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The Park
Book One of the electrifying horror series "The Park Chronicles"
Gnashie is a young boy with problems. His father is a twisted alcoholic and things haven't been the same at home since his mother walked out on them. At school he only has one friend, a girl named Julie. When the pair get caught up on a school excursion to a theme park, it seems like the perfect escape for Gnashie and his problems.
BUT THIS PARK IS NOT A SAFE AND NURTURING PLACE
Evil lurks within. Years later after Gnashie has moved beyond his experiences at The Park, a criminal mastermind returns to announce his plans of destruction and world domination. As easy as it would be to ignore the impending doom, the only hope for Gnashie is to go back to where this all started.
BRUTAL. MINDBENDING. INSANE.
No matter how far you travel into The Park, there are still so many horrible truths to uncover.
Watch as Gnashie grows up and becomes pushed to the very core of his limits.
Watch as The Park's words bleed from the page and burn into your heart.
THIS IS A PARK, YOU WILL NEVER FORGET...
Gnashie is a young boy with problems. His father is a twisted alcoholic and things haven't been the same at home since his mother walked out on them. At school he only has one friend, a girl named Julie. When the pair get caught up on a school excursion to a theme park, it seems like the perfect escape for Gnashie and his problems.
BUT THIS PARK IS NOT A SAFE AND NURTURING PLACE
Evil lurks within. Years later after Gnashie has moved beyond his experiences at The Park, a criminal mastermind returns to announce his plans of destruction and world domination. As easy as it would be to ignore the impending doom, the only hope for Gnashie is to go back to where this all started.
BRUTAL. MINDBENDING. INSANE.
No matter how far you travel into The Park, there are still so many horrible truths to uncover.
Watch as Gnashie grows up and becomes pushed to the very core of his limits.
Watch as The Park's words bleed from the page and burn into your heart.
THIS IS A PARK, YOU WILL NEVER FORGET...
Kindle Edition
First published December 29, 2012
8 people are currently reading
98 people want to read
About the author
Shane Jeffery
10 books4 followersSHANE JEFFERY was born in Melbourne, Australia, 1985, and currently resides there today.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 30, 2015
I DNF'd this one at 25%. It was very confusing and I will admit that I was lost. Just too weird for me. Will not even rate it.
February 2, 2016
I have a lot of admiration for experimentation, and a book so tightly closed in on the point of view of one character (such as this book) appeals to me greatly as a so-far failed writer. This is what I often aim for myself when writing fiction. Because of this closeness we readers miss things like transitions. Sam (Gnashie) tells his story when he feels like it, and we're left to fill in the spaces that go untold. Near the end, he tells us "And so now you know what happens to me," but I cannot tell you that I really do. I do not know what happens to him. But I can interpret and wonder.
I don't know what to make of the constantly shifting verb tenses. Voice/storytelling technique. I did find this distracting. I also yearned for a bit more organic character development, so I could really be inside Gnashie's head, really feel what makes him do some of the things he does.
Subject matter: tons of triggers, so reader beware. Child abuse (of every kind, often graphically described), violence, murder, rape, drugged-up hallucinations. I didn't always grasp the fence between illusion and reality. But then again, neither does our narrator.
Due to the content, probably a limited audience. Fascinating approach and execution. I was tempted to go down to three stars (which is not a bad thing in itself) but that Shane Jeffery actually completed this project without sacrificing art in the process really impresses me. I'm excited to see what else this author has in store for us.
I don't know what to make of the constantly shifting verb tenses. Voice/storytelling technique. I did find this distracting. I also yearned for a bit more organic character development, so I could really be inside Gnashie's head, really feel what makes him do some of the things he does.
Subject matter: tons of triggers, so reader beware. Child abuse (of every kind, often graphically described), violence, murder, rape, drugged-up hallucinations. I didn't always grasp the fence between illusion and reality. But then again, neither does our narrator.
Due to the content, probably a limited audience. Fascinating approach and execution. I was tempted to go down to three stars (which is not a bad thing in itself) but that Shane Jeffery actually completed this project without sacrificing art in the process really impresses me. I'm excited to see what else this author has in store for us.
