Stuart R. West

Is it nature or nurture that creates a psychotic personality? Not that anyone was nurtured in Edwin's family. Edwin is a farmer who lives by his own twisted interpretation of the bible. To him, this means he is free to hand out frequent beatings and other physical and mental abuse to his wife and children. And don't get me started on what he considers to be a woman's job.

How did these children turn out you ask?

Well, that is something you will find out as you meet their adult selves and show more discover what brings Peter and Matt back to the farm for a most horrifying family reunion.

This is a dark and disturbing read told from multiple points of view as we get into the heads of Edwin's grown sons. Inside of Peter's mind is an especially uncomfortable place to be. With a quick pace and loads of suspense, Godland kept me turning pages late into the night.

4 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Grinning Skull Press. show less

If we could look behind closed doors, we might be surprised, even horrified, by what we see. Do we really know the family next door or the farmer in the country? Do we even care what they’re like, or is it simply easier to ignore those that might seem a bit different to us?

In Author Stuart R. West’s novel GODLAND, the reader meets a cast of characters that push the word “normal” to the limits. I’m not going to give anything away by describing each character, but the major players show more are people that you do not want as neighbors. There are a few characters that can be classified as “normal”, namely the teens Lindsay, Shannon and Gavin, well, as normal as teens are, but 300 pound Joshua, man-boy, 16 or 17 years old, will make you have nightmares or touch your heart or both. No, I can’t explain. You’ll have to read Joshua’s story to understand. For me, Joshua is the character that I wanted to help. I think you’ll understand why.

Mr. West is a master at creating characters that are so real you hope you never run into some of them on a dark street, or a daylight one for that matter. At least this reader has no desire to meet the real Edwin (father of Joshua) or his son. Are people really that warped? I guess so.

All I can say is read GODLAND with the lights on and even better with friends or family present to keep you in the real world. You certainly don’t want to get lost in GODLAND. I believe that the author has achieved his purpose of writing a story the reader will long remember and will avoid deserted country roads and lonely farm houses.

I won a copy of the novel from the publisher, MuseItUp Publishing

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I'm serious people: go grab a copy of this book! I seriously loved it. I'd heard good things from friends before I started it, and was definitely curious, but I had no idea how awesome it would be. And how funny! I seriously laughed a lot, especially with Olivia. What a awesome character. Tex was also very real, and very complex. I seriously felt like I knew him by the time I finished. Great pacing, great world building, great mystery (which I actually didn't guess correctly, lol!), and show more overall a book I highly recommend.

I'll also point out that this book deals with something I find very important: bullying. I was shocked at some of the antics the students perpetrated against each other, and was horrified that they got away with them! Then to read at the end that West has seen all of these things occur in real life? Blew my mind. Hats off to West for such a realistic edge to this story, and helping people realize how much impact it has, along with encouraging ways to help battle bullying. show less

Shawn Biltmore, junior executive at the Lerner Corporation spends his days working his boring job and most nights getting drunk at the bar with his only friend Redmond, a rather repulsive character who is also a junior executive at the same company. It is in this usual state of drunkenness that Shawn becomes separated from Redmond on a team building exercise in the woods. The next thing he knows, he is waking up in a hospital, being told that he has been in a coma after a bear attack. Shawn show more knows it was nothing so ordinary that attacked him in those woods and not long after he begins to feel the changes in himself one of his annoying coworkers is found dead.
I didn't really feel connected to or invested in any of these characters. I'm not sure if Shawn's clumsy attempts to date his nurse and a coworker were meant to be endearing or humorous. The only enjoyment I got from this story came from the werewolf attacks which were suspenseful, vivid, and frightening. Also, it taught me that goat yoga is an actual thing.

I received a complimentary copy for review. show less