Dweller by Jeff Strand review - early fall musings

I cannot believe that Summer is almost over, not my favorite time since us Polish Vikings do not like ze sun, bust still it will suck to have to wear actual shoes to work, o horror.. flip flops, I will miss you...

So thinking about Fall which is my favorite season ( come on pumpkins, fresh air) reminded me of a great fall read from 2011, a cuddly classic from Strand with some teeth which isn't unusual for him, the guy is on the same level as Ed Lee, J A Konrath, Blake Crouch, heck even R Patrick Gates who I haven't even introduced here, YET...This story is for us wood lovers, its lush, its hairy... enjoy

                                     

 

DWELLER

by Jeff Strand

  Gripping journey through life and death

Dweller is one of the more unusual monster stories, more than once I felt my heart squeeze itself in my body because the story makes you feel for both the human and the creature for different reasons. After reading many crazy horror books through the years it was nice to finally enjoyed liking the monster this time, Owen reminded me of a big yeti but unlike most yetis he had a great sense of humor, at least what we could see of it. I instantly liked him even though he did some very bad things I was constantly worried about his own well being, humans are delicate with their easily to pull off limbs and soft flesh to slash but they can also be cruel and destructive before anything else. I wouldn't call this horror even though there are some intense scenes and there is blood shed but Strand manages to make it about relationships and how we choose to live our life and our dynamics with others. For Toby that other was Owen, a tall, hairy, sharp clawed and toothed monster that he found in a forest that one time when he went further than he was allowed. Toby got chased by some bullies plenty of times and there were kids who didn't like him. But there was way to make them go away, a way that would haunt Toby for the rest of his life

The story progresses though a few decades, we first meet Toby when he's just a kid and continue on his journey as his life changes through new jobs, relationships, marriage, children, deaths... as his life continues so does his strange relationship with Owen, I'm gong to keep this review brief and spoiler free if I can, the less I knew about this story the better it felt as I read it, some things shocked me while others made me sad with worry. Be prepared to care for the flesh eater, keep a tissue nearby as you might need it, it's an intense story with a heart that spellbinds the reader from page one. Little boy and his monster are real in this book and not all of their adventures are fun, some turn into tragic events that change their lives forever.

- Kasia S.

This Image from Snowhite and the Huntsman is a perfect capture of what reading this book felt like :)