Rating: 3 1/2 stars

Dennis Shore is a best-selling, mainstream horror writer. Worse than losing his originality and creative edge, Dennis just lost his wife to cancer. With the hectic pace of meeting deadlines, Dennis doesn’t have time to fall behind on his writing, much less grieve. However, the severe case of writer’s block that is plaguing him just might be the beginning of the end for his career.

With his bills mounting, the deadline fast approaching, not to mention an upcoming benefit where he’s supposed to read from his (non-existent) forthcoming novel. As panic sets in, Dennis frantically searches his files for something, anything he can use; then he sees it, a manuscript written on strange orange paper –a manuscript he didn’t write.

Cillian Reed was a fan. Wanting a little professional feedback from his favorite author, Cillian sent Dennis a manuscript; except all he got in return was ignored. Calling Dennis out for the dried up hack that he is, Cillian let’s Dennis know that he will not only pay for taking credit for the book, but he will finally learn the true meaning of horror. When the harassment finally gets out of control, Dennis goes to the police; only to find that Cillian Reed was killed last year. Now Dennis’ nightmares are getting more macabre and the hallucinations more realistic. When he realizes he’s living out scenes from his own books Dennis begins a slow spiral into madness, not sure if he knows what is real anymore.

Although this is Travis Thrasher’s 11th novel, I have not had the occasion to read any. Of course it’s easy to compare him to Koontz and King, with this novel having a healthy dose of The Dark Half, but with a different twist. I thought I had it figured out part way through, but it was nice to know that I didn’t ; and Thrasher managed to keep the suspense going. Although I wasn’t exactly afraid to read this one at night, Thrasher did a good job of putting in a few mild psychologically thrilling moments. Although I won’t be replacing King’s top novels in my bookcase, I think Thrasher’s books will be a good compliment to them.
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Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: FaithWords (May 28, 2009)
ISBN-13: 978-0446505581