In this suspense-filled, neo-monster, horror novelette, a writer named Gene Winfield discovers an ominous, handwritten book among the belongings of his late, adventurer aunt. As Gene reads, he becomes captivated with the volume’s account of a savage, unearthly creature. In spite of the book’s warning, with his writing career failing, Gene can’t resist the inspiration. Near the roaring fire in his … his aunt’s otherwise cold, empty manor, Gene begins a story of his own, but will he unleash more than his imagination…
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The Remnant was a good read by Channing Whitaker. In this novelette, writer Gene Winfield discovers a handwritten book among the belongings of his late aunt. He reads it and becomes captivated with the account of a savage creature. In spite of the books warning, he cant seem to resist the inspiration. Unfortunately his new story unleashes more than just his imagination. I enjoyed reading this book and cant wait to read more by the author.
I have never read anything by this author in the past but found this to be a really good read. This is a short story that manages to read like a full-length novel. The main characters are all very well defined and the side characters are well enough defined to allow you to understand their relevance to the story. The story goes from point to point and keeps moving toward the conclusion in a coherent manner.
Gene Winfield is a writer whose last book has not done as well as those they have in the past. While making the rounds on a book tour he is informed that his aunt has died and he is the only beneficiary of her will. While going through his aunt’s belongings and the house he finds a handwritten book that contains some ominous content. Gene is fascinated by the account he reads of a savage unearthly creature.
Even with the warnings in the book Gene decides to write his own story based on what he has read. But what happens after he has finished writing it may unleash more than just his imagination.
This is a good story that while not scary does have a very good sense of tension as the monster finally emerges.
Short but intense!
People always do things they’re warned not to do. That’s how bestselling author Gene ends up in his predicament. After the death of his Aunt Hazel, he finds the charred remains of a book with particular instructions to not read. Out of desperation, he does and writes a story based on what he’s read. As soon as the copies are distributed, he realizes the mistake he’s made.
Though this was a very short read, it was also satisfying. There was the right amount of mystery and suspense plus the ending was a bit of a twist that reminded me of an ‘80’s horror movie. Even though I didn’t particularly like Gene’s character, I found him to be relatable.
If you’re a fan of horror/supernatural suspense, this is the book for you!
I’m a big fan of books about books – particularly about the dangers (physical, psychological, financial, or whatever) of books. In The Remnant, Whitaker doesn’t so much cover brand new ground as he does take an oft-cited idea – “books can be dangerous” – and spins it a quarter-turn from what you expect. By shifting like that, the idea feels eerier than it might have otherwise, and the crisply-told, fast-paced tale keeps that eerie feeling of something JUST outside of your peripheral vision alive throughout the tale. It made for a fun, creepy, thoroughly enjoyable read – and I applaud Whitaker for keeping things short, sweet, and to the point.
It seems like every other book I’m asked to review lately suffers from an overabundance of words. If you have a 500 page story to tell, that’s fine. But most authors don’t seem to – yet for some reason seem to feel compelled to stretch their tales so they hit that mark. This doesn’t help – it’s quality, not quantity that matters in a story, and it’s not like authors are paid by the word… Knowing when to leave things to the reader’s imagination or to leave them up in the air is a gift, and not many authors seem to recognize that there is a more powerful impact in a shorter, well-edited, tale than in a magnum opus.
That said, I’ve long preferred longer books that I could lose myself in for days. BUT the recent spate of under-edited fiction is curing me of that rapidly and despite my long-standing preference for longer fiction, I’m increasingly finding myself a fan of the novella/novellette. It is a format that allows for more of the character development that I love, which is a huge plus for me. (The number one reason I dislike short stories unless they fall within an established series with already well-understood and -developed characters is because there’s not enough time to really explore the characters.) And, equally importantly, because of the one-sitting-reading it also allows the author to play with plot intricacies and imagination in a different way. This allows the reader freedom to explore the story with the characters and obviates the necessity for long expositions by the author (which usually slow the pacing in irritating – albeit often necessary – ways) and keeps things manageable in a way that is sometimes lost in the back-and-forth of longer reads. The Remnant manages to cover both of these handily, and does so with a clever construct and a fun twist. I’m looking forward to reading more Channing Whitaker as a result!
My review copy was provided by the author.