Black Site: Michael Patrick Hicks
Reviewed By Steve Stred
A story so good, I read it twice!
I actually did.
My sincere apologies to Michael Patrick Hicks. I originally read this in November of 2019 and submitted a review to Gavin. Somewhere in CyberSpace, it decided to hitchhike on a different plain and … gone. By the time Gavin realized he didn’t have it (KR: Apologies), I’d already (like a schmuck!) deleted the review and couldn’t find it in my sent folder.
So, my apologies.
If you’ve followed along with any of my reading/reviewing adventures, you’ll know two things. 1) I love Michael’s work. B) I love sci-fi horror.
What I liked: This is a very quick read, as it is a short story that originally appeared in an anthology. Michael has made it a stand-alone tale so that you can discover some of his work and this would be a great place to dive in. ‘Black Site’ follows a group of scientists attempting to unlock one of mankind’s unknown questions – where did we come from.
Hicks does a great job of creating a ton of tension with a short page count and I loved the ideas he put in here about where we come from and what that means.
What I didn’t like: I understand Hicks had a limited word count, but I still wish we could’ve learned more about the characters in this story. I’m staying vague as I don’t want to play spoiler but each character doesn’t get much space to grow.
Why you should buy this: Hicks is one of the best writers out there and this is a great example of the scope of storytelling he is capable of. ‘Black Site’ may be a quick read but it has a ton of story stuffed into it and reading it was a very cinematic experience.
Black Site
Inside an abandoned mining station, in the depths of space, a team of scientists are seeking to unravel the secrets of humanity’s origin. Using cutting-edge genetic cloning experiments, their discoveries take them down an unimaginable and frightening path as their latest creation proves to be far more than they had bargained for.
You can buy Black Site from Amazon UK & Amazon US
Steve Stred
Steve Stred is the author of a number of novels, novellas and collections. He has appeared in anthologies with some of Horror’s heaviest hitters.
He lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with his wife, son and their dog OJ.
You can follow Steve on Twitter @stevestred
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