Monday, April 29, 2013

Affinities / Chris Hollis



Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Thriller

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Availability    
Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: NO  Smashwords: NO  Paper: YES
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

Thriller author Chris Hollis lives in the UK. He has one prior novel, Subculture, available for your favorite eReader.

Description:

“Andrew Goodwin hears voices. They wake him in the dead of night, lingering behind the walls, growing in strength until they take over.
Making him captive in his own home.

These voices are real. Andrew doesn't know who they are or what they want. Every time he approaches the door, they force him back. Whenever he wakes up, they put him to sleep, making him live on stolen moments in the darkness.

Desperate, he records his own movements, and discovers his entire life is a lie – Andrew is somehow leaving the flat each day as if things were perfectly normal.

So why doesn’t he remember? Who is in control?

And why are there bruises and bloodstains all over his body?”

Appraisal:

Affinities is a psychological thriller with a touch of the supernatural. Discussing this book without spoilers is a bit of a balancing act. Andrew, the main character, and eventually another point-of-view character, Ryan, are both having some nightmarish experiences they can’t explain and neither they nor the reader can understand. At first, it isn’t clear whether these are real or dreams. Are they delusions? Is some outside force that none of us understands responsible? As they (and we) put the pieces together, the question becomes, how can they be stopped?

This is the type of book I imagine would appeal most to horror fans. Not readers who are into blood and gore, but those who enjoy the psychological aspects of horror. It kept me off balance, along with the characters, the whole time. I was never certain where it was going or how it would conclude.

FYI:

Uses UK spelling conventions.

Format/Typo Issues:

A small number of typos and other proofing errors.

Rating: **** Four stars

No comments: