The Saico Chronicles: Part Two by Miranda Doerfler (review)
The Saico Chronicles
Part Two
Written by Miranda Doerfler
Genre: Horror
Book Synopsis
Murder, mystery, thrills and chills. Step into a world much like your own, but filled to the brim with terror and mayhem. Psychotic killers and supernatural beings. Dark cabins and abandoned houses. Blind dates, virtual reality, horror conventions and apocalyptic survival stories. All of these and more can be found in the works of Miranda Doerfler. But be careful: it's not the danger you see that gets you. It's the one that hides in the shadows.Mark Wood's Rating
Mark Wood's Review
The Saico Chronciles is the second in this series of collections of short fiction from this author and is kind of a mixed bag. The style of writing reads very much like Richard Laymon and, indeed, many of the situations the characters find themselves in could be taken from his work. But the stories themselves are more than a little disappointing. This is because they never really seem to go anywhere....
Each story begins with quite a simple set-up- the main character(s) are trapped in a sticky situation from which they must battle to escape from. But by the time you have reached the conclusion, you are kind of left wondering was that it? Stories are supposed to have a beginning, middle and an end I thought but these stories just seem to stop with little satisfying explanation leaving the reader with no end of unanswered questions. A little twist or cliff-hanger is fine but not in EVERY story and not without leaving the reader with some kind of satisfaction!
Underground is probably the best story here but is an idea that has kind of been done to death (no pun intended) already and offers nothing really new. Gas Man is just a disappointment and Stuck feels too much like a rip-off of the acclaimed horror movie, The Descent.
These stories have no lack of potential but, unfortunately, in this collection that potential is never realised!
Disclaimer: Recommended for adults only due to violence.
