Four teenagers awaken in a scorched cornfield with no memory of how they got there. All they know is that there were five of them when they found the carcass of the mutilated cow.Forty years later, Eric Devlin sends a cryptic email to the other three survivors: I remember everything.Karl Doering has spent the majority of his life trying to understand what happened that night and learn the fate of … of his missing friend. He responds to the mysterious message and finds that Eric has killed himself in a decrepit barn, behind which is a cornfield filled with mutilated cattle.When a local girl goes missing, Karl realizes that he and the other two survivors are her only hope. To find her they must confront repressed memories so traumatic they’d driven Eric to take his own life…and creatures straight out of their worst nightmares.
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The opening scene is from 40 years ago. A group of friends slowly regain consciousness, battered and confused about what had happened to them. Flash forward 40 years and the suicide of one of the group. The event brings them back to the place they’d hoped never to return to. It was time to dust off the buried memories they couldn’t outrun and once and for all put an end to them.
This is a fairly short story and I think that worked well. I was quickly filled in on past events and the author kept the momentum of the story moving right along as the story leapt to the present and the scary stuff began.
Ever wondered about those reported cattle mutilations? Does the government know who or what is behind them? Michael McBride took those elements and gave me quite the scary read. He also kept me guessing. What really happened to all of those missing people? Was it aliens or wasn’t it?
As the childhood friends meet up 40 years later they have their own set of questions. Did they stop it all those years ago or did whoever or whatever was doing the killings just learn to hide their actions better? How could they not be discovered? This is where it got particularly creepy. As the characters get their answers so did I, and they weren’t what I was expecting. I leapt to one conclusion and then to another and back again.
I wish I could share how it all ends. Another surprise.
Did I enjoy Unidentified? Yes, I did. Especially when the story took a surprising and creepy turn. Would I recommend it? Sure enough. It’s a fun spin on alien’s that would make a great movie.
A worthy read, if you’re a sci-fi nerd who appreciates a bit of ripped-from-the-headlines reality inspiring your stories.
“It strikes him that the memories he recalls belong to a boy who has been gone for such a long time, he no longer feels real.”
Jumping from teen years to middle age, we follow a group of kids (now grandparents) who experience something so horrifying it defines their lives, even if they try to forget what happened.
You’ll be glad to know Unidentified accomplishes in 193 pages what Summer of Night danced around for a whopping 634. Something evil is stalking a rural town, and sh*t gets insane while people try to deal with it, or tragically decide not to.
The ending was shockingly abrupt, but the epilogue gives you a bit to chew on so you don’t leave hungry. And the nice little dessert in the author’s notes satisfies the nerd in you who simply has to go check his research, and see if it all really adds up.
Unidentified by Michael McBride and narrated by the great How Hempel is a terrific and terrifying short story about friends that met the unknown when they were young. This event brought about this story, the second meeting! Wow! Very unique!
Wonderful narration that kept the tension tight! Great job as usual!!!