(Review) Black Willow by Evan Bollinger
Synopsis:
Children aren’t the only ones afraid of monsters…
The first scream was the loudest.
It pierced the patchwork of sound and sight as would something that didn’t exist. As if, it did exist, but not here, in the now and real. As if, there was another level of sense, another realm of feeling; from a place where even nightmares came to die.
To say that it made your blood curdle, or that it made your mind race, would make little sense. For what came through that heavy air was not so much acting upon the human mind and body, as it was a part of the human mind and body. To try to combat it was to fight your own mechanism. To free yourself from the scream, was to destroy yourself from the inside out.
In that moment, they were already dead.
The first time was 12 years ago when they were young, and clueless. It was supposed to go away--this wasn't supposed to happen. But something went wrong, and now it's back. Something strange stalks the skeletal woods of Willow Park...
But can the park contain it?
Review:
I wish this was a full length novel. It is well written but I would've like to have seen this story extended. It ended leaving me wanting more... that is a good thing. This short is deeper than the sum of its parts. There is more here than a group of three adults coming back to face a fear they first encountered many years ago. The writer creates a powerful underlying message to his story in just a few pages. The story contains some great characters and a most vile creature, well written, fleshed out and detailed. I think the author has a future in writing. I would love to read more from this author.
I strongly recommend checking out Black Willow. It's a subtle, quiet type of horror that will stay with you long after you finish it.
