Smorgasbord Fantasia

There is so much positive buzz around this “debut” from Sarah Lotz who describes herself as a “genre-crossing pulp-fiction” writer based in South Africa that it’s pretty hard to miss.  So I got this book through the Galley ARC and pretty much dived into it – sucked in by the wonderfully engaging tale written very proficiently, switching between different voices, bending genres and generally cranking up that lever of tension and escalating fear levels. Now it is the first time I’m reading a tale being presented in such a manner. Like a vantage point or Rashomon movie, where the threads slowly unspool from different POVs – Email exchanges, Geek Forum discussions, Tape recordings, Skype interviews and social media shout-outs. Very clever writing device and trust me, it really works. Because Sarah expertly weaves in these narratives to build up that patina of fear that seeps in unnoticed as we read on. It’s a tough book to review without being “spoilery” – The b...