[Review] The Cold (English)

Author: Rich Hawkins
Publisher: Horrorfic Tales Pub

Genre: Horror

Pages: 224
Available: Amazon
ISBN: 978-1910283240
Price: 19,50€ 

Released: 22. July 2019

Description:

It was an English summers day like any other until the snow began to fall and kept falling. Within hours, the entire country was buried beneath a freezing white blanket. And hidden within the blizzard conditions things began to move and kill and feast.

Seth is one of the few passengers to survive the train crash. Now he and his fellow survivors face a new world of snow, ice and freezing fog, where they will be hunted like prey in the ruins of Great Britain.

They must run.

They must hide.

They must survive THE COLD.

Ray says:

To start things off, I have to admit that I bought this ebook by accident and still gave it a shot, as it was recommended to me by Amazon. Without further ado, I was thrown into a train wreck. Protagonist Seth, who is as whiny as he is able to take punishment, departs with his group a few pages in while the reader gets a small glimpse of the events that are about to fully unfold unto our unsuspecting survivors.

While the author isn't as descriptive regarding the otherwordly threats as I hoped him to be, the few words he used were sufficient to project the beasts into my mind. While the looming threat by these creatures was always palpable, the dwindling resources and harsh temperatures were more pressing issues. 

Over the course of the story we get to know several characters, most of which get little space to be properly introduced, but each of them had something tangible. They were like you and me, not ready to deal with this absolute pile of shit they were thrown into. I actually expected to witness massive assholery at certain points, but none of the characters were villainous. The interactions between characters were nonetheless believable and the bunch of theories regarding the origins of the monsters were not fully original, but cleverly woven into the story.

From my point of view, the book got a proper and enjoyable ending, with Seth's character arc coming full circle.

Conclusion:

A rather short review for a short book. It was a wild, tumultuous ride from start to finish and while I wouldn't mind a few pages more, the book absolutely works in the way as it is. An enjoyable survival horror story filled to the brim with action, Lovecraftian abominations and gore, placed in a rather unique setting. I certainly do not regret buying this eBook.