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Traumatized
Alexander Brown
ISBN: 9781436374088
Xlibris
Reviewed By Renee Washburn
Official Apex Reviews Rating:
Traumatized, the new collection of short stories by Alexander Brown,
takes the reader on a convoluted, eye-opening – and often disturbing – journey through a world of imagined horror. Each of the fifteen dark tales that comprise Traumatized features unsuspecting pawns who suddenly find themselves caught up in twisted games of terror and deception, none of whom are fully aware of precisely how they ended up there – but each knowing that, without a combination of quick wits and good luck, they won’t make it out alive.
Consider, for example, the tale of four strangers summoned to the
expansive mansion of a reclusive billionaire: as the last scion in his family bloodline, he is the lawful heir to its considerable fortune – only he has no idea where all the valuables have been stashed. After receiving his assurances that he’ll share the wealth with them (should they discover it), the strangers embark on the quest of searching the family home for the riches. Along the way, though, they discover that they each share a unique connection to one another, at the same time learning that blood must be shed in exchange for access to the family fortune – just whose blood it will be, though, depends on a gruesome conclusion that they each must reach…
Or the tale of April, the seventeen year-old high school senior who suddenly finds herself suffering from periodic blackouts: having no idea why the affliction has befallen her – or, for that matter, how to fix it – she turns to her sister, Amanda, for help. In return, Amanda shares what she believes to be the cause of the recurring condition, and she offers to “monitor” the situation, out of apparent concern for her troubled sibling. April eventually learns, though, that – for good reason – Amanda is the last person in the world that she should trust…
And readers are sure to be caught completely off guard by the tale of Craig and Victoria, a troubled husband and wife whose marriage is sinking fast, due to Craig’s worsening gambling addiction. When their counselor recommends that they move to a remote cabin in the woods to try to jump start their relationship, the couple agrees. What they don’t realize – until it’s too late – is that the cabin serves as the nexus point of a deadly ritual that is only conducted every 50 years – and their timing couldn’t be worse…
With the various twisted tales of Traumatized, Brown proves his absolute mastery of the horror genre. His skill at mixing the macabre and the mundane is unmatched, and he is a genius at the art of maintaining suspense. Each of his stories has its own unique appeal, and they all come together to form a powerful collection guaranteed to captivate the reader’s imagination and interest.
In the Prologue, Brown cites both Edgar Allen Poe and Friedrich Nietzsche, and, in the pages of Traumatized, he takes his rightful place as their literary nextof-kin. Anyone who is not currently a fan of horror fiction will surely be converted once they delve into the compelling world that Brown has created. Highly recommended.
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