I’ve always had a hard time reading horror: it’s too real, too terrifying–my mind swallows the images and replays them in an endless obsessive-compulsive loop. So it wasn’t easy for me to agree to read a novel by horror author Brick Marlin, whose kind, friendly emails seem the antitheses of the wicked imagination behind his writing.
But read it I did… Surprising myself by actually enjoying the novel, even though I couldn’t sleep for several nights after finishing it.
And so I’m very pleased to share the following review with everyone, particularly now as Brick embarks on a blog tour to promote his writing.
Shadow Out of the Sky by Brick Marlin*
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Shadow Out of the Sky begins with a deceptively innocent scene: a young girl, looking for comfort after experiencing a bad dream, wakes her mother in the middle of the night. But what the girl wants is anything but innocent, and the reader is soon off on a journey of horror as author Brick Marlin reveals one terrifying event after another.
The suspense builds as the narration moves between characters, keeping the reader turning pages to see who will survive the demon possession that has consumed the children of Woodbury. Marlin also increases the tension by slowly revealing the backstory, providing just enough information to keep the reader grounded but still wondering why this particular town has been targeted. By the end, all loose ends are woven together, and a gun-toting 70-year-old is left to save the town–one of my favorite aspects of the story.
As with all good horror stories, this frightful tale will keep you up late into the night, and, like the little girl from the first chapter, will leave you with nightmares. Recommended… but definitely not for the fainthearted or squeamish.
Buy:
Amazon Print: http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Out-Sky-Brick-Marlin/dp/1941706207
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Out-Transitional-Delusions-Book-ebook/dp/B00RB2PISY
Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shadow-out-of-the-sky-brick-marlin/1120954039?ean=9781941706206
About the author:
Brick Marlin has been writing since he was a child. From an early age he was exposed to older horror movies. The great ones making their mark in history. He also tackled reading the likes of Stephen King, Clive Barker, Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut, Dean Koontz, Charles Dickens, Harper Lee, H.G. Wells, etc. Thus, he decided to engage himself and write horror, dark fantasy and dark sci-fi, scaring readers such as his parents, his friends, neighbors, and even leaving a few school teachers scratching their heads wondering if the boy should be committed or not with his gruesome tales of terror. Short story ideas continued to visit. A book idea or two sometimes stopped by for a sit.
In 2007 he decided to take a more professional approach with his work. Hence, as a member of the Horror Writers Association, already having nine books published by small presses – this you hold in your hand, constant reader, makes his tenth – nearly thirty short stories published, adding to the few anthologies and collaborations with other authors, Brick Marlin trudges onward, hoping to achieve more creations, wallowing in the brain pans of his characters, giving them the choice whether to twist the knob and enter through the Red Door, or enter through the Blue Door where a group of servo monkey badgers are consuming packages of cinnamon-flavored Pop Rock Candy with a Kung Fu Punch of caffeine.
Find Brick on the web:
Website: http://www.brickmarlin.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Brick-Marlin-182914455094243
Twitter: @BrickMarlin
Follow the entire blog tour:
9/21 Erin Fanning Review
9/21 Beauty in Ruins Guest Post
9/21 Wag the Fox Guest Post
9/22 Novel-ties Review
9/23 Armand Rosamilia, Author Guest Post
9/23 Deal Sharing Aunt Interview
9/25 fuonlyknew Review
9/25 L. Andrew Cooper’s Horrific Scribblings Review
9/25 Bee’s Knees Reviews Guest Post
9/25 Azure Dwarf Guest Post
9/27 Sapphyria’s Book Reviews Top-Tens List
*The book was provided for an honest review and no compensation was provided.
Erin Fanning 
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