Seed

So, I'm gonna be bold and say it: Ania Ahlborn just may be scarier than Stephen King. Her body of work is scarce compared to his at this point, but she's promising to become prolific, and she's already mastered the elements of a good horror story: creepy, dark, terrorizing despair.

Seed is the third book of Ahlborn's that I've read this year. It is deliciously dark. She creates worlds where the main characters are first isolated by the horror that haunts them, then completely enveloped by it. And that is where she might prove herself to outshine King, if she's consistent with this as she grows. For King's novels, despite the way they reveal the everyday evil along with the horror he creates, despite the body count at the last page, show more despite the gore spilled across so many pages, still contain an element of hope and triumph. There is good to match the bad uncovered by his characters; there is inner strength lying dormant; there is something that conquers the bad, even at a terrible price. In Ahlborn's books ... not so much. There is darkness & evil lurking nearby, waiting to gain a foothold. There doesn't seem to be even a random turn of benevolent luck that might help our main characters out.

In Seed, we meet Jack Winter & his family, on a deserted stretch of road on a dark night in the bayou, as something darts across the road, causing an accident. The family seems to come out of it unscathed ... but in a short week, their lives unravel. Because something has been haunting Jack for 20 years, something he's been able to ignore as he built his life & family... & now it's back. What does it want? What will it take? Can it be stopped? The reader can only hope so.

If you have any taste for horror, or a good scare, pick up Seed, or any other book by Ania Ahlborn. And keep an eye on her: she's talented enough to take over the horror genre any day now. show less

This was my first taste of Ahlborn, and I'll undoubtedly look out for more of her books. Her nuance when it came to writing the character and their relationships in Seed was brilliant, and made it easy to keep turning pages. The book was fairly predictable, admittedly, but the characters were so vibrant and real that that didn't particularly bother me, particularly given that one might expect a book in this subgenre to follow a fairly predictable path.

The big weakness for me, and what brought it from a 4.5* read down to a 3.5* read, is a particular pet peeve of mine, no pun intended. I can't stand it when writers give their characters pets, but don't do so in a believable fashion. I've read so many books where a dog owner just up and show more left town for a weekend without any mention of dog care, despite the short notice trip, or where cats or dogs simply didn't behave believably. I love animals, but if an author is going to include them, they have to do the work to include them in a believable manner, acknowledging that dogs have to be walked or go outside to use a bathroom just like all animals need to be fed regularly, cared for, etc. That's not to say I need to see a cat owner cleaning out the litter box, but I need to believe one exists. In the case of Seed, Ahlborn gave her family a dog, but it was only present when convenient to the story. It lived inside, so there was no question of it always being out of the house, but it only showed up when the story required it. Otherwise, it was as if the dog didn't exist, and because of the way she described the characters' relationships with the dog, there was no way to believe it wouldn't have been reacting and underfoot in a lot of plot moments. But, instead, it seems she only wanted it in for two convenient plot moments...and to be honest, that put a huge damper on the book for me. It shot through the believability of the family and the situation, and a scene that she meant to have a huge emotional impact ended up feeling more predicted and annoying, in large part as a result of this oversight.

You might be thinking this shouldn't be such a big problem, but in a book where the larger plot is fairly predictable, engagement with characters and their believability means everything. And so when what's supposedly a big part of a family's home life is a problem that can't be ignored, that ends up being a fairly serious weakness--at least in my opinion.

I'll absolutely read more of Ahlborn's work, but I'll likely avoid any where there's a family pet if I can figure out which books that might be based on CWs and book reviews. show less

There wasn't anything shockingly pioneering in this novel, but it had three things that most horror doesn't have:

First and foremost, it was very well-written. That alone elevates it above most of the dreck out there.

Second, the characters were not just engaging, but real. You know people like them. I do.

Finally, it build up a wonderful sense of dread throughout the course of the story that had a wonderful payoff at the end.

Where the hell has Ania Ahlborn been all this time? I just found out about her a month ago, but I'm telling you, if this is her worst book, I'm all in. She's great.

In a world with runaway environmental change and collapsed governments, the remaining humans in the United States have two things in common: hunger, and thirst. Satori, an intelligent, living city rooted in the ruins of Old Denver, is the sole source for all food for a starving nation. Her power comes in the form of barcoded seed, bioengineered by one of her Designers to survive the climate extremes. Satori’s seed can be used only once. It cannot be reproduced outside Satori’s control.

The U.S. government—what remains of it—sends Agent Sienna Doss to bring in the seeds’ Designer in order to break Satori’s monopoly in food production and regain some semblance of independence for its starving people. Ex-Army Ranger Doss is up show more for the challenge, but may have underestimated Satori’s will to survive.

