 It’s her examination of the human condition that draws you in – the intricate and slippery ways of human behaviour in times of stress that had me enthralled. Enter the Darkness by Sarah Budd Publisher : Brigids Gate Press, LLC (6 Nov. 2022) Language : English Paperback : 202 pages ISBN-10 : 1957537108 ISBN-13 : 978-1957537108 A Horror Book Review by Yvonne Miller Enter the Darkness sucked me in from page one. Darkly claustrophobic, it takes your deepest fears and makes them a reality. Spooky season may be over but you’re going to want to get your buy now finger at ready! Claustrophobia has always been a key factor in my nightmares. Wandering aimlessly in a place that resembles a maze is terrifying. The darkness, the air running low, and the silence would have my body gearing up to enter survival mode. Enter the Darkness is a story that enters the void with the ricochet of a bullet, you need to stay alert to the potential of being hit at any time. Sarah Budd draws a large red line between realism and fiction; jumping between the two is hazardous but oh-so-fun! I am a complete sucker for horror novellas – give me the dilemma between the human condition and the things that are not easily explained and I’m a happy reader BUT… Enter the Darkness is different from other horror novellas, Enter the Darkness is unlike anything I’ve read in the genre. Enter the Darkness forges its own way, its own path, albeit dark and abandoned, but you find yourself blindly feeling your way, unaware of what will be awaiting you at the end. It’s not a big surprise to find out that I freaking loved this story. I’ve always enjoyed Sarah Budd’s work. Her short stories rival some of the best. Her ability to put the reader into the centre of the story is unrivaled. She knows how to slide into her reader’s minds and set up home there. Inhaling their worst fears and translating them into her specific brand of horror. The story is fantastic but that’s only one part of the package – Sarah Budd’s immeasureable skill ensures that Enter the Darkness is the whole damn show! How many times have you wandered over the streets of London and wondered just what lay beneath your feet? Well, for me it’s never because I’ve never been to London (I’m a small-town girl at heart) BUT I can appreciate the vast amounts of history that we are walking on. This is the beauty of Enter the Darkness; the history is at the character's fingertips, but a far more ancient evil is lurking in the shadows. Four characters go into the cave system under the Pavements of London. Garth – a newly hired tour guide of the caves who’s willing to do anything to save the girl he has his eye on. Cassie – a girl who plans to use the cave system for her own emotive gain. Bill – Garth’s boss with more than a few skeletons in the closet and makes it his mission to save Cassie and Garth. Sienna – a girl whose conniving ways have finally taken a trip down karma alley and finds herself as a sacrifice. Each of the characters have their why for being down there and Budd really excels at writing morally grey characters. It’s her examination of the human condition that draws you in – the intricate and slippery ways of human behaviour in times of stress that had me enthralled. Get prepared for the similarities between As Above so Below (which is one of my favourite horror movies, so I was delighted.) The action was just as jumpy and blood-pumping as the movie and I was on the edge of my seat during scenes. The pages got turned and soon time escaped me. I enjoyed Cassie’s character the most, she wore her emotions like armor, and I could feel her hurt and grief pouring through the pages. She’s lost someone extremely close to her and experiencing those relationships made me think and made me make a phone call. The blame she puts upon herself is what anyone with a conscience would do and it just made her more human. More relatable. I look forward to more work by Sarah Budd. She brings the horror and the human into a concoction of ratcheting tension. Enter the Darkness |
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