The Forest Dreams With Teeth: Madison McSweeney
Reviewed By Steve Stred
A new to me author, Madison McSweeney immediately intrigued me with this synopsis.
Records burn in strip mall parking lots, a young woman is sacrificed, and something sinister awakens in the woods.
Evil finds a scapegoat in Adam Lloyd, a teen delinquent who escapes his troubled home life through horror movies and sword-and-sorcery novels.
Falsely accused of murder, Adam is dragged into a dangerous ritual that sees suburban hysteria weaponized, as heavy metal fever dreams feed an ancient beast.
Anytime I can find a new author writing dark fiction that hails from Canada is a blessing, so combining that with an exciting Demain release really had me excited.
What I liked: With shades of Adam Nevill’s ‘The Ritual’ at work, McSweeny’s ‘The Forest Dreams With Teeth’ follows our young main character through a turbulent time. As artwork and albums are burned, he has an odd vision in the woods.
From here, McSweeny really ramped up the sense of dread and unnerving as this kid deals with external forces trying to link him to the death of a classmate.
I really liked how Madison had him be both despondent over his passions being dumped on but also steadfastly defensive of his artwork.
The last 1/4 really drove things home and the creature that stirs was great.
What I didn’t like: Saying that – the last 1/4 will be the make or break for the reader. Either you’ve bought in and it works or you haven’t and it doesn’t have the same impact.
Why you should buy this: McSweeny kept this one dark and disturbing. Layered and emotional, she did a great job of fitting all of the puzzle pieces together to make for a really well-done story.
The Forest Dreams With Teeth
Records burn in strip mall parking lots, a young woman is sacrificed, and something sinister awakens in the woods.
Evil finds a scapegoat in Adam Lloyd, a teen delinquent who escapes his troubled home life through horror movies and sword-and-sorcery novels.
Falsely accused of murder, Adam is dragged into a dangerous ritual that sees suburban hysteria weaponized, as heavy metal fever dreams feed an ancient beast.
(with a cover by Adrian Baldwin)
You can buy The Forest Dreams With Teeth 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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You can visit Steve’s Official website here
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