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2.96 AVERAGE
2.96 AVERAGE
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I feel like I should have read this book while smoking some weed or something.
Interesting premise, but not for me.
Interesting premise, but not for me.
This book was interesting, kept me turning the pages - but also kind of fell flat. I loved the premise, it had so many things I usually love in horror. I mean, haunted/cursed book? Washed up rockers? Some 4th wall breaking? Supernatural spookiness? Paranoia? It had promise, but it just didn't tie together well for me and I found the direction it took just isn't one that I enjoy reading in horror. I overall enjoyed reading it, but was left wanting more and unsatisfied overall with how it wrapped up.
If you like horror that takes a slightly out there turn and leaves you with unanswered questions/ambiguous endings I'd highly recommend this one.
If you like horror that takes a slightly out there turn and leaves you with unanswered questions/ambiguous endings I'd highly recommend this one.
My review of Will Haunt You can be found at High Fever Books.
Aging rocker, Jesse, has a bit of a problem. A mysterious radio broadcast fills his ears moments before his car crashes, and he finds himself fleeing into the nearby woods, chased by identical twins and strange creatures. It’s a lousy way to end a night that should have been spent celebrating the final performance of his band, Rising Dead. A recovering alcoholic, he should have been sipping seltzer and getting home early to his wife and son. Instead, he finds himself ensnared in a conspiracy far beyond his understanding, targeted for reasons he’ll never know. All because he read a stupid book.
Brian Kirk’s Will Haunt You is told entirely from Jesse’s first-person point-of-view, and readers will no doubt find themselves just as mystified and confused by the perilous, bizarre situations Jesse is confronted with. Jesse, of course, has no idea what the hell is happening, or why, but we’re in this together, our knowledge equally, and frustratingly, limited.
Once things kick off and we’re plunged into the thick of things, Will Haunt You is positively terrifying, and Kirk delivers what may be some of the best horror writing of the year thus far. The atmosphere induces an instinctual dread, coupled with the sheer craziness of the situation we’re launched into. It’s a chaotic and confounding assault on the senses. We don’t know what is happening, let alone what could happen next. Just like Jesse, readers are denied any sort of information or hints as to why these things are occurring or who is responsible, and it’s legitimately scary stuff. The total denial of information is wholly unsteadying. Almost immediately, the rug is pulled out from under us and we’re forced to run headlong into the dark, completely ignorant of what’s out there. Kirk’s writing is highly effective and he makes Jesse’s nightmare ours, whether we want it or not.
I can’t help but compare Will Haunt You to the David Fincher film, The Game, with Michael Douglas. There’s a measure of alternate reality gaming-cum-plot, although Will Haunt You is far more conspiracy driven. It also breaks the fourth wall on occasion. Jesse is fully aware that we are reading his story and that Will Haunt You is, literally, his story. He’s written this book as a warning, but the fact that you’re reading it at all means it’s already too late. They’re watching you, and you’re next!
How well these disruptions in the narrative work will vary by reader. It’s simply a matter of how willing you are to suspend your disbelief and play along, as it were. Personally, I found these moments of direct communication to be a bit clunky, and when they first occurred I found them to be the equivalent of an ineffective jump scare. It just didn’t work for me, and I’m not really a fan of this technique to begin with. I’m also not able to suspend my levels of disbelief long enough to take Jesse at his word. Rather than taking me deeper into the story and its alternate reality, it did the opposite, reminding me that I am just reading a book. Granted, it’s at least a book that is otherwise skillfully told and highly engaging. I would have much preferred to know more about the book Jesse read that dragged him into this whole affair, but instead that particular text is a barely discussed MacGuffin. We don’t get to know much about the book Jesse read, other than it’s a commercially, widely available read that anybody could purchase. Will Haunt You, itself, physically, takes on the role of plot device, becoming both object and subject, with frequent warnings aimed at the reader. It’s an interesting experiment, and I have to applaud Kirk for attempting something different, even if these ultimately minor elements didn’t fully work for me.
I also have to give Kirk credit for making Jesse a tragically flawed monster in his own right. Jesse is an alcoholic, a liar, and a cheater, but he’s also trying to redeem himself, even if he doesn’t particularly want or value that redemption. Readers who need a likable protagonist will find that Jesse falls well short of the mark, often and repeatedly. Reading Jesse’s story is a study in conflict, vacillating between wanting to see him punished for his various misdeeds, but also rooting for him to find some degree of answers just so you know what the hell is going on. Those answers, though, don’t come cheaply or easily…for anybody.
