A mindless horror awakens after 150 years of slumber, intent on completing its bloody mission. Its target? A garden-variety IT guy in Omaha named Ben Middleton.
I got a solid kick out of this fast-moving horror thriller.
Doolittle manages to humorously introduce you to each character in the ensemble cast while propelling you through the story without pause. I loved the fight scenes, and the monster itself is truly terrifying, reminding me of countless nightmares I’ve had about something completely unstoppable and relentless, where the only way to stay alive is keep running forever…Kind of like the thing in that movie “It Follows.”
One of my favorite, most cinematic images comes near the beginning when the excavation team has just unearthed the last crate from the wreckage of a ship buried in a cornfield. The crate appears to be filled with mud. The line is:
“And because Randy James Bierbaum had already stooped to retrieve a margin trowel from a tool bag, he wasn’t even looking when the mud opened its eyes.”
My favorite character is, of course, the mild-mannered and highly relatable protagonist Ben Middleton, a very Nebraska version of Arthur Dent.
Kill Monster (Severn Press) is a fun, fast, and highly visual adventure. You’ll be laughing, scared shitless, and grossed out all at the same time.
Shoshana Sumrall 