Review: Another Ingeniously Twist Tale  From Matt Shaw
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 17, 2014
Having been rendered momentarily speechless by Shaw & Bray's captivating & horrific novel "ART," I anticipated that SEED would be good but I did not foresee a repeat of the whole dumbfounded and speechless thing.  I mean come on, when one considers how many "horror" and splatter films and books that I've read one would expect a stouter level of desensitization.  Nevertheless, given the shocking ending I think that most will agree that my reaction is understandable.  Furthermore, I think that my reactions are attributable solely to Shaw's uncanny ability to insidiously worm his way into the reader psyche.  In "SEED"  Shaw puts the reader at ease, seemingly saying: "let them think they've got it figured out;" "let them think that this story is just like everything else they've read", and then "BAM!"  "I've got you." "You didn't see that coming did you."As I compose this review, I am simple giddy with delight, and anticipation of reading another of his books, at having found an author in this genre who gets me.  Shaw's precise yet descriptive proses fulfills my need for brevity and my aversion to verbose authors who seem to delight in superfluous descriptions and wearisome dialogue. I literally groan and skip most, but not quite all, books in this genre that are over 500 pages long. (one famous American horror author comes to mind but I will indicate his name b/c his fans would send me all sorts of hateful comments) lol  "To each his or her own" says I and Shaw more than satisfy my cravings for a different kind of horror. A need for horror that doesn't just frighten or repulse but horror that defies the intellect, troubles the heart, and disturbs the psyche.  Ah, but don't misunderstand me, Shaw's stories may be shorter than his American counterpart but Shaw's plot are refreshingly original; his character development sufficient, each story's pace is generally fast, and his descriptions and details are often mesmerizing and facilitate visualization."Seed" does NOT contain the usual bloody scenes or gory scenes throughout the novel as is done in some of Shaw's other books so if that's what you're looking for this isn't the one.  However, "Seed" will definitely surprise you, horrify you and satisfy your craving for a subtle, yet ultimately gruesome, "horror" story.  It is relatively short but I think appropriately so given the plot. The pacing is medium and the character development is sufficient.  Detective Andrews, from the book 'ART' is back.  I like him and really empathize with him. I feel even greater pity for him because, based on even my limited literary experiences with Shaw, I don't foresee being a reoccurring character in Shaw's books ultimately leading to a HEA (happily after after) ending for Andrews despite my heart saying he deserves one.  Enjoy!I'm off to read another of Shaw's book or to read Michael Bray's "Whisper."WARNING: Please note that the subject matter is sensitive and there are some, albeit very limited, horrific and bloody parts.  This novel is not for "squeamish" readers i.e. those who are easily shocked, offended, or disgusted by unpleasant things.  So please, after having been warned, please don't read this novel anyway then if you find it too horrifying or "personally distasteful"l give this awesome novel and it's talented author a bad review b/c that just wouldn't be right.