Edenville- Sam Rebelein REVIEW

Edenville by Sam Rebelein is completely insane, and you need to read it IMMEDIATLEY. There is so much going on here, ranging from absolutely terrifying to plain silly. This is packed with action, gore and pure campy goodness- and the fact this is a debut was truly a shock to me. Small town horror, parasitic aliens.. and lots and lots of spiders makes for an incredibly horrifying read. 

Aspiring novelist Cam wakes from a nightmare, in which a man murders his family with a boxcutter and opens a portal using a stick figure drawn in blood, inspired. Following the publication of his debut "The Shattered Man," inspired by his bizarre night-terror, he finds himself disappointed by the response. Desperate to write a follow up, but uninspired and lazy, when a mysterious woman tracks him down to offer him a writing position at Edenville college- he jumps at the chance. 

Cam's girlfriend Quinn is immediately sceptical, fully aware of the mystery shrouding the small town-but despite her best efforts, she's dragged along. The strangegoingons only escalate as the couple become caught in Edenville's bizarre and macabre history and face a secret society, all whilst desperately attempting to survive against people who are actually spiders.

Any reader looking to approach Edenville should know that it is absolutely over the top, and whilst this worked for me, and will appeal to a wide range of readers.. I can already picture the mixed reviews. Whilst yes, it is somewhat of a gore-filled fever dream, it's also a rather intelligent criticism on the education system, and I would argue a commentary on the human need to succeed and excel. There are certainly layers to (and messages to be taken from) this book.

The creature feature is pretty immediate, and so unique. The "Gummermen," are little humanoid monsters, and you can see my interpretation of them in the image above.. please note I am not an artist. The Gummermen were definitely really very scary, but also refreshingly original and enjoyable to read about.

The other characters were all three-dimensional, and whilst I found myself very frustrated with some of Cam and Quinn's appalling decisions- they were believable. I urge authors (particularly small independent ones) to read this one- as the protagonist is someone who I'm sure is relatable- and I'm sure is a reflection on Sam himself in some way.

I'd recommend this one to fans of Grady Hendrix, or readers looking for something with that Goosebumps nostalgia.  It largely falls under the cosmic horror umbrella... however the writing style is very sardonic: this is no Lovecraft novel!

Thank you to the wonderful folks at Titan for providing me with this GORGEOUS arc copy- this cover is WOW- in return for an honest review.