Will Haunt You is a consistently engaging meta narrative, even if its experimental form does take a few minor stumbles on those rare occasions when the story’s artificiality attempts to assert itself upon our own reality. This is ultimately a minor quibble. Taken on the whole, Kirk’s story is brutally, oftentimes maddeningly, engaging and presents some of the best, and most sustained, WTF?! sequences in recent memory.
[Note: I received an advance reading copy of this title from the publisher, Flame Tree Press.]
Aging rocker, Jesse, has a bit of a problem. A mysterious radio broadcast fills his ears moments before his car crashes, and he finds himself fleeing into the nearby woods, chased by identical twins and strange creatures. It’s a lousy way to end a night that should have been spent celebrating the final performance of his band, Rising Dead. A recovering alcoholic, he should have been sipping seltzer and getting home early to his wife and son. Instead, he finds himself ensnared in a conspiracy far beyond his understanding, targeted for reasons he’ll never know. All because he read a stupid book.
Brian Kirk’s Will Haunt You is told entirely from Jesse’s first-person point-of-view, and readers will no doubt find themselves just as mystified and confused by the perilous, bizarre situations Jesse is confronted with. Jesse, of course, has no idea what the hell is happening, or why, but we’re in this together, our knowledge equally, and frustratingly, limited.
Once things kick off and we’re plunged into the thick of things, Will Haunt You is positively terrifying, and Kirk delivers what may be some of the best horror writing of the year thus far. The atmosphere induces an instinctual dread, coupled with the sheer craziness of the situation we’re launched into. It’s a chaotic and confounding assault on the senses. We don’t know what is happening, let alone what could happen next. Just like Jesse, readers are denied any sort of information or hints as to why these things are occurring or who is responsible, and it’s legitimately scary stuff. The total denial of information is wholly unsteadying. Almost immediately, the rug is pulled out from under us and we’re forced to run headlong into the dark, completely ignorant of what’s out there. Kirk’s writing is highly effective and he makes Jesse’s nightmare ours, whether we want it or not.
I can’t help but compare Will Haunt You to the David Fincher film, The Game, with Michael Douglas. There’s a measure of alternate reality gaming-cum-plot, although Will Haunt You is far more conspiracy driven. It also breaks the fourth wall on occasion. Jesse is fully aware that we are reading his story and that Will Haunt You is, literally, his story. He’s written this book as a warning, but the fact that you’re reading it at all means it’s already too late. They’re watching you, and you’re next!
How well these disruptions in the narrative work will vary by reader. It’s simply a matter of how willing you are to suspend your disbelief and play along, as it were. Personally, I found these moments of direct communication to be a bit clunky, and when they first occurred I found them to be the equivalent of an ineffective jump scare. It just didn’t work for me, and I’m not really a fan of this technique to begin with. I’m also not able to suspend my levels of disbelief long enough to take Jesse at his word. Rather than taking me deeper into the story and its alternate reality, it did the opposite, reminding me that I am just reading a book. Granted, it’s at least a book that is otherwise skillfully told and highly engaging. I would have much preferred to know more about the book Jesse read that dragged him into this whole affair, but instead that particular text is a barely discussed MacGuffin. We don’t get to know much about the book Jesse read, other than it’s a commercially, widely available read that anybody could purchase. Will Haunt You, itself, physically, takes on the role of plot device, becoming both object and subject, with frequent warnings aimed at the reader. It’s an interesting experiment, and I have to applaud Kirk for attempting something different, even if these ultimately minor elements didn’t fully work for me.
I also have to give Kirk credit for making Jesse a tragically flawed monster in his own right. Jesse is an alcoholic, a liar, and a cheater, but he’s also trying to redeem himself, even if he doesn’t particularly want or value that redemption. Readers who need a likable protagonist will find that Jesse falls well short of the mark, often and repeatedly. Reading Jesse’s story is a study in conflict, vacillating between wanting to see him punished for his various misdeeds, but also rooting for him to find some degree of answers just so you know what the hell is going on. Those answers, though, don’t come cheaply or easily…for anybody.
Will Haunt You is a consistently engaging meta narrative, even if its experimental form does take a few minor stumbles on those rare occasions when the story’s artificiality attempts to assert itself upon our own reality. This is ultimately a minor quibble. Taken on the whole, Kirk’s story is brutally, oftentimes maddeningly, engaging and presents some of the best, and most sustained, WTF?! sequences in recent memory.
