Review ~ Turner by Karl Drinkwater



Cover ~ Kindle version

Turner

by Karl Drinkwater

Published December 2011

196 pages

Genre: Horror

Average Rating: 4.09 / 5.00

My Rating: 3.50 / 5.00

 

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Cover ~ Paperback version

 

~ Synopsis ~



An isolated Welsh island seemed like the perfect escape for a convict on the run, a jilted woman, and a policeman seeking a quiet life. When the surly locals turn to murderous violence the three visitors are forced on the run together, trying to stay one step ahead of their increasingly insane pursuers.

The bad news keeps coming. There are too many to fight. There is no escape from the island. And the worst storm in years has just begun. They can only run and hide as they face a night of horror and madness. If they don't work together then none of them will live to see the light of day.

Phil Rickman, on BBC Radio Wales' Phil The Shelf literary programme, likened it to "The Wicker Man in Wales". The writer Bec Zugor summed it up as: "This will do, for visiting remote islands, what Jaws did for swimming in the sea."

This tense survival horror novel is a homage to decades of nasty villains, scary predicaments, and bloody books and films.

 

 

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 ~ My Thoughts ~

 

As a huge fan of the horror genre, books and movies alike, I liked this book but didn't love it. All different kinds of horror appeals to me from ghosts and zombies to demons and supernatural psycho killers (Jason Vorhees anyone?). Goriness doesn't bother me, and while there are some gory moments, it didn't make me ill or want to stop reading. The killers are, after all, dangerous and unhinged. I can't do the torture porn kind of horror (think of The Human Centipede, which I will never ever see!). Luckily, there isn't that kind of torture, so if you're worried about that, you need not be.

This book had a lot of potential, but it fell a bit short. Not enough to where I didn't enjoy the story - on the contrary, I was quite caught up in the terror and action. The Welsh terms and places were difficult for me to keep up with as I am unfamiliar with all of it. I had a difficult time picturing the scenes where the action was taking place. Though I experienced some difficulty, what was most important to me was how creepy the island was described to be as well as the island's residents.

There wasn't much chance to connect with the characters, although you have to remember that in the horror genre, you usually aren't supposed to connect with the characters - it's accepted and known most of the characters will die. Many times in horror, I even find myself rooting for some of the characters to die, especially if they're particularly annoying or just awful people. What makes this story so scary is not knowing which characters will die or if they even will, and of course their desperate attempts to stay alive by running away, hiding, and fighting off the killers.

I felt like I was in the story, trying to escape from the evil surrounding the island, wondering what I would do if I found myself in this situation, and how successful would I be fighting for my life. That's what made this novel so scary for me - living the fear and terror right along with the characters. I kept thinking to myself why would anyone want to go there? Especially by yourself? Although who would think about crazy things happening to you like this? My questions kept me wanting to know what was going to happen next.

The story is amazingly terrifying, and I found myself in for a big surprise once I began to realize what was going on. There's more to this story than what you think there is as you begin reading - I ended up shocked and pleased with the way the author incorporated more than just crazy, isolated island inhabitants. There are other evils lurking, and just wait until you find out what those evils turn out to be! So while I wasn't completely satisfied with this novel, I did like it enough to keep turning the pages to find out how it would end, and the ending was definitely phenomenally done

I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

~ About the Author ~

Sometimes Karl's writing spends time in the sunlit patches of literary fiction, where it likes to picnic beneath an old oak tree, accompanied by a bottle of wine, some cake, and a good book. At other times his words slope off into the dark shadows of horror fiction, and if you follow them you might hear chains rattling behind locked doors and the paranoid screams of the lost echoing in the distance. There is no obligation to enjoy both of those avenues. His aim is to tell a good story, regardless of genre.

Karl loves exercise, computer games, the natural environment, animals, social justice and zombies. (from Goodreads profile)

~ Find the Author ~

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