Review: Chilling and Gripping Horror Novel
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 27, 2010
Wood is a skillful writer, which is obvious right off the bat. He absolutely knows the meaning of show, don't tell. His descriptions are vivid and alarming, and his character reactions appropriate but creepy, such as when Keller says that one of the prisoners makes his balls wither on the vine.Keeler and his actions just keep getting more and more interesting the further that you read into the story. And he's full of surprises--at first, I thought "volunteer" meant that he was someone who volunteered as a guard at the prison. Turns out "volunteer" actually means he has 'willingly' signed up to become a test subject of sorts. Not fun.Still, Keeler is sharp and quick-witted and he knows when he's being played or when someone's lying to him, great traits to have despite the sins that have landed him in jail.You soon find out that this prison isn't an ordinary one. If anything, it reminded me of the prison that Alex De Large, ill-fated protagonist of "A Clockwork Orange", ended up in. Keeler's "assignment" is to find Lefford and Allard, two of the more dangerous prisoners housed in this facility, and Keeler is smart enough to know that it'll mean trouble for his reputation among the rest of the prisoners.There are very few books that truly alter a person's literary landscape, and "The Scrubs" has been one of those for me. Although appropriately explicit when necessary, the book doesn't actually have as many "gross out" descriptions as I thought it would, so if you're afraid that it'll be too scary, I will say that once you find out what's really going on, the concept is actually more frightening than the descriptions of blood and guts.For the full review, please visit [...].