A book review by Justin Lewis

Being lost. Committing a serious crime and knowing that I can never tell anyone. Being an utter disappointment to my family or those I care about. Having nowhere to go and no one to turn to. These are my nightmares; not monsters, not demons, just realistic terrible things that could actually happen are what I find terrifying. Shelter for the Damned wracked my nerves something furious- this is the most anxious I’ve been while reading a book in a long time.

“It’s Satan’s pad. It’s a spaceship. It’s a monster’s stomach. Who gives a shit? It’s a place to enjoy a fucking cigarette.” ~ Adam speaking about the shack.

Mark is a mostly normal, if not a troubled teenager. Still figuring things out. Awkward around the girl he likes. Anger issues and bad grades. Parents that don’t really seem to get him. He likes hanging out with his two best friends, even though they get on each other’s nerves, as friends tend to do. One day, while looking for a place to smoke where they won’t get caught, they see a shack that none of them have noticed before. Something’s off about it. Mark finds that he’s drawn to this shack over and over at all hours of the day. When he’s there, the rest of the world melts away. He’s safe. But it’s not just a shack. As Mark’s shelter demands more and more from him, his life spins completely out of control. Horrible things happen and Mark doesn’t have anyone he can turn to. It does take a while to get going but once the terror train leaves the station, it’s non-stop anxiety the rest of the trip.

There are a couple of things that didn’t totally work for me. As mentioned above it takes a while to get going; you’ll read almost 10 chapters before something that feels like traditional horror happens. Maybe it wold have been better if the character development was spread out a little more. It’s this reader’s opinion that it’s worth it to stick it out, but you should know that going in. Also, the book’s ending might leave you with some questions. We don’t really get to know much about the shack, it’s motivations, or who’s calling the shots. It’s almost left open for a sequel, but since there’s been no mention of one, I think this is all we’re getting. If ambiguous endings aren’t your thing, you might not love how this turns out.

So what did I like? I can’t overstate how nervous this book made me feel. I was one of those kids that followed all the rules and any time I tried to break a rule I got caught- EVERY SINGLE TIME. The teenage version of myself and Mark don’t have too many things in common, but Mike Thorn’s writing really pulled me in and I was consistently thinking about what I’d do if I was in that situation. I probably wouldn’t have made it as far as Mark does, that’s for sure. Also, there are two scenes/sequences I will mention (but not spoil) that I loved: 

  • A scene involving something in a closet that I won’t forget anytime soon for multiple reasons.
  • There’s a section of the book that gets cosmic and dreamlike in a big way that’s really compelling.

In summary, Shelter for the Damned is suburban coming-of-age horror with shades of Stephen King, Lovecraft, and the movie Brainscan (without the villain with the red mohawk for comedic relief). This is Mike Thorn’s first novel and if this is the calibre of longer fiction we can expect from him, I’m all in on whatever comes next.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Author

Mike Thorn’s fiction has appeared in numerous magazines, anthologies and podcasts, including Vastarien, Dark Moon Digest, The NoSleep Podcast, Tales to Terrify and Prairie Gothic. His film criticism has been published in MUBI Notebook, The Film Stage, The Seventh Row, Bright Lights Film Journal and Vague Visages.  He completed his M.A. with a major in English literature at the University of Calgary, where he wrote a thesis on epistemophobia in John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness. Follow Mike on TwitterFacebookInstagram and Amazon.

Reviewer

Justin Lewis is a reviewer of horror fiction with a healthy appetite for indie and small press publications. Follow Justin on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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