[Review] - Drop
Drop
HD Kirkland III
Published by Night Rider Press
Trippy blurred acid infused horror, mind tingling gruesomeness.
This is another one of those books I think benefits from my new rule about stewing over a book a while before writing the review. The narrative, at least part of the first half of it, was a bit hard for me to follow, but what struck me was that while I was stumbling a bit with the story, the prose was really flowing. HD can write, that is definitely one thing I came away with. So, I come out of this thing wanting to tell you that the beginning pulled me in, then we flashback to a previous acid trip and I got a bit lost and had a hard time following. Then the story picks up and I started to really get into the horror elements, both in a bit of a historic retelling of an event and then in the present. Then on reflection: What is this book about? Acid, madness, thinly veiled conscious vs unconscious mind, perception of good and evil, dissolving reality. You see where I am going? Maybe I was supposed to be confused. Maybe bits were supposed to be hard to follow?
The story is about a group of kids dropping acid by a pond near an old forgotten cemetery in the woods. I don't have much of a frame of reference to tell you how realistic all the drug bits are, so I will stay away from that. Really though, from the cemetery bits on, I was rapt. It really went up a notch for me right at that point. The look into history at these 5 grave markers and what they mean. Who they are and where they came from? Evil murderous stuff, a historic retelling, bit of Civil War stuff rolled in. It all came together really well for me, and the culmination. Yeah, it was something else.
So if you don't like a little bit of confusion to your horror, if you don't like cosmic elements that we have a hard time defining whether they are real or drug induced? Maybe not for you. But if that is your thing. Woods, graves, blurred lines of reality, squint to make it out. Is it at bad trip or some kind of ancient evil possession? I really think that I was confused about those confused bits. Meaning I really think I was leaning to that being a negative thing, then I kinda had an "aha" moment where I was like OK HD, I see what you did there - AND I LIKE IT.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Link to purchase https://bookshop.org/books/drop-9781733554039/9781733554039
Review by Well Read Beard
Twitter: @WellReadBeard
I received this book from the author for review consideration.