Author: Ania Ahlborn
Genre: Horror
Pages: Oversize paperback, 283
ISBN: 9781611099676
Opening Lines: "Don slapped the trunks of the trees with his left hand as he ran past them, the small ax held tight in his right hand. He struggled for breath as steam rose from his lungs."
Rating
"A group of close friends gathers at a secluded cabin in the wintery mountains of Colorado for a final holiday hurrah. Instead, it may be their last stand. First a massive blizzard leaves them marooned. Then the more chilling realization: something is lurking in the woods, watching them, waiting . . .
"Now a weekend of family, friends, and fun has turned into a test of love and loyalty in the face of inhuman horros. The only hope for those huddled inside is to fight—tooth and nail, bullet and blade—for their lives. Otherwise, they'll end up like the motners' other victims: bright pools of blood on glittering snow, screams lost in the vast mountains."
~ Jacket copy
Five friends, family cabin located near Dillion, Colo., winter getaway, the possibility of love, and impending doom. That plot line sounds like some unholy mashup between Cabin in the Woods and Cabin Fever. Either way, I am game!
Ryan has accepted a job outside of the United States. While it will pull him away from his twin sister, Jane, the promises of furthering his career and doing the thing he loves is something he simply cannot pass up. Knowing that their wealthy father is selling their family cabin, Ryan decides to collect Jane and three other friends for a last getaway before they are all finally forced to grow up. Unfortunately, what they did not expect was a dynamic love triangle, a freak snowstorm, and man-eating monsters stalking the cabin.
This book does a rather wonderful job building the suspense around the monsters and playing on the characters' uncertainty. Further, the character development and dynamics were the thing that propelled this book forward.
Similar to some of her other books, Ahlborn builds the suspense throughout the novel by waiting to give the audience a peak at the monsters. However, I felt as though she was more focused on the relationships in the book and used the monsters as more of a vehicle.
Ania Ahlnorn is starting to gain traction as an excellent horror author. She has a way to weave details together to build rich, deeply disturbing stories. And her characters, while sometimes frustrating, always feel well-round and not simply static. After reading Brother and Seed, I felt as though this book fell a bit short of my expectations for her writing. The character development was fantastic. The attention to detail—especially the grotesque, pseudo humanoid monsters—was brilliant. And the ending left me gasping for air! However, it felt a bit anticlimactic, and I was left with too many unanswered questions.
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