May 14, 2013
The Park
by Shane Jeffrey
A full circle journey of a very rough life of a young boy. A journey which allows you to take a complete no varnished look of life through his eyes. What a journey this poor damned kid had to travel. The characters in this story could so capture your heart all you'd want to do is find them, bring them home and love them forever.
It was terribly hard to read at times, more so because we know in this day and age there are groups of people that round up kids for unspeakable horrors. So this book may not be for those light of heart. But for those that have a thicker skin, I believe you would enjoy the terrific writing and great plotting of this well put together book. There are some hum-dinger twists in this sorted tale!!
I give this book a solid 4 stars, there are a couple of typos with really shouldn't turn anyone off of the story. There's a bit of a drag about three quarters of the way through but it quickly picked up pace again.
Again I found this to be a well written fictitious story of a true to life problem, well done!!!
I was given a copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.
by Shane Jeffrey
A full circle journey of a very rough life of a young boy. A journey which allows you to take a complete no varnished look of life through his eyes. What a journey this poor damned kid had to travel. The characters in this story could so capture your heart all you'd want to do is find them, bring them home and love them forever.
It was terribly hard to read at times, more so because we know in this day and age there are groups of people that round up kids for unspeakable horrors. So this book may not be for those light of heart. But for those that have a thicker skin, I believe you would enjoy the terrific writing and great plotting of this well put together book. There are some hum-dinger twists in this sorted tale!!
I give this book a solid 4 stars, there are a couple of typos with really shouldn't turn anyone off of the story. There's a bit of a drag about three quarters of the way through but it quickly picked up pace again.
Again I found this to be a well written fictitious story of a true to life problem, well done!!!
I was given a copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.
February 18, 2013
I finished this book last night 02/17/2013. I know this review my not be helpful.
The book was well written. The author did a great job with the characters and discription of locations. I did get lost from time to time from the jumping around from one thing to another. I had to go back and reread the chapter before I could figure out what was going on. (That could just be me.)
As far as the subject of the book - see below.
At this point, I'm not sure how I feel about the book. This is a very taboo subject. I'm gonna hold off on my review until everything I read about sinks in. I want to give an honest review, but with the whole story being about such a taboo subject, I'm not sure I can at this time. I will update my review once I get my head around "The Park."
The book was well written. The author did a great job with the characters and discription of locations. I did get lost from time to time from the jumping around from one thing to another. I had to go back and reread the chapter before I could figure out what was going on. (That could just be me.)
As far as the subject of the book - see below.
At this point, I'm not sure how I feel about the book. This is a very taboo subject. I'm gonna hold off on my review until everything I read about sinks in. I want to give an honest review, but with the whole story being about such a taboo subject, I'm not sure I can at this time. I will update my review once I get my head around "The Park."
October 18, 2013
***I received a free copy from Making Connections group on Goodreads for a review***
I liked this 5 part book. It was broken down into the different stages of Samuel’s (a.k.a. Gnashie’s) life from an elementary kid to an adult. Even though he had a rough childhood, I couldn’t get behind anything he did as a teen or man. I didn’t sympathize with him; in fact, I wanted him to get caught. It took me a while to get used to rooting against the main character. But that’s a testament to the author’s writing. It wasn’t bland. He wrote about a raw and edgy subject matter that made me cringe–kids were forced to do child porn by pedophiles. Some parts were hard to read, and this is coming from a person who loves “Law and Order: SVU.”
The whole point of writing is to get a reaction out of readers. And Shane Jeffery definitely got a reaction out of me.
My favorite lines: 1) The things you don’t notice…until it’s all coming back. 2) Although I’m sure some of them were mocking me, I always felt a special bond with the nickname. 3) But of course there’s more. There’s always more. 4) I didn’t know if it was evil, if it was insanity, or some kind of twisted combination of the two; but obviously he was a hideous f**king monster.
