When I agreed to review this title for Unnerving I obviously
had no idea what I was getting myself into. Here I was thinking that this read
was going to be a Jack Ketchum-like tale with lots of violence and gore in
between straight-shooting narrative when in reality it was far from that. Well,
not exactly. The novelette does have its gruesome moments, especially towards
the end, but this well-written piece about a young couple who unknowingly enters
the realm of a primitive rite when they decide to stay at a hot springs resort
is more R-rated than NC17.
Mind you, some sexually-charged sequences can easily
attract some interest, especially those involving female on female action, but
the overall feeling I got from reading FESTIVAL
is that gratuitous scenes like this one doesn’t make more involving a novel. Before
some of you guys get miffed, let me reiterate that this effort was FAR from
being what I expected. So if anyone has to go down it must be little moi for maintaining a less than
impressed state of mind. Because, to be frank with you, FESTIVAL is still highly readable with its well-drawn main characters
and interestingly-enough plot. Author Aaron J. French tries his best to deliver
the goods and even succeeds at times. His build-up takes a little while but
once out there the blood sure does flow, and that despite some misogynistic approach
(all the women in this story are evil) that may end up rubbing some people the
wrong way.
I wish I could have enjoyed more FESTIVAL. But you know the old saying: what I dislike about a book
may turn out to be just what the doctor ordered for somebody else. So who
knows, maybe you’ll dig the heck out of this title.
You can order FESTIVAL
at the Unnerving Magazine website.
Until next post—Martin
