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Book Review of Afraid (Afraid, Bk 1)

Afraid (Afraid, Bk 1)
Afraid (Afraid, Bk 1)
Author: Jack Kilborn
Genre: Horror
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
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Jack Kilborn is also J.A. Konrath, author of the Jack Daniels mystery series. Afraid is a great, gory thriller. While I have nothing against supernatural horror stories, I particularly liked the realism in Afraid that kept me thinking this could actually happen. Although I don't know how much of the science in the story is actually possible (I'm sure that the brain-downloading technology at least is fantasy), still there was nothing that struck me as being too far-fetched.

In the story, a helicopter containing members of an experimental military unit crashes in an isolated small town. This unit is composed of a handful of physically and mentally-enhanced sociopaths who immediately begin torturing and killing the townspeople. As you are introduced to individuals in the small town, you get a good feel for who they are which makes it all the more intense when it happens.

The various ways that people reacted to what was happening reminded me a little of the non-fiction book "The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes and Why." Some people seemed to run headfirst into situations with no thought of what kind of danger might be waiting for them while others paid attention to the danger signs & were more likely to survive.