Brood, a juvenile orphan barely scraping by with his younger brother Pollo, is attacked and left for dead. When he awakens, Pollo is gone, taken because the attackers believe he has the Tet, a new disease. A group of migrants can live well for a time on seed paid by Satori for Tet victims. Brood sets out to free Pollo before it’s too late.

As both Doss and Brood converge on Satori’s living dome, all three fight for survival—of themselves, and their kin. If Satori wins, humanity is doomed. Yet without her, there will be no seed. The outcome will determine the future for them all.

Seed is a dystopian story set in a post-apocalyptic world where climate catastrophe and a Monsanto-like mindset have been given center stage. Settings are entirely believable—dry hard-pan plains where little grows and topsoil drifts in a haze that turns the air brown. The search for resources, as well as extremes of heat and cold, keep characters on the move. Few animals remain to hunt. Water is a treasure worth killing for. Migrants band together if they want to survive, and no one welcomes a beggar.

Characters fit the roles set out for them by Author Rob Ziegler, as they would naturally exist given their circumstances. Teenaged Brood, orphaned as a young boy, is every bit as sharp as the pig-sticker he keeps in a sheath at the small of his back, and unwaveringly protective of his younger brother, autistic Pollo. As an ex-Ranger, Doss is no stranger to violence, and faces it with a coldness that felt authentic to her character. The antagonists, the Designers, are as cold and clinical as I would expect for engineered beings who are part of a sentient city. Yet all are doing what they must. Brood has no choice but to survive if he is to save Pollo, and he will do whatever it takes. Doss’s military past sets her path; she’s been given a mission, and she will see it completed, and protect those she sees threatened along the way. The Designers are doing what they feel is right for the Fathers who designed them, and for Satori, who sustains them. Their motivations are clear, but the mindset behind their decision-making process is not so well-defined. They are, after all, not human. Ziegler did a good job of portraying their unique and sometimes contradictory—to a human way of thinking—internal conflicts.

You should know up front that this debut novel is no light read. Instead, it moves from dark to darker. Laced with sex, violence, and a brutal struggle to survive, Seed delivers a visceral gut-punch that I found a bit depressing, especially given the ease with which this kind of catastrophe could become a reality. At times, the narrative was difficult to read. Thankfully, there is a ray of hope at the end, and I was glad to see Ziegler plant the seed of a better future for his characters. Still, the story leaves the reader with the heavy knowledge that a society fallen so far into the pit of desperation will have a hard-scrabble climb back to the light. There are no guarantees of success, and I suppose that’s part of the story’s message.

Seed is good, well worth reading for the quality of Ziegler’s writing, as well as for the cautionary tale it weaves. show less

I feel like I must indulge in this content too much because everyone on tik tok talked about how emotionally devastating it was, and while I do think it was sad it didn't leave me unable to smile ever again. Maybe I just wasn't as attached as I could've been? It's not to say the story was bad or any less creepy, I was very stressed out at parts but I feel like by the time you're approaching the ending you can see where it's going.

Doesn't make it any less fun or interesting! I enjoyed Ania Ahlborn's writing style and I'm looking forward to reading her other books!

Another very tense-making novel, possibly more so than Pet Sematary was. I was held spell-bound, until the end. (And at the ending, I was all, “wtf, dude....?!??!?). This novel didn’t seem to be quite as long as the afore mentioned though.
Interesting characters, very interesting storyline (but somewhat confusing), and some subtly slowly ratcheting tension throughout the novel.
Eric G. Dove is the narrator, and he was very good. I enjoyed his performance.
I’m still not sure how I feel about this novel, so I’m going to think about it for a while.
4 stars, and recommended.

Seed rocks! How's that for a review? Seed is classic horror, psychological horror, creepy horror, pee your pants horror. I loved it!

Ok, that's enough gushing but this was a pleasant surprise. Browsing around for Kindle books I came across this and for $.99 figured I couldn't go wrong. What a true gem of a book this was. The writing reminded me of early Steven King and Graham Masterton. Creepy look over your shoulder, is there something there, sort of writing with great characters and suspenseful plot.

The author did a great job of making us a part of the Winter family. The story centers around Charlie, Jack's six year old daughter who starts to see and experience strange things after a car accident. These things are nothing new to Jack, show more he has been there, done that and ran from it. He thought he was "normal" now but the actions of Charlie prove he has not outrun his past and he must deal with hit head on!

I can't say enough about how good and refreshing this book was to read. This is how I like my horror, gore in all the right spots but not gore for the mere reason of grossing you out. Definitely a must read for any horror fans. show less