Halloween Book Review: OFFSPRING by Jack Ketchum

OFFSPRING by Jack Ketchum (Leisure Books, October 2009) Paperback, 293 pages. ISBN # 0843963972 / 9780843963977  

Summary on the Goodreads website . . . . .

The local sheriff of Dead River, Maine, thought he had killed them off ten years ago —a primitive, cave-dwelling tribe of cannibalistic savages. But somehow the clan survived. To breed. To hunt. To kill and eat. And now the peaceful residents of this isolated town are fighting for their lives.

My review on the Goodreads website . . . . .

     OFFSPRING is the middle book in a trilogy, beginning with OFF SEASON and ending with THE WOMAN. However, you can read them separately and in any order and still appreciate what's contained here.

     This book is in your face, repeatedly, brutally, and often. With an economy of words, Ketchum details the gory bloodbath inflicted on local Maine residents by a family of primitive cannibals. That doesn't mean that the details he does choose to include won't cause repulsion and fear. If you are a writer interested in producing extreme horror, then start here to learn how to do it correctly. This is not splatter for splatter's sake, but more like pure horror as it tells of a frightening incident that while it may seem unlikely -- there's still a chance it could occur in the real world. 

     With that same economy of words, Ketchum gives us enough layers of insight for every single character in this book to make you care for some of them. What makes this so scary is that you become vested in their survival, knowing that many will not be around in the last chapter. I accepted that but held out hope that at least a few would survive, and this does end on a more positive note. 

     I'm currently kicking around ideas for several novels, two of which are horror and one a dark fantasy. I've begun to notice how authors open their stories, studying the first sentence, first paragraph, or first chapter to see where the hooks are and how long it takes before I become engaged enough to want to read it all and see what happens. 

     Ketchum snared me with the first paragraph: "She stood dappled in grime and moonlight beneath the shifting branches of the shade tree and watched through the window. Behind her the others jittered."

     I just had to know more after reading that. By the end of the two-page opening chapter I was 100% into OFFSPRING and committed to finishing it. Whew. I survived this. You will too and be stronger for it. The chapters are short, to give you a breather, and take place during specific times during a very long day plus the morning after. A perfect read for the month of Halloween. You'll be watching those little trick-or-treaters as they approach your front door with extreme caution.