From the Bookshelf of Splatterpunk…

The Warrior Retreat

John Lynch

Start date: June 23, 2025

Finish date: June 29, 2025

Discussion: Buddy Reads

Why we're reading this: Buddy read scheduled for June 23-29 (2025).
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Jun 28, 2025 Pisces51 rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-2025, unread-books-shelf

THE WARRIOR RETREAT [2022] By John Lynch
My Review 5-Stars

This debut work by John Lynch was released about three years ago and was well received by the target audience and the book reviewers in general. The novel was nominated by a good buddy to be considered for the “Group Read” on Splatterpunk Horror Book Club. He was very interested in reading the book, so we arranged for a Buddy Read to tackle the book together. That proved to be a sound decision, because I have really enjoyed the novel.

The THE WARRIOR RETREAT [2022] By John Lynch
My Review 5-Stars

This debut work by John Lynch was released about three years ago and was well received by the target audience and the book reviewers in general. The novel was nominated by a good buddy to be considered for the “Group Read” on Splatterpunk Horror Book Club. He was very interested in reading the book, so we arranged for a Buddy Read to tackle the book together. That proved to be a sound decision, because I have really enjoyed the novel.

The sage advice that seems to loom large at seminars on creative writing is quite simply “write about what you know”. John Lynch is in fact a Marine Corps veteran. All of the words, the descriptions, and the feelings that are described in the story “ring true”. The narrative is absolutely telling a story about something this author knows about, and never once did I doubt the authenticity of the storyline.

I liked the way the book was structured too, divided into sections I, II, and III dedicated to the stages of the marine experience (“The War Abroad”, “The War At Home”, and “The End Of The War”).

“The War Abroad” takes the reader behind the lines of the Iraqi War. The book opens with one of the main characters (Ray) experiencing sleep paralysis and hallucinations which are terrifying. (The author later explains that he endured the exact experience as he depicted Ray going through in his bunk). This part of the novel is filled with pages of real-life experiences from the lives of our soldiers who volunteer to serve our proud country. The writing talent of Lynch in bringing these episodes to life is incredible. I felt like an action movie was playing behind my eyelids.
“The War At Home” read like a familiar refrain. The trained marines are reprogramed to function as soldiers for our country but must somehow forget all of the training and reconditioning when they return to the soil of their homeland. There are inadequate assets in place to render treatment, financial help, or even temporary assistance for reacclimating. Medical assistance and psychiatric outpatient treatment are unavailable in a timely manner in many cases. Impressive, heart-rendering story of the effects of "boots on the ground" and what happens to the warriors who return home to a peace-loving country.

“The End Of The War”
A group of the former marines who served in Iraq together are reunited for a get-together with recreation and emotional support at a beautiful woodsy retreat. The arrival at The Cabin was uneventful and it gave the ex-marine who orchestrated the get-together to appreciate the first-class accommodations, and to be thankful all over again that his appeal to the “Leathernecks for Leathernecks” had come through for him and in a big way, providing such a beautiful cabin for him to choose, and to cover all of the expenses including travel fees for all of the attendees who were unable to afford it. Marcus Simpson was that retired marine who made the retreat a reality, a man who had returned from the war wanting to fight and to inflict pain, but after a while one judge told him that he was using his last (“Get Out Of Jail Card”) and next time he was going to prison. He had gotten all of the mileage out of being a war hero that he was going to get. So, Marcus reinvented himself into the picture and product of success. The beginning of the retreat was idyllic, no other words come to mind describing it. There were loads of booze at the ready. The sweltering heat and humidity made you feel like you were trekking along a path in the jungle. But despite the brutal heat the men were clustered around the modern fireplace. The ambience was just “too perfect” not to get a fire going in the fireplace. Haney pulled out two joints which initially rattled Simpson a little, but he let it go and said nothing. Micha gave Ray the onceover and asked him when he had gotten “all tatted up like that”? Micha was poking the bear and continued to do so after Ray told him about the tattoo art. Ray reacted but was controlled. By the time the joints made it around to all the guys, everyone was stoned. First night at the cabin Ray had another sleepless night of being haunted by an accidental death he had felt accountable for in the desert. Ray was AWOL that morning.

Haney was online when one of his viewers noted a large man lurking in the frame. The man grabbed Haney by the back of his head and smashed his skull into the set up. Ray’s mind had fractured and he was unable to discern whether he was in the cabin or in the jungle. He simply could not think straight, and could not separate the elaborate delusional design of his mind from the real world. Ray entered and held the false belief that Haney was an enemy combatant. The extreme violence levelled against the former marine named Haney was broadcast in poor resolution across the world. The situation at the cabin goes from deadly serious to def-con 1 pistol alert very quickly. The extreme horror is primarily contained in the final section entitled “The End Of The War”. The end of the story leaves only bloody carnage and a loss of human life behind.

ORIGINAL, REALISTIC, AND AUTHENTIC FIVE STARS*****
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Feb 05, 2023 George Dunn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

God man I gotta say this one got me. Was it absolutely brutal? Yes. Was it gross and sexual and all round nasty? Yes. But it was also SO deep. SO sad. And it had so many layers. If you enjoy splatterpunk this is most definitely for you but be warned no matter how emotionless you think you are the ending feels like a punch to the stomach. John Lynch is a veteran which if anything makes the book hit so much harder.
Ex-officer Simpson was one of the few of his squad that got their life together aft ...more

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Mar 05, 2023 Stefanie Duncan rated it it was amazing

...... This one hit hard. My husband is a Combat Veteran and boy, I had to put the Kindle down a few time, walk away and breathe. This is an excellent story, however, its brutal and also sad.

Written from multiple perspectives of various soldiers during their deployment in Iraq, as they fight for their survival during an attack. How they cope with their mental health after the war, failed relationships and addictions. One of the Veteran decides to organize a retreat for some of the survivors and ...more

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Jul 01, 2025 Rob rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2025, splatterpunk

This is like a mix of Rambo and Friday 13th.
The story is ok, but I think it goes straight from character introduction to the conclusion. There is not much in the middle. Well, the story is too short, to be fair.
The ending is very fast-paced, perhaps too fast. It is a bloody massacre.
The idea is very original anyway.

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