but I just don't have it in me right now. Yikes. :/
airving's review
5.0
not quite as daring as the other book I read by this author but still very disturbing.