A Lesson Learned

Read the reviews. That's the lesson for today.

The reviews are loaded with references to the gory violence. People wrote how they were revolted by some of the depictions of pain, torture and graphic descriptions of terrible things people do to each other. They were right. I've read literally hundreds of thrillers and mysteries...and while some made my skin crawl and a few made me go "ewwwww" none of them was an out and out gross-out.

This book is a very well written story that you will have to wade through rivers of gore to complete. There's nothing new here -- the theme has been explored many times. The "Fill In The Blank" monster descends on a sleepy town and starts doing terrible things to the residents. And of course it's up to a handful of people to stop it.

To be honest, I was intrigued bythe plot and, despite some very goofy character actions, it delivered.

If you're a fan of splatter movies, this writer is for you. (Wearing a raincoat when you're listening may help.) But the unrelenting violence seemed to start taking the place where I was really looking for some interesting character developments, or new plot twists -- something ANYTHING to take away from the endless nastiness of the narrative.

I won't be getting any more books by this author -- despite thinking the book had merit. They are literally disturbingly violent.

40 people found this helpful

great action even if the plot is cheesy

needed a book to get me through the night and for the price and length this one did the trick- the narration was over the top which worked well for this book because the whole premise was over the top including the gore- if it was a movie it would be a solid b horror/action type film- it was by no means a classic, more like fun literary junk food- but the story line was cohesive,and even though you could pretty much guess the ending- it was suspense full enough to keep me going and the violence was new and creative as far as that stuff goes-

9 people found this helpful

What Kind of Sick F&%#...

What did you love best about Afraid?

So I told my girlfriend to recommend a book that would "shock me"; a book that would make me think "what kind of sick f&%# would come up with something so disturbing?!"

Well I didn't have that exact reaction from Afraid. One theory is because maybe I'm already some kind of sick f&%# myself. :) That's actually a pretty solid theory...

With that said, what I will say is that I discovered a really creative and gripping story. Yes, there is some serious gore, but the author only gives enough detail about those situations to allow your imagination to take it to the next sick level. He doesn't dwell on those details and that keeps the story moving at a great pace.

13 people found this helpful

Started out ok

This book started out ok. Quite grusome but scary none-the-less. WOuld have been ok, if the book length were cut in half. Too much of "good guys meet bad guys and just make it out alive" type situations. It also got a bit "sci-fi" for me.

14 people found this helpful

He had to cut his own leg off, again

This is one of those books, where saying you like it, might make people wonder about you. This is not literature. This is not all that clever, although there are twists and turns and surprises. This has to be the goriest book I have ever read or listened to. This has torture that makes you cringe, lots of bloood. The evil characters are as evil as you get. Bernie's story is so disturbing I will never forget it.

You have now been warned as all the reviews mention this is gory. I have to say I loved it because it kept my attention, it made driving hundreds of miles fly by. Entertainment value was high for me and I was in the mood to be entertained.

I am following two people that gave reviews on this. One gave it five stars and one gave it one star. The one who gave it five stars reads lots of scary stuff. The one who gave it one star is big into outdoors and military books.

No, one guy does not cut off both his legs, but his dad cut off his leg and then he finds himself caught in a bear trap and he has to cut off his leg. I will admit that after about seven hours I was ready for people to quit cutting.

The part where a little boy is caught in a burning building with his elderly babysitter and his babysitter decides she is going to shoot him to save him from burning, was extremely well done. The school locker room massacre was good and etc.

41 people found this helpful

Run, catch, torture, repeat puhleeezz

Small town USA is infiltrated by a bunch of crazy sadistic soldiers looking for a particular person. They confront people pretty much one at a time looking for said person. Three main characters are the town's only hope (not really they basically just save themselves). Much like "Trapped" all the characters are confronted, some fall or something stops them from escaping and they're tortured, somehow manage to miraculously get away, run, fall or get stuck, tortured, run somewhere else blah blah blah. I did like this one better than Trapped and could at least finish it (couldn't with his Endurance). He does a really good job of describing the torture without being too "gross". I just wish he would come up with different "scenes" for lack of a better word. They're all the same. Run, trip fall or get stuck, be tortured, escape, run somewhere else and the whole thing starts over again. Uh, how about hide or run out of town or find weapons. Seems like a B rated straight to DVD story. The plot was unique in this one and the narrator did a descent job. Just all the running around haphazardly drives me crazy. If you're bored and don't have anything better to read give it a try.

17 people found this helpful

Scary Stuff

I agree with Barry from Vancouver 100%. This is an outrageously scary story and one of these days, I will work up the courage to listen to the whole thing! (I'm still checking that my doors and windows are locked, and peeking through the curtains!)
Dick Hill would have been a much better narrator. He can do "menacing" very well but I probably would have had a heart attack in the first chapter!

6 people found this helpful

Wow

Very gory and intense, but the narration by Phil Gigante was nothing short of brilliant. He was able to acheive a different tone for each character, as well as get the maniacle giggling of one of the protaganists down pat. Good job!

8 people found this helpful

Horrifying, compelling + relentless!

I couldn't stop listening to this, even though it was horrific. The bad guys in this are SO BAD that it sickens me to think of the tortures they inflict on the unsuspecting inhabitants of Safe Haven. Awful stuff. Completely disgusting, gory, gross, unnecessary, and twisted. And yet I kept listening, because apparently I'm pretty warped myself. Horror fans will love it. It does venture into torture porn here and there, which I'm not a fan of, but the characters are powerful and likable, and the violence isn't unjustified within the world of the story. The opening is the worst part in my opinion, and there are lots of sections that could qualify as "worst parts" in this book, but that part shook me up the most. Of course, having finished it, I want to read "Trapped," which is apparently a kind of sequel? I could be wrong about that. Anyway, if you want to be horrified by the evils that men do, and to never trust the government again, by all means listen to this one. It will stain your mind and keep you cringing for days after you finish it. Excellent narrator too.

1 person found this helpful

Gory, but you really can't stop

Would you listen to Afraid again? Why?

I probably wouldn't listen to it again only because I would already know everything that was going to happen. However, it was great the first time through.

What other book might you compare Afraid to and why?

I don't think I've ever read or listened to such a graphically violent book.

Which character – as performed by Phil Gigante – was your favorite?

Santiago -- so creepy! I could almost picture him just from his voice.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

"Don't eat lunch before you see this!"

Any additional comments?

Intensely gory with nonstop action and violence, but with enough good guys and a twisty enough plot to keep you invested right to the very satisfying ending. I was cringing and biting my lip and pulling my hair through most of this book, but I do believe I will listen to more of the author's books. The narrator did a great job too, with all the screaming and groaning and gasping...

1 person found this helpful