Reclusive Reads

When it comes to pedal to the metal, no brakes, balls to the wall survivalist horror, Brian Keene is the master of disaster.
Now, I'm not a big fan of survivalist horror, or splatterpunk in general, as I tend to stick to the "quiet" side of the genre, but I know who Me. Keene is and when my book buddy Chris K. offered me an eARC of The Complex in exchange for an honest review, I figured it was time to give Brian a try.
Unholy Hell, but the man can write!
The action takes off without warning, and reason goes out the window, as the residents of an apartment complex find themselves under siege by hordes of naked, rabid lunatics, and doesn't stop until you hit the back cover wreathed in the smoke of smouldering pages. While this tale may appear to tread familiar ground for fans of survival horror, Keene raises the bar with intelligent plotting, realistic characters, a fine grasp of the community dynamic that exists in society these days, the realization that the worst incidents of random violence have no rational explanations, and two of the most interesting individuals I've come across in a while......the serial killer/vigilante of the supernatural known as "The Exit" and the man mountain of berserk blubber referred to as "Tick Tock". I plan to read more about the former.....and hope to learn more about the latter. This guy makes Chaingang of Rex Miller's classic SLOB look normal.

I must admit, despite the distance that exists between my reading tastes and Mr. Keene's preferred sub-genre, I need to read more of his work. It's that damn good.

Highly recommended.