Meet Gnashie, a naive little boy. He got the nickname because his dad kept knocking his teeth out. He’s a socially awkward loner in school. He wants to make friends but keeps getting bullied. His elementary school crush, Julie, doesn’t even really notice him. The author did a great job of having readers feel sorry for the kid, especially regarding his mom is missing.
A concerned teacher, Mr. Muckles, suggested a field trip. I felt bad that Gnashie wasn’t allowed to go. But did his dad have a good reason? Was Mr. Muckles sinister?
Gnashie snuck out of the house to attend The Park field trip. I jumped in my seat when he made his way to the fence in the backyard and saw his mom’s decaying body near the shed! No wonder his dad wouldn’t allow him to go near that place! That image stayed in my head throughout the entire novel.
As a reader, all I wanted was for Gnashie to finally have a nice moment in his life. He was so happy to be hanging out with Julie at The Park. The author did a great job of tricking me. The Park wasn’t a good place at all.
During the kids’ time there, the story was written in fragments and had a weird, creepy undertone to it. I guess it sort of felt like Edgar Allan Poe’s writing style where it’s like what did I just read? But, I think that was intentional because The Park was a demented, terrorizing place that made kids have “daymares.” The other kids and Gnashie were forced to stay there against their own will. A twist–Gnashie and Julie had visited that place before, but he hadn’t remembered.
The kids were missing for years. Gnashie got out when he was 15 years old. Back at school, he had a crush on Rachel. As a reader, I thought he’d get a chance to have a happy ending for all he had went through. I was fooled again. He helped The Park kidnap kids, the first victim–Rachel. Yuck! I couldn’t look at him the same way again. He’d do anything to keep his secret. Anything.
Apparently, his dad and Mr. Muckles had a history. His dad was a part of the law enforcement. Gnashie was a criminal who kept getting caught murdering people. I wish there would have been more jail or prison scenes, instead of things happening off the pages. It would’ve helped me see that justice was being served instead of thinking: why doesn’t he ever suffer any consequences? Was his dad helping him get off? His dad had went through sick things as a kid too–another twist.
As an adult, Gnashie married Rachel (of all people) and they had a daughter. Did history repeat itself? Or did he get a happy ending? You’ll have to read (if you can handle the subject matter) to find out.
I RECOMMEND this book to read.
I liked this 5 part book. It was broken down into the different stages of Samuel’s (a.k.a. Gnashie’s) life from an elementary kid to an adult. Even though he had a rough childhood, I couldn’t get behind anything he did as a teen or man. I didn’t sympathize with him; in fact, I wanted him to get caught. It took me a while to get used to rooting against the main character. But that’s a testament to the author’s writing. It wasn’t bland. He wrote about a raw and edgy subject matter that made me cringe–kids were forced to do child porn by pedophiles. Some parts were hard to read, and this is coming from a person who loves “Law and Order: SVU.”
The whole point of writing is to get a reaction out of readers. And Shane Jeffery definitely got a reaction out of me.
My favorite lines: 1) The things you don’t notice…until it’s all coming back. 2) Although I’m sure some of them were mocking me, I always felt a special bond with the nickname. 3) But of course there’s more. There’s always more. 4) I didn’t know if it was evil, if it was insanity, or some kind of twisted combination of the two; but obviously he was a hideous f**king monster.
Meet Gnashie, a naive little boy. He got the nickname because his dad kept knocking his teeth out. He’s a socially awkward loner in school. He wants to make friends but keeps getting bullied. His elementary school crush, Julie, doesn’t even really notice him. The author did a great job of having readers feel sorry for the kid, especially regarding his mom is missing.
A concerned teacher, Mr. Muckles, suggested a field trip. I felt bad that Gnashie wasn’t allowed to go. But did his dad have a good reason? Was Mr. Muckles sinister?
Gnashie snuck out of the house to attend The Park field trip. I jumped in my seat when he made his way to the fence in the backyard and saw his mom’s decaying body near the shed! No wonder his dad wouldn’t allow him to go near that place! That image stayed in my head throughout the entire novel.
As a reader, all I wanted was for Gnashie to finally have a nice moment in his life. He was so happy to be hanging out with Julie at The Park. The author did a great job of tricking me. The Park wasn’t a good place at all.
