- ASIN: B09TG14KNW
- Publisher: Raven Tale (24 Feb. 2022)
- Language: English
- Print length: 157 pages
- Genre: Genetic Engineering Science Fiction
The BookViral Review:
Deliciously terrifying, D.C. Brockwell brings fully-fledged horror to arachnophobia in ‘The Widow’, the first book of his Arachnoid Chronicles. Following his two protagonists through different timelines, what at first seems a moderately disturbing storyline rapidly metamorphosises into sheer terror, echoing the transformation of Zoe, a newly widowed photographic artist.
Brockwell’s imagery is second to none, as Zoe changes irrevocably following a spider bite, with her creator cleverly introducing arachnid characteristics into her transfiguration-not least that of the repulsively fascinating practice of eating one’s lover! Human psyche and instinctual behaviour meet, merge and divide as Brockwell draws you, beyond recall, into his fascinating incursion of horror, as Zoe’s thinking, confidence and motivations transform as distinctly as her outward appearance. The reader is alternately repulsed and captivated as Zoe continues on her quest to feed her young in ways only an agathokakological imagination can construct.
Classically authentic representations of ‘thirty somethings’, blend seamlessly into the storyline, cleverly creating a false sense of security, acting as a normalising background against which the freakishly execrable storyline seems all the more horrifying. Furthermore, authentically accurate information surrounding terrestrial arthropods lends weight to Brockwell’s gruesome tale, leaving the reader secretly grateful that these mesmerizingly murderous creatures are thankfully minuscule!
With a satirically humorous bend to his writing, Brockwell reveals the terrible realisation that this is only the beginning, as indeed it is! Whilst the fortunate Alex barely escapes by the skin of his teeth, the relief of resolution is blemished by a new victim, leaving a gratifyingly compelling cliff-hanger, with the second and third books in the Chronicle promising to be as horrifyingly absorbing as the first.
A superbly enjoyable 5-star horror story, and one that’s even more gruesome than ‘The Fly’, read this with your feet up and your back against the wall…!
