A piece of literary art!
First of all, the writing, oh my. It shines through spectacularly, pristine in its details. Every letter penned seems forlorn, looking to the next in order to give it proper form; every word appears bleak and unsettling, and every sentence is devoid of hope and its happiness utterly eviscerated.
And then...when A.M. Shine has fully succeeded in making me so full of melancholy and sadness, hope and happiness begin to radiate like a much-needed ray of sunlight after an eternity spent in the grip of the bleakest winter.
And then, just when I'm basking in that warm glow, he goes and dashes my hopes all over again. A true master.
Daniel ran through the forest. Like a wild animal released he didn’t look back. Not once. Toils of ivy snagged his legs. With his hands he fended off barbs of thorns and the wet stems that whipped across his face. He knew the way, but his haste had scattered his bearings. His was a compass spinning in dizzying circles. The trees seemed to shift through the earth, blocking his path, throwing their bodies in front of him as though they had been gifted life and worked their branches like limbs to ensnare him. It was a maze; a darkening, ill-lit labyrinth where decay and dying things ruled supreme. Madeline was still calling his name. She was chasing him, but in that moment – driven by sheer fear – he was faster.
His breathing was loud and erratic. He muttered senseless sounds that even he couldn’t understand. Panic had gripped Daniel hard with the intent to break him, but instead it threw him forward. He had veered from the route he knew. Despite everything that stood in his way, still he kept one eye on the ground. Some burrows were wide enough to catch at a glance, but others he wouldn’t see until it was too late; until he slipped from the light and fell within their reach. He fought back his tears, but their coming was inevitable.
The presentation is akin to having your hopes all bundled up in words that inevitably get sucked into an event horizon where all good things meet their frozen end. Therefore, an atmosphere is created that feels listless and claustrophobic, hemmed in from all sides with trepidation, and that's even before the creature feature pops in and ululates its hideous screams.
The pacing and narrative in The Watchers is both fast and thrilling, while the plot is creepy and terrifying. Perspective switching is handled masterfully, so much so that the reader keeps anticipating the end of a chapter (which are mercifully short).
A.M. Shine is a truly talented writer who seamlessly blends the details and monologues of literary horror, cleverly insinuating sly humor to go with the excitement and fast pace of page-turning thrillers. It is an excellent book, especially being a debut, and I hereby pronounce it highly recommended. I loved every single bit of it.
