Duncan Ralston

"Some places hold the pain in their walls, in the carpet snags, in the cracks of the ceiling and chinks in the baseboards." ~ Ducan Ralston, WOOM

PHEW! Seriously, WTF did I read? Whoa!

This is easily a quick novella, clocking in at 138 pages (Unlimited Kindle). I am not going to spill anything to you. Read the jacket but expect nothing. Here’s the thing, it isn’t going to be anything like you will expect…nope, not at all. It is a deep dive into the gruesome and disturbing. And well, show more disgusting at times (Wait. I’m just going to call bullshit on myself right now. Disgusting at times is too delicate of a phrase). It is thoroughly disgusting and twisted! If you have ANY TRIGGERS, such as graphic violence and/or of sexual depravities, this book is not for you. This book is for people that can enjoy and appreciate extreme graphic, psychological horror. Seriously, at the top of the Goodreads’s description, first bloody sentence states---” Warning: this book contains graphic violence and sexuality most readers will find offensive.”

Going in, I thought this would be something like a haunted hotel story. No big deal, I have read over the years about many haunting---blah, blah, blah. Pfft, there isn’t much anymore that can make the hair rise on the back of neck. Oh no, holy sheep shit, was I wrong! This is freaking out there...a gruesome, psychological horror that kept me reading well into the night. I literally had to put my Kindle down to regroup and wrap my mind around the fact that this author, Duncan Ralston, walks among us and he can write such “mind-fucked” material. That being said, I thoroughly loved every minute of it. When I finished the novella, I had to read the last chapter again to wrap my head around the craziness and downright fuckery that I did NOT see coming. Phew, that last chapter put the entire messed up, deviant puzzle pieces together, deliciously. Duncan Ralston, you sir, are bloody brilliant. My only regret is that I wish I would have saved this one for Halloween.

"I don't believe in ghosts. But I do think places, like this motel room, I think they hold on to bad things, the way people hold on to memories. Grief. Pain. Disease. Addiction. I think when you enter a place that's absorbed enough bad things, it pukes them out at you. It drenches you in them. So, a relatively innocuous room, like this one, will appear evil. Because bad things happened here." ~ Ducan Ralston, WOOM show less

'The first to speak in court sounds right, until the cross-examination begins,' Proverbs, 18:17.

Ah, the joy of parenthood – and the darkness of it…

Admission: I wasn’t sure before going in if this one would do it for me or not. Burned out by so many witchcraft stories being cheese-coated regurgitation, the Midwives is a refreshing change of pace that did not suffer from the same curse. Its fate instead was complex and eventually riveting; I ended up reading it in two sittings.

Witchcraft show more plays its role in the story, but with enough polish to stand out and flourish. Toss in a serial killer who livens up the story – especially when combined with a humorous town pariah – excellent results. Compelling characterization is where The Midwives excels past the mark, especially having Martin be the flawed man he is. Sheila is a worthy tag-along who brings feminism in to a storyline where the small town is dominated by these women who still embrace somewhat antiquated views on womanhood.

Ruby as the mother is particularly fascinating with her manic moods and the mysteries of her pursuits. Even the town itself, aptly named Barrow’s Bay, becomes a small character on its own. The remote, island type towns suits the ambience of a creepy horror story.

It’s not a first person, so we get to hop around in a few heads, but Martin leads the majority of the tale, as he should. He’s not the only focus, but he is the shining example of the opposite end of the point of faith.

A disconsolate landscape of human misery, horrible things happen – truly. Faith is mentioned as a manipulative weapon to allow much of this darkness to come to pass and hold the town in its grip; blind faith and behind-the-scenes manipulation. By a saving grace, faith becomes a symbol of hope for transformation for more than one character. The story may open with a long-standing tradition grounded in horrible origins, but it ends by showing that you can continue to evolve past your roots.

Having faith in who you can be, not just who you are, or origins of who you once were.

Violence and gore aren’t shied away from, particularly in the prologue that almost did border on cheesy, but everything happens for a reason – and some of these reasons may eventually surprise you with subtle magic. It’s brutal, but it gets your attention and makes a lasting impression. Five stars, and I don’t give those lightly to horror novels any more.

A horror story absolute, it remains true to the fairy-tale lore for witch tales of old. These aren’t women in gingerbread houses molding traps to snare wandering children, but they’re not far off from it either. If you want a modern day, twisted fairy-tale type of story that is both dark and gripping – this is the one. show less

Gut punch! GUT PUNCH!!!

This one has been on my TBR pile for a while. Short and to the point, I devoured it in one sitting.

Let's see, where the hell to start...

Duncan Ralston doesn't mince his words. Woom is indeed an 'extreme' horror novella, something that, in the hands of a lesser writer, could easily have devolved into something nasty and throwaway. But Duncan Ralston is clearly not a lesser writer. Instead, the extremity (and I stress again, there *is* extremity here) is tempered by show more genuine emotion. Over the course of 160-odd pages, the reader is invited to be party to a series of increasingly - the word doesn't do things justice - *depraved* situations, all of which, despite the clues cleverly peppered thoughout, build to a climax that the reader doesn't see coming. Overall, Woom is a story of hurt, of pain and loss, and to fully appreciate its impact, it needs to be experienced in one sitting - provided that you can stomach it.

There are some readers out there in Fiction Reader Land who seemingly don't get it, but as a writer generally, as well as an educated person more specifically, I like to believe that I can differentiate between fiction and reality, between art and artist. The world is a brutal place, and it is the role - the obligation - of a writer to sometimes explore that truth. Woom does just that, and then some. With Woom, Duncan Ralston teaches many other writers a lesson in how to strike for the gut and the head at the same time. If you have a penchant for extremity in dark fiction, you owe it to yourself to read it. show less

That was one wild ride, no pun intended. The story was captivating, entertaining, original (despite the similitude one could draw between it, Jurasic Park and Thirteen Ghosts), a haunted ghost story that thinks outside the box.

It skirted the line between gore and splatterpunk without going too much into it but still enough to make it horrifying.

The narration was well paced and nicely divided between the main two protagonists. I actually cared about the characters, was shocked when they died show more and really hated Garrote.

The only blemish that I could find is the ending. What the hell happened?!? Hopefully it will be explained in the sequel. show less