Review: Awesome, really enjoyed this.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 2, 2014
This was my first read from Colin Barnes and I thoroughly enjoyed it, Dead Fives Pass packs an incredible amount into a novella and I felt like I’d read something a lot more substantial.A new cave is discovered in Dead Fives Pass, named after the five fang like rocks at the base of the slope and via a mountaineers forum the race is on to explore the discovery. The terror begins almost straight away as the first to reach the cave encounter a malevolent entity, the tension then builds dramatically as another group arrive and everyone’s heading for a place that breeds an intense fear.The main characters of the story are two of the volunteer rescue service Carise and Marcel, there’s history between these ex-lovers and characterization is excellent as both are hurled into a rescue attempt that turns into something a hell of a lot more dangerous.Reading on the kindle I always highlight stand out pieces with the note function, which is becoming invaluable as my memory starts to wane, so here’s one of the characters impression of the cave.‘The atmosphere was charged with malevolence and he felt himself being watched from all around as if those shapes and symbols on the walls were sentient. He couldn’t be sure what was real or imaginary, things shifted in the gloom and he thought he saw robed beings circle the chamber, staying mostly hidden in the enveloping shadows’.Dead Fives Pass ticked all the boxes for me, characters I was invested in, decent story with an unimaginable adversary, hints of a supernatural horror and a foreboding atmosphere coupled with the appropriate brutality and bloodshed.A 4.5 Rating Recommended.