Review: More Brilliant Storytelling from Robin Parrish
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 9, 2012
Troy Goggin, on the night before his seventeenth birthday, wakes up in a massive and mysterious structure he later learns is called the Corridor. A million questions race through his mind. What is the Corridor? Who built it? How did he end up there? In the Corridor Troy is led through a series of rooms that are both mentally and physically challenging, as well as life-threatening. His guide through the Corridor is a voice inside of his head that belongs to a mysterious girl named Victoria. Each room is harder than the last, as he tries to find the exit before either the floor falls out from beneath him, fire consumes him, or some other catastrophic threat to his life. The only way out is to run, and the only way to discover the Corridor's secrets is to make it to the end. Will he survive or will the people he loves never know that he died in the Corridor?I've been a fan of Robin Parrish's novels since his first book RELENTLESS. Parrish has a rare knack for coming up with epic story premises and executing them with precision. Parrish's newest novel CORRIDOR is right up there as another example of his incredible storytelling ability. Parrish calls this a Mythworks novel, a brand based on his story approach to creating not only a great story, but a whole compelling mythology behind it. There's always something spectacular going on behind the scenes in a Robin Parrish novel, and CORRIDOR is no exception.CORRIDOR is rare in that there are only really two main characters throughout the course of the story, and Victoria is mostly represented by only her voice. Parrish does an incredible job of mounting the suspense with a small cast of characters. It also gave the opportunity to get to know these two characters really well, especially under the difficult situation Troy finds himself in with Victoria growing to care for him and really wanting to help him survive.The rooms, each represented by a color, in the Corridor pit Troy against some truly insane tasks. The first room he wakes up in is a giant room bathed in blinding white light. Without seeing, he has to crawl through the room to find the exit as the floor around him is crumbling and falling into an abyss. Each room becomes much more difficult and life-threatening, especially with the amount of physical injuries he suffers along the way. It's a journey unlike any other, and the questions about the Corridor's origins and purpose mount as the journey progresses.The whole story had the feeling of the TV show LOST for me, which isn't surprising because Parrish used to write a blog about LOST that I used to read weekly. Troy's snatching and placement in the Corridor, the insane tests, Troy and Victoria's building relationship, and the story's surprising mythology all gave me that LOST feel. It was refreshing and reminiscent.The ending of the story was spectacular. It was bigger than I imagined would be coming, and while Parrish closed the story with a clear ending, he left the possibility of it being the first of a trilogy. I would love to see Parrish continue this story, especially in light of where it ends. The story is also a beautiful exploration of the themes of love and sacrifice.The book is currently available in eBook format, and the price is great at $2.99. It's a quick read as well. It's also Parrish's first foray into young adult fiction, and I think it will appeal to that demographic very well, but it also has great crossover appeal. It would be great if everyone would grab a copy of this book and check it out because it would make a phenomenal trilogy. The more copies sold, the greater the chances of that happening, so check out CORRIDOR, and be sure to check out Parrish's other novels as well.I received this book for free for review from the author and was not required to give a positive review