Book Review: WE ARE MONSTERS by Brian Kirk

WE ARE MONSTERS by Brian Kirk.  (Samhain Publishing, Ltd. July 2015)  Paperback, 372 pages.  ISBN #1619225913 / 9781619225916 Nominated for a 2015 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel.  

Summary on the Goodreads website . . . . .

Some doctors are sicker than their patients. 

When a troubled psychiatrist loses funding to perform clinical trials on an experimental cure for schizophrenia, he begins testing it on his asylum's criminally insane, triggering a series of side effects that opens the mind of his hospital's most dangerous patient, setting his inner demons free. 

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My Four-Star review on the Goodreads website . . . . .

     The back cover description had me engaged immediately. I love horror stories where the horror is more true and human and doesn't involve monstrous creatures. 

     Chapter One pulled me right into the story. I love the hook in that opening line: "No matter how many times he saw the syringe, the needle always looked too long." That's the way to create apprehension in the very first sentence. I can't stand needles. The description of the needle in action on the rest of the page left me extremely squeamish. 

     I read this book as a member of the Horror Aficianados community o Goodreads, and participated in a group reading with author Brian Kirk participating in the comments. That provided an added bonus as we could ask him questions as we moved forward through the story. 

     I learned that Kirk (as I suspected) did much research before writing the novel, and read books on the history of mental health treatments, as well as books written by people who suffer serious mental health disorders, such as schizophrenia. He visited a psychiatric ward in Atlanta and interviewed the facility's medical director. That acquired knowledge comes through in the novel and lends authenticity to the proceedings, which only serves to make them more disturbing.

     By the time the story reaches a cliff-hanger ending to Part One, this becomes a real page-turner. There are many surprises and twists that follow in Part Two and Three as the experiments reach a surreal stage that ends up involving the entire hospital, patients and staff alike. Deep fears become visualized and many characters become trapped in horrific situations that feel real in spite of their out-of-body nature. 

     As much as I was enthralled by Kirk's imagination and vivid descriptive abilities, I felt that this section of the novel extended these experiences a little more than necessary which made parts of the novel drag for me.

     I wasn't entirely satisfied with the latter part of the book and how it ended but I certainly don't regret reading it, just to savor the the writing skills and imagery. 

     The ending is somewhat vague as to what happens next. I felt that Kirk missed an opportunity to a make a statement with a stronger ending. However, others who are more grounded in the research behind this novel and understand it better than I may have a much more positive view.

      I was able to pose some questions to Kirk on the group forum that he answered to my satisfaction entirely, and actually helped me obtain a a better appreciation for the novel. If you're going to read this, I definitely recommend checking out the comments posted on the Horror Aficianados community pages on Goodreads.