It’s always exciting when a new package arrives addressed to Kendall Reviews! Usually it’ll be a new book for me to review, on this occasion it wasn’t. I dropped the package in disgust, some sick twisted individual had sent me a specimen bag and God knows what horrors were inside it! All I knew was that I heard a voice whisper, ‘There Is An Urge Inside You…’

I was able to return to my house once it was deemed safe by the appropriate authorities. The specimen bag had been taken away for examination and after much deliberation was returned to me, the contents (which turned out to be a book) intact. I made my way to my office, the only place I could open this package in safely. I felt I needed to protect my family from whatever was inside…SIPHON

Gary Phillips is a hematopathologist,  orphaned at a young age and raised by an abusive Grandfather. He struggles with members of the opposite sex, with his ‘love life’ essentially restricted to stalking a female colleague on Facebook and using her photos for his own personal gratification. Gary is sad and lonely, essentially invisible…that is until the accident happened.

A.A. Medina’s Siphon is a thoroughly enjoyable story of transformation and acceptance. At least that’s how I interpreted it, and that’s what I loved about this novella. It doesn’t spoon feed you the facts, it leaves doors open. Repressed memories offer the reader subtle insights to Gary and his formulative years. I do use the word ‘subtle’ with caution, as Siphon can be somewhat extreme in its use of sex & violence.

The story flowed beautifully, Medina has an incredibly readable writing style with a fantastic sense of pacing. The extreme aspects of the story were not written in a salacious way, in fact I felt empathy for Gary as he went about his journey and that’s credit to the author. Credit is also due for being able to inject humour, again without it seeming misplaced, to a story where the main protagonist is surprisingly likeable even though he is often doing unlikable things.

I hope I haven’t missed something incredibly obvious when reading Siphon as I found it an incredibly satisfying quick read. I enjoyed the fact that what happened to Gary could be left open to interpretation.

Siphon is a very well written novella and for all the madness remains a believable story. Although not necessarily a book for the squeamish I wouldn’t hesitate recommending this to anyone.

Star Rating (out of 5): 4****

I’d like to thank Hindered Souls Press for sending me Siphon, and for being a Publisher that obviously cares about its products, authors and readers. The Specimen bag was a touch of genius and works perfectly in the context of the story,

You can buy a copy of Siphon from Amazon UK & Amazon US

Siphon is also available from other retailers.

If you do buy a copy, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE A REVIEW!

A.A. Medina’s Goodreads page can be found here

Connect to A.A. Medina via Twitter

Please visit Hindered Souls Press here