During the kids’ time there, the story was written in fragments and had a weird, creepy undertone to it. I guess it sort of felt like Edgar Allan Poe’s writing style where it’s like what did I just read? But, I think that was intentional because The Park was a demented, terrorizing place that made kids have “daymares.” The other kids and Gnashie were forced to stay there against their own will. A twist–Gnashie and Julie had visited that place before, but he hadn’t remembered.
The kids were missing for years. Gnashie got out when he was 15 years old. Back at school, he had a crush on Rachel. As a reader, I thought he’d get a chance to have a happy ending for all he had went through. I was fooled again. He helped The Park kidnap kids, the first victim–Rachel. Yuck! I couldn’t look at him the same way again. He’d do anything to keep his secret. Anything.
Apparently, his dad and Mr. Muckles had a history. His dad was a part of the law enforcement. Gnashie was a criminal who kept getting caught murdering people. I wish there would have been more jail or prison scenes, instead of things happening off the pages. It would’ve helped me see that justice was being served instead of thinking: why doesn’t he ever suffer any consequences? Was his dad helping him get off? His dad had went through sick things as a kid too–another twist.
As an adult, Gnashie married Rachel (of all people) and they had a daughter. Did history repeat itself? Or did he get a happy ending? You’ll have to read (if you can handle the subject matter) to find out.
I RECOMMEND this book to read.
August 25, 2013
The Park is an absorbing mind-bending read that I thoroughly recommend. It's exremely bleak and deals with the human condition's horrific possibilities, so if you want to read something nice and comfortable go elsewhere. But if you enjoyed Chuck Palahniuk's work you'll love this.
I mention Palahniuk both as he is the only author Jeffery has listed his admiration for on Goodreads, but also because the flow of The Park, the style of the writing, seems very much influenced by the American minimalism that's grown since the 1950s; however the work is not a rip-off of stylistically, more an expansion. There are flaours of cinematic film-noir, blended with the suspense and occasional urgent action of Kubrick.
The biggest compliment I can pay the author is that I stayed in this work even though that minimalist style is not normally my cup of tea. I prefer the more florid tones of Marquez or my own debut work Slander & DOUBT. But I read The Park in three days flat in spite of being incredibly busy during that time; it was simply a book that I had to make time for. Jeffery created this strong hierachical world in my head, the Doths, Toks etc. but the real achievement for me was to make that world sufficiently concrete for the reader through the voice of the narrator Gnashie. This was no mean feat given that the narrator shifts the sands underneath the reader continuously; the narrator is highly suspect, which is part of the joy of the book.
I would absolutely recommend this strong Australian work to anyone.
I mention Palahniuk both as he is the only author Jeffery has listed his admiration for on Goodreads, but also because the flow of The Park, the style of the writing, seems very much influenced by the American minimalism that's grown since the 1950s; however the work is not a rip-off of stylistically, more an expansion. There are flaours of cinematic film-noir, blended with the suspense and occasional urgent action of Kubrick.
The biggest compliment I can pay the author is that I stayed in this work even though that minimalist style is not normally my cup of tea. I prefer the more florid tones of Marquez or my own debut work Slander & DOUBT. But I read The Park in three days flat in spite of being incredibly busy during that time; it was simply a book that I had to make time for. Jeffery created this strong hierachical world in my head, the Doths, Toks etc. but the real achievement for me was to make that world sufficiently concrete for the reader through the voice of the narrator Gnashie. This was no mean feat given that the narrator shifts the sands underneath the reader continuously; the narrator is highly suspect, which is part of the joy of the book.
I would absolutely recommend this strong Australian work to anyone.
June 11, 2014
I decided to give this author a second try after not enjoying the book Vicious Playground. After looking at this book I frankly wish that I hadn't bothered because The Park is much worse.
