Book Review: Intro to Chaos by Tonya Walter
Genre: Horror, Fantasy & Thriller
Age: New Adult
Format: E-book/Book
Horror is one of my favourite genres, for a good few reasons.
One, because I live for the occasional scare.
Two, the weaving of folklore, mythology and history into a tale that reveals the intricate truth of a group of people, and their surroundings, inspires a special kind of excitement within me.
Three, whenever I delight in horror/thriller media, I am reminded about the nature of humanness and how unclear, delicate, expansive and strong it can be all at the same time.
● As viewers, readers and watchers, a mere image - with centuries of meaning attached to it - can shock our systems with anticipation or fear.
● One event - big, small, positive or negative - may catapult our beloved characters into making decisions that reverberate throughout the story’s world, affecting others they have no conscious awareness of, in ways they don’t perceive (at first).
● The safety that comes with defeating an antagonist may call for a metaphorical or physical death, requiring both vulnerability and courage, to connect with others and still face the horrors of the night.
This ‘teeter-tottering’ between different worlds, times, and perceptions was deliciously embedded into ‘Intro to Chaos’ - a hypnotic story, following the journey of Chaos, or Kay, a young woman with the ability to see and communicate with the dead. Chaos’ abilities, nomadic lifestyle and proclivity for making friends in new places takes her and her new trumpet-playing spirit companion, Dinah, from the city of New Orleans, to Carver, California.
Much to her chagrin, Chaos soon discovers that Carver is a place of many secrets and mysterious, unhuman happenings - all of which she must uncover, for the safety of her own and the residents’ lives.
Upon finishing this read, I felt a warm contentment - similar to the feeling you have after eating a really good, homemade pudding.
There was a wonderfully enchanting tone to the narration that was particularly apparent when Chaos was first introduced to us as our protagonist. We meet her, as she stands in a slightly contemplative state, imperfect and dirty. These moments of self-reflection set the tone for her unique presence and development, seen as the plot progresses.
Although Intro to Chaos was very pleasant to read, alternating between being gripping and calm, when it needed to be, I do wish that the slow, lingering pace I became familiar with in the first 1 - 2 chapters, was leaned into throughout the rest of the book. There were quite a few characters (my personal favourite was the ghost pig) that I would have liked to get to know more intricately, especially because the story plays on the concept that one’s human individuality doesn’t just disappear when they ‘cross over.’
Overall, I will say it was certainly an intriguing story, and I really hope we get to see more of Chaos, her journey and backstory in books to come.
Review by Neka
Twitter: @neka_yaa
I received a copy of this ebook from the author for review consideration.
