Review: eerie tales
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 26, 2013
We have all heard the phrase "you are your own worst enemy." Patrick Royal's Shattered demonstrates the phenomenon. His character, Tom Elliot, a prolific and successful novelist writing in the horror genre, inserts into each of his novels little threads and snippets of his painful, abusive childhood--including some fascinating trivia about Halloween. His fertile imagination weaves eerie tales applying demonic threads: colorful, obsessed characters, graphically bloody accidents, fantastically bright and evil creatures, all of whom form a fabric so tightly woven it shuts out reality, a reality that Tom desperately struggles to maintain.Tom's struggle kept me reading. I wanted him to win, hang on to his last thread of sanity, grasp it with all his will. But alas, Tom is his own worst enemy. The ending comes and, with a sigh, I think his tale is told--yet a thread dangles--dangles and teases. I fear this thread has a life of its own and will gather strength. No, this is not the end. Author Patrick Royale will pick up the thread, use it to weave more tales. I will not be able to resist having a peek to find out what happens next.Not recommended reading for those who sit alone by candlelight on dark, cold, stormy nights, not unless you like creepy visitors who hide in the corners.I give Patrick Royal * * * * four stars. A review, by Author Dorothy A. Bell