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Crawl

Edward Lorn

Start date: March 7, 2014

Finish date: April 10, 2014

Discussion: Monthly Group Reads in General

Discussion leader: Steven

Why we're reading this: This title was reviewed by another author (Adam Light) that I enjoy and he really liked it so I checked i…more
[close] This title was reviewed by another author (Adam Light) that I enjoy and he really liked it so I checked it out and started it and it seemed like something we might enjoy in here :o)

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What Members Thought

May 10, 2014 Gregor Xane rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2014

Full Disclosure: I'd say that Edward Lorn and I are pals. It's not like our families take our summer vacations together or anything, but we do communicate over the Internet on a fairly regular basis. We also have worked together on a forthcoming anthology project. You may think this review is biased as a result.

Crawl, as a novella of horror, is damned near perfect. The only things I didn't like about it were pretty subjective: some of the humor fell flat, the pop culture references served to dat Full Disclosure: I'd say that Edward Lorn and I are pals. It's not like our families take our summer vacations together or anything, but we do communicate over the Internet on a fairly regular basis. We also have worked together on a forthcoming anthology project. You may think this review is biased as a result.

Crawl, as a novella of horror, is damned near perfect. The only things I didn't like about it were pretty subjective: some of the humor fell flat, the pop culture references served to date the piece prematurely, and there were some oft-used phrases that could have been replaced with something fresher.

Crawl gains your sympathy by putting you in a car with a married couple whose wounds are still fresh after the discovery of the husband's infidelity. Then the car crashes and it's a fight for survival, but not in the way you might think. Where this story went surprised me, so I won't say any more about it. Just read it.

Or listen to it. That's what I did. I'm not an audio book person, really, but I did enjoy the presentation. The only negative thing I can say about it is that I got the 'I'm embarrassed for you' goosebumps every time the female narrator, Maria Hunter Welles, switched to speaking in her 'man voices.' But this likely only bothered me because I don't listen to audio books very often. But it wasn't a huge deal as 95% of the book didn't require that Welles switch to her various 'man voices.' And that 95% was delivered in an appropriately dramatic, clean, and professional manner.

Crawl is further evidence for the argument that the novella is the perfect length for works of horror fiction. You have just the right number of pages to flesh out your characters and to roll out the brutality and the terror in an unrelenting fashion up until the very last word. You can end a novella any way you like (with or without a glimmer of hope) without much risk of pissing your reader off; the time investment isn't the same as with a novel. There are conventions of the horror novel that don't have to be adhered to in works of this length. The characters you've grown to sympathize with don't have to come through on the other side, gasping for breath, scarred and ready to start the healing process. They don't have to come through at all.

That's what I like about the novella as a vehicle for horror. You can do what you damned well please and the reader, if you've done your job, will be surprised at where the story turns, and where it stops.
...more

19 likes · Like · see review

Feb 17, 2014 Adam Light rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own-it, my-personal-favorites, horror, novellas, edward-lorn, e-book

Edward Lorn's novella Crawl is much more than, yet still very much a study in extreme horror. It is also a brief and all too revealing glimpse into the aftermath of a husband's infidelity.
We are privy to to the conflicting gamut of emotions felt by the spurned wife as her cheating husband drives her to her mother's home in the middle of the night.
The effects of marital indescretions are handled in a knowing and realistic way, and as I read I became so fully immersed in the couple's drama that wh ...more

18 likes · Like · see review

Jan 24, 2014 megHan rated it it was amazing

It all began with his reveal of the cover on BookLikes. I was immediately intrigued, which became even more intense when I read the description. :O When he posted that he was looking for a couple of people to tell him if the story was crap or not, I couldn't message him fast enough. I mean, I have already read one of his books and LOVED it and I'm currently listening to the audio of another, loving that also. How could I not be super psyched to check out another something of his, especially befo It all began with his reveal of the cover on BookLikes. I was immediately intrigued, which became even more intense when I read the description. :O When he posted that he was looking for a couple of people to tell him if the story was crap or not, I couldn't message him fast enough. I mean, I have already read one of his books and LOVED it and I'm currently listening to the audio of another, loving that also. How could I not be super psyched to check out another something of his, especially before the masses get a chance?

I read somewhere once that you know they're an amazing author when you're willing to read ANYTHING that they put out, anything they write, including their grocery list. When it comes to Indie/Self-published authors, I have so far come across four - and E is one of them (all four made it to my Top Four of 2013 list).

This story is a prime example of one of the things I love so much about his writing - the twists and turns out of nowhere. Stories are never what they originally seem with him. And he packed so much goodness into this story.

Her inner dialogue is awesome. I think, under similar circumstances, I may have gone a little off the deep end as well and I hope my inner dialogue is as entertaining as hers in the end. (He had a star held hostage over on BookLikes and I completely agree - I want more stories with this character.)

And, as usual, the beautiful endings (and by beautiful, I do not mean all happy with unicorns and glitter and snowflakes, but then if you are a fan of E, you already know this) that I expect from him.

I usually only share my favorite line over on my book-ish blog, but I liked this one so much, I've decided to share it here as well:

"If the devil was a redneck who lived in the woods, was God a rapper living in Bankhead? Made sense, didn't it? That God was a celebrity and Satan was a backwoods hermit. No one minded either until someone gave either a reality show. Then you found yourself watching Duck Dynasty and the Kardashians, Honey Boo Boo and World's Dumbest Criminals: Holy Fucks Edition."

*dramatic pause* Hahahahahahaha!!

Note: I received a copy of this story in exchange for my honest review. ...more

14 likes · Like · see review

Feb 19, 2014 Steven rated it really liked it

Shelves: edward-lorn

Very twisted and gruesome. This could be the next episode for a new season of Creepshow.

7 likes · Like · see review

Mar 11, 2014 Brenda Seaberg rated it liked it

Shelves: 0-to-50-pages, horror, contemporary

I enjoyed Mr. Lorn's style of writing. The story moved rapidly, and kept my interest. There was a spot right at the end that made me blink, trying to figure out the logic - but really, it's probably better if I DON'T use logic on some of these books! LOL! I would read more by this author. ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Mar 01, 2014 Scot rated it really liked it

Fun and gory little story. Juliet, poor Juliet. Not only has she suffered the infidelity of her husband, Colton, but now she suffers through a real... nightmare. JXSAVES but I don't. Not exactly words of comfort in the best of situations. Juliet's situation is far from good. After this night, nothing will be the same.
This vicious little tale reminded me of a horror movie. Plenty of gore and enough character development to bring you into their world... make you care for Juliet and Colton (more Ju ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Feb 17, 2014 Larry rated it really liked it

Shelves: i-own, 2014, 2014-best, novella

A very good short story. Mr. Lorn has really won me over even more.

3 likes · Like · see review

Mar 09, 2014 Angie rated it really liked it

Shelves: ebook-horror, buddy-read

This was perfect, a small quick book with a huge helping of horror and gore. What's not to like really. A road trip, Juliet and Coltan in the car going to her mothers after him doing the dog sitter. And on the dark and lonely roads anything can happen. Its amazing how things can go wrong in the blink of an eye. Then BAM! I liked the style of the writing and loved Juliet and Colton, but I wish we had seen more of the red priest. I think his story, causing all the pain and horror would of been awe ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Apr 09, 2014 Susan rated it really liked it

A very creepy crawly book (ha). Full of anger, terror, fear, hurt, pain, gore, resiliency .....

"I suggest you C R A W L ."

Smile for your picture--you are going to love it! ...more

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