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Book Review : Chris F. Holm - 8 Pounds: Eight Tales of Crime, Horror & Suspense (2010)


Country: USA

Genre: Suspense/Horror

Pages: 294 kb (eOriginal)

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Darkness. It seemed to Emily that darkness was all she'd ever seen. It had been two weeks now, two weeks that she'd been stranded in this cold, cramped place. A well, they told her now. Hell, it seemed to her.

8 POUNDS is the type of book you will only find on Kindle. A complete, well-shaped work and yet only a taste of what a writer can offer. Chris F. Holm was a perfect candidate to release a 99 cents eBook. The man doesn't write short stories all that often, but when he does, everybody talks about it for the following weeks. Eager to get cracking on his new novel DEAD HARVEST, I thought I should give a go to his short stories first. Because I like his shorts, because I can and because it was ungodly cheap to do so. While it's about the shortest, most non-committal read you can find (which is not necessarily a bad thing, in a .99$ eBook situation), there are many things to love about 8 POUNDS. It goes it many directions, but the pen of Chris F. Holm is strong enough to bind the stories together under his vision.

First of all, let's get clear of the elephant in the room. Stephen King. Holm draws inspiration from the grand master, that's for sure. But it's done right, without plagiarizing themes or even atmospheres. Holm's stories feel unique and vibrant. If they reminded me of King, it's because they flow exceptionally well and they focus on tight storytelling. Holm knows which kind of writer he is and who he's writing for. SEVEN DAYS OF RAIN, his Spinetingler Award winning story brought a terrific setting that both wraps up the readers and the characters in its embrace. It's not quite a paranormal story, but more mythical I'd say, which makes its power. Using elderly protagonists made this approach possible and even seducing. It was one of my favorites of the lot. It's easy to understand why it won an award.

Two other stories stood out for me. THE TOLL COLLECTORS, which is definitively more horror-oriented (despite standing on the edge of several genre) and THE WORLD BEHIND. Holm has such a knack for bone-chilling settings, it makes his (great) character seems like the icing on the cake. THE TOLL COLLECTORS happens over a dark and lonely patch of the Interstate, where a hired killer has to go through an unexpected life-examination. It's the pinpoint place where this story needs to be. THE WORLD BEHIND deals with the weight of childhood memories through a life-defining moment. I love that theme, that childhood always weights a lot more than you think it should and Holm offers a very accurate, controlled and sharp story about the haunting of childhood.

Prison was a rebirth for Ray; he read and lifted and he fought, winning more than he lost. He learned that he enjoyed inflicting pain, and that he was good at it. When he got out, he found a more productive outlet for his talents than beating on drunks in bars or felons behind them. He'd learned control. He'd learned patience. And he's learned that a man with his proclivities was always in demand.

There were stories I thought didn't work as well. A BETTER LIFE wasn't my cup of tea. Thought it offered a wet balloon for a plot twist. THE BIG SCORE also didn't do much for me. But with such a scatter shooting approach (there are more or less three genres announced in the collection's title), I was expecting some of the stories to be less to my liking. I find Chris F. Holm is at his best when working on the edge of horror and the paranormal. When he tackles the theme of innocence, his game gets even better. That's what makes his strength because genre restraints are obviously not made for him, hence his latest novel DEAD HARVEST that seems to blend genres with the author's trademark accuracy and minutiae.

It's hard not to recommend 8 POUNDS. Yeah, the stories are many different genres, but there will be stories that hook you up and leave their mark in your flesh. In my case, there were three which I keep thinking about still, more than one week after reading. 8 POUNDS is a display of power by Chris F. Holm. No matter what he writes about, his storytelling is tight and his prose spare and focused. If there is such a strong parallel to make with Stephen King, it's not because he's a copycat. It's because he's cut from the same mold as the best selling author.

THREE STARS

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