by A.M. Shine
SYNOPSIS
You can't see them. But they can see you.
This forest isn't charted on any map. Every car breaks down at its treeline. Mina's is no different. Left stranded, she is forced into the dark woodland only to find a woman shouting, urging Mina to run to a concrete bunker. As the door slams behind her, the building is besieged by screams.
Mina finds herself in a room with a wall of glass, and an electric light that activates at nightfall, when the Watchers come above ground. These creatures emerge to observe their captive humans and terrible things happen to anyone who doesn't reach the bunker in time.
Afraid and trapped among strangers, Mina is desperate for answers. Who are the Watchers and why are these creatures keeping them imprisoned, keen to watch their every move?
REVIEW
After her car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, Mina is forced to venture into the nearby forest in the hope of finding someone to help her. Nearing the end of an exhausting day of desperately searching through the desolate woodland, she finds a woman screaming at her from a concrete hut to get inside. Over the night that follows, Mina learns of the Watchers - horrific creatures who are keeping a group of strangers prisoner in this strange bunker. Mina is determined to discover what these creatures are and find a way to escape the living nightmare she has found herself in.
Told from the alternating perspectives of Mina, Madeline, Daniel and Cara - this very cleverly gives a better insight into the way in which each character is coping with their horrific situation and is a great way to introduce them into the narrative one by one. I also loved the way that bits of history and folklore were worked into the story as it progressed and this created a really unsettling tone as the truth about the Watchers was revealed.
When I was younger, The X-Files was my favourite TV Show, and The Watchers gave me the same kind of feeling - elements of sci-fi, elements of horror, an uneasiness and creepy atmosphere which built throughout the story. On top of this, there were some very unexpected twists and turns which led to a completely shocking ending which I did not see coming, and am actually still thinking about now. I won't go into any more detail because this is a story you need to go into cold to get the full impact - but it is the perfect blend of horror and mythology for spooky season, and a very impressive debut!
A.M. Shine is a writer and advocate of the Gothic horror tradition. Born in Galway in the west of Ireland, there he received his Masters Degree in History before sharpening his quill and pursuing all things literary and macabre. His stories have won the Word Hut and Bookers Corner prize. He has published two collections, Coldwood: The Haunted Man and Other Tales and 13 and is a member of the Irish Writers Centre.
Thanks to @AriesFiction @HoZ_Books and @AMShineWriter for the opportunity to read and review.
Fiction: Horror / Folklore
Format: Hardback
ISBN: 978-1801102124
Pages: 320 pp
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