Seriously what is it with the author and his batshit crazy characters that are impossible to relate to or even understand most of the time? Our hero gets his teeth knocked out trying to look up a girl's skirt while she is on a swing and then gets upset when she doesn't like his present of a Teddy bear. HIs PE teacher dribbles and makes children play weird musical instruments during class. (?????) Doesn't that say enough? By the time Gnashie(yes, I'm not kidding, it's his name) is ready to go with Julie on a strange school trip, I knew that I was wasting my time with this one.
I find the author's writing style, choice of characters and plot development to be far removed from what I want to read and I won't be picking up any more of his books. I'm just grateful that I didn't pay money for any of them.
Seriously what is it with the author and his batshit crazy characters that are impossible to relate to or even understand most of the time? Our hero gets his teeth knocked out trying to look up a girl's skirt while she is on a swing and then gets upset when she doesn't like his present of a Teddy bear. HIs PE teacher dribbles and makes children play weird musical instruments during class. (?????) Doesn't that say enough? By the time Gnashie(yes, I'm not kidding, it's his name) is ready to go with Julie on a strange school trip, I knew that I was wasting my time with this one.
I find the author's writing style, choice of characters and plot development to be far removed from what I want to read and I won't be picking up any more of his books. I'm just grateful that I didn't pay money for any of them.
May 10, 2013
There is only one way I would describe this book and that is brutal, from the opening page all the way to the end.
There are going to be a lot of people that won't make it through the first few chapters, both from the content and the way it is written.
The moral - that we are a product of our upbringing, but that ultimately we make the choices in our lives when presented with options. I think also that there is an inclination towards implicating our genetic makeup and that something as evil as this can be inherited, not just learnt.
The writing style also enhances the brutality of the subject, there is no pandering to the reader, no imagination needed, it is very blunt.
I know I have to read it again as I did get lost a few times, but even for someone that has never experienced the horrors of childhood abuse it will be a while before I do.
There are going to be a lot of people that won't make it through the first few chapters, both from the content and the way it is written.
The moral - that we are a product of our upbringing, but that ultimately we make the choices in our lives when presented with options. I think also that there is an inclination towards implicating our genetic makeup and that something as evil as this can be inherited, not just learnt.
The writing style also enhances the brutality of the subject, there is no pandering to the reader, no imagination needed, it is very blunt.
I know I have to read it again as I did get lost a few times, but even for someone that has never experienced the horrors of childhood abuse it will be a while before I do.
September 9, 2013
I received a copy of this from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I want to start by thanking Mr. Jeffery for not going into explicit detail in this story.
Samuel Nash is a little boy who has been abused all his life. At the age of 7 he disappears and his true horror begins. You will read of his inner battles and his ups and downs in dealing with what has and will happen to him. He is broken down then made whole many times through the course of this novel.
Friends who have suffered along side Sam will reject and then befriend him again. There are individual motives behind the reasoning in this.
The author jumps forward very quickly from chapter to chapter but does not leave you wondering what has happened.
Very well written and brings to light situations that happen in our communities quite often, unbeknownst to us.
I want to start by thanking Mr. Jeffery for not going into explicit detail in this story.
Samuel Nash is a little boy who has been abused all his life. At the age of 7 he disappears and his true horror begins. You will read of his inner battles and his ups and downs in dealing with what has and will happen to him. He is broken down then made whole many times through the course of this novel.
Friends who have suffered along side Sam will reject and then befriend him again. There are individual motives behind the reasoning in this.
The author jumps forward very quickly from chapter to chapter but does not leave you wondering what has happened.
Very well written and brings to light situations that happen in our communities quite often, unbeknownst to us.
May 6, 2014
Started off well but a third way through I had no idea what was going on. I tried my hardest to keep reading but gave up half way through. A sensitive subject so not for the faint hearted. I see a lot of good reviews so its just my personal point of view.
August 4, 2016
Weird and disjointed
Weird and disjointed. Hard to follow. I read the entire book and am more confused about the roles of the characters and what was supposed to be real or not. I understood nothing of the plot...it was a painful, psychotic read...
Weird and disjointed. Hard to follow. I read the entire book and am more confused about the roles of the characters and what was supposed to be real or not. I understood nothing of the plot...it was a painful, psychotic read...
Read
December 3, 2013Not to my