[Note: I received an advance reading copy of this title from the publisher, Flame Tree Press.]
I’m split on this book. It got better towards the ending and I think the initial concept was interesting, but it seemed to spiral out of control. At least that’s how I felt
I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Flame Tree Press in exchange for an honest review.
This book honestly has me so confused. This is one of the hardest books for me to rate because I just don't know what to make of it. Will Haunt You is a horror book about an aging rockstar who has read a book and now weird things are happening to him. The book he has read is the one you are reading right now by picking this up and so there are a lot of meta comments strewn throughout it. I actually felt this part of it was a little underused and there could have been greater potential for creating horror through this. However, that's not the book's biggest problem.
This plot...what plot? I had no idea what was going on half the time. It was like a series of events strewn together that made no cohesive sense and didn't build up to a proper plot. This is definitely not a small problem and I would have rated this book lower if not for the fact I enjoyed reading it so much. Brian Kirk is actually an extremely talented writer to make this absolute mess even remotely work and he definitely deserves props for that. I was never bored and I never switched off, despite not knowing what on earth was actually happening most of the time.
The characters themselves are also pretty decent. Our protagonist remains likeable despite doing a lot of terrible or questionable things. His wife is a strong character once she makes an appearance. I would have liked to learn more about Solomon, the person responsible for giving the main character the book in the first place, but that's an extension of my criticism towards the meta aspects. The female groupie character also could have benefited from a little more expansion, especially as her part is essentially over once the wife appears.
Overall, this is a baffling but enjoyable book. I would love to read more by Brian Kirk as with a more solid plot, he could easily produce a 5 star read for me. As far as horror books go, this has some major flaws but is personally saved for me by strong writing and enough intrigue to keep me reading. It's just such a shame I couldn't rate it higher..
Overall Rating: 3/5
This book honestly has me so confused. This is one of the hardest books for me to rate because I just don't know what to make of it. Will Haunt You is a horror book about an aging rockstar who has read a book and now weird things are happening to him. The book he has read is the one you are reading right now by picking this up and so there are a lot of meta comments strewn throughout it. I actually felt this part of it was a little underused and there could have been greater potential for creating horror through this. However, that's not the book's biggest problem.
This plot...what plot? I had no idea what was going on half the time. It was like a series of events strewn together that made no cohesive sense and didn't build up to a proper plot. This is definitely not a small problem and I would have rated this book lower if not for the fact I enjoyed reading it so much. Brian Kirk is actually an extremely talented writer to make this absolute mess even remotely work and he definitely deserves props for that. I was never bored and I never switched off, despite not knowing what on earth was actually happening most of the time.
The characters themselves are also pretty decent. Our protagonist remains likeable despite doing a lot of terrible or questionable things. His wife is a strong character once she makes an appearance. I would have liked to learn more about Solomon, the person responsible for giving the main character the book in the first place, but that's an extension of my criticism towards the meta aspects. The female groupie character also could have benefited from a little more expansion, especially as her part is essentially over once the wife appears.
Overall, this is a baffling but enjoyable book. I would love to read more by Brian Kirk as with a more solid plot, he could easily produce a 5 star read for me. As far as horror books go, this has some major flaws but is personally saved for me by strong writing and enough intrigue to keep me reading. It's just such a shame I couldn't rate it higher..
Overall Rating: 3/5
After finishing this book I was reminded why I so often don’t put stock in the reviews of others. I skimmed a few reviews just out of curiosity and I was a bit apprehensive that I would encounter a story that was confusing, hard to follow or uninteresting.
I’m happy to say that wasn’t the experience I had. Kirk is truly becoming a master of psychological horror/thriller tales, and to me those are often the most terrifying. I can’t claim to be able to understand or explain every single aspect of the story but, to me, that’s part of what makes it so scary. Uncertainty feeds our fears and we all fear something different. Our past, our mistakes, the people we once were or the people we fear becoming. I related greatly to Jesse and the way he felt while onstage, it resonated with me probably more than I could express. Overall, a great read and the type of story that I can read again and likely get something different from it each time I read.
I’m happy to say that wasn’t the experience I had. Kirk is truly becoming a master of psychological horror/thriller tales, and to me those are often the most terrifying. I can’t claim to be able to understand or explain every single aspect of the story but, to me, that’s part of what makes it so scary. Uncertainty feeds our fears and we all fear something different. Our past, our mistakes, the people we once were or the people we fear becoming. I related greatly to Jesse and the way he felt while onstage, it resonated with me probably more than I could express. Overall, a great read and the type of story that I can read again and likely get something different from it each time I read.
I felt let down by the premise of this book. It seems like it is going to be a story about this strange haunted book that, Ringu-style, after you read it, you are sort of screwed and weird, horrifying stuff starts happening to you. But that really isn’t what this book is about at all. The haunted book part felt secondary to the rest of the plot, almost tacked on.
Reading this book is definitely a wacky mind trip—you won’t know what’s coming next and when it does come, you’ll only be able to think, wtf have I gotten myself into?
I felt that the narrative was a parable for alcoholism and drug addiction. Even though Jesse has a stable life now with his wife and child, that doesn’t mean that things are easy. He will always be an addict, and he has more than one demon on his back. Jesse winds up where he is because of his mistakes, especially the ones he isn’t able to own up to.
When he goes back with his pals for one night to relive the glory days of the past, everything crumbles. Putting himself in the path of temptation leads to making bad decisions left and right, and though in Will Haunt You the consequences are on a much larger and infinitely stranger scale than just falling off the wagon, the book captures the insanity and lack of control that an addict might feel, careening through life with little control. Even if they care about the outcome, they aren't able to control their actions in the moment.
I’m not sure how this interpretation ties together with every thread and character of the book, but it is just something I was kept coming back to as I tried to piece together exactly what was going on.
This isn’t a straightforward horror novel. It leaves empty spaces, room for uncertainty, scenes that are strange and unclear, sci-fi-ish tones of weirdness. These aren’t bad things. It just didn’t work for me in this narrative.
Perhaps there is a haunted book for all of us, one that captures all our worst fears and lets them loose. You just can’t let that book catch up with you—you have to be the one who makes the decisions about your life.
My thanks to Flame Tree Press for my copy of this one to read and review.
Reading this book is definitely a wacky mind trip—you won’t know what’s coming next and when it does come, you’ll only be able to think, wtf have I gotten myself into?
I felt that the narrative was a parable for alcoholism and drug addiction. Even though Jesse has a stable life now with his wife and child, that doesn’t mean that things are easy. He will always be an addict, and he has more than one demon on his back. Jesse winds up where he is because of his mistakes, especially the ones he isn’t able to own up to.
When he goes back with his pals for one night to relive the glory days of the past, everything crumbles. Putting himself in the path of temptation leads to making bad decisions left and right, and though in Will Haunt You the consequences are on a much larger and infinitely stranger scale than just falling off the wagon, the book captures the insanity and lack of control that an addict might feel, careening through life with little control. Even if they care about the outcome, they aren't able to control their actions in the moment.
I’m not sure how this interpretation ties together with every thread and character of the book, but it is just something I was kept coming back to as I tried to piece together exactly what was going on.
This isn’t a straightforward horror novel. It leaves empty spaces, room for uncertainty, scenes that are strange and unclear, sci-fi-ish tones of weirdness. These aren’t bad things. It just didn’t work for me in this narrative.
Perhaps there is a haunted book for all of us, one that captures all our worst fears and lets them loose. You just can’t let that book catch up with you—you have to be the one who makes the decisions about your life.
My thanks to Flame Tree Press for my copy of this one to read and review.
"Come with me, and I promise I'll get you out of here. Do this, and they'll kill you. Plain and simple. There's no looking behind the curtain." - from Will Haunt You by Brian Kirk (2019)
"By reading the book, you have volunteered to participate in the author's deadly game, with every page drawing you closer to your own personalized nightmare." From the moment I saw this foreboding statement on the inside jacket, I knew I had buy it and read the rest of this novel. What I found in Brian Kirk's Will Haunt You was a wonderfully weird story, with a surprising amount of heart. The story centres around the character of Jesse Wheeler, a middle-aged former guitarist of a heavy metal group. Jesse, having been told to read this book by one of his former band mates, is quick to dismiss the urban folklore surrounding it. However, his attitude quickly changes on the night of a reunion performance with his band. Being seven years sober, Jesse is forced to drive himself and one of his inebriated band mates home after the gig. While en-route on a dark and empty highway, his car suddenly breaks down, and he is pursued by a group of unknown aggressors. After he is unceremoniously knocked out, he comes to in a strange underground lab, where an unseen and ominous "Doctor O" taunts Jesse with detailed knowledge of his past in an effort to torture his mind...
It took me a couple of days to process what I experienced when reading this novel. Not only was the story strangely unique, but it was also haunting with its continuous statements pleading with me to stop reading, and alluding to a future evil. I have never read a story that has so effectively broken down the fourth-wall between narrator and reader, and found myself seriously contemplating whether I should continue. Kirk does an amazing job of bringing the reader into the story, and making you really invested in Jesse's well-being through detailed character development. His descriptive narrative also provides the reader with a clear view of the horrors that are occurring, leaving you with goosebumps while reading some of the more disturbing passages.
Overall, I would give this novel a 5/5. It will forever stick-out in my mind as one of the most terrifying and weird stories I have ever read, and I encourage my fellow horror fans to give it a try. I am looking forward to reading more of Kirk's works in the future.
"By reading the book, you have volunteered to participate in the author's deadly game, with every page drawing you closer to your own personalized nightmare." From the moment I saw this foreboding statement on the inside jacket, I knew I had buy it and read the rest of this novel. What I found in Brian Kirk's Will Haunt You was a wonderfully weird story, with a surprising amount of heart. The story centres around the character of Jesse Wheeler, a middle-aged former guitarist of a heavy metal group. Jesse, having been told to read this book by one of his former band mates, is quick to dismiss the urban folklore surrounding it. However, his attitude quickly changes on the night of a reunion performance with his band. Being seven years sober, Jesse is forced to drive himself and one of his inebriated band mates home after the gig. While en-route on a dark and empty highway, his car suddenly breaks down, and he is pursued by a group of unknown aggressors. After he is unceremoniously knocked out, he comes to in a strange underground lab, where an unseen and ominous "Doctor O" taunts Jesse with detailed knowledge of his past in an effort to torture his mind...
It took me a couple of days to process what I experienced when reading this novel. Not only was the story strangely unique, but it was also haunting with its continuous statements pleading with me to stop reading, and alluding to a future evil. I have never read a story that has so effectively broken down the fourth-wall between narrator and reader, and found myself seriously contemplating whether I should continue. Kirk does an amazing job of bringing the reader into the story, and making you really invested in Jesse's well-being through detailed character development. His descriptive narrative also provides the reader with a clear view of the horrors that are occurring, leaving you with goosebumps while reading some of the more disturbing passages.
Overall, I would give this novel a 5/5. It will forever stick-out in my mind as one of the most terrifying and weird stories I have ever read, and I encourage my fellow horror fans to give it a try. I am looking forward to reading more of Kirk's works in the future.
I would like to thank Flame Tree Press, Brian Kirk, and Netgalley for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.
The premise for this book sounded abs-freaking-lutely amazing!!! I was all for it. However, I feel it didn’t quite hit the mark. It really started off very suspenseful and downright creepy...but then it got weird, and it kept getting weird. It was so bizarre I had some trouble following the story. There didn’t feel like any rhyme or reason for why the author was taking the story in a particular direction other than it was weird. Which would have been fine but I also felt like I was missing something throughout the story. Kind of a ‘had to have been there’ thing, which was also kind of weird and I wonder if it’s just me? I really don’t quite understand the concept of the villains here. There was a lot of philosophy (which I don’t like) which could have been the problem too.
I could not tell in which direction anything was headed. I spent the majority of the time not trusting a damn thing as hope is dangled above Jesse like a carrot so often that it begins to feel so flimsy every time. That alone kept the story pretty suspenseful.
I will say though that Kirk did a stupendous job on that ending! The ending made the book.
Happy Reading
The premise for this book sounded abs-freaking-lutely amazing!!! I was all for it. However, I feel it didn’t quite hit the mark. It really started off very suspenseful and downright creepy...but then it got weird, and it kept getting weird. It was so bizarre I had some trouble following the story. There didn’t feel like any rhyme or reason for why the author was taking the story in a particular direction other than it was weird. Which would have been fine but I also felt like I was missing something throughout the story. Kind of a ‘had to have been there’ thing, which was also kind of weird and I wonder if it’s just me? I really don’t quite understand the concept of the villains here. There was a lot of philosophy (which I don’t like) which could have been the problem too.
I could not tell in which direction anything was headed. I spent the majority of the time not trusting a damn thing as hope is dangled above Jesse like a carrot so often that it begins to feel so flimsy every time. That alone kept the story pretty suspenseful.
I will say though that Kirk did a stupendous job on that ending! The ending made the book.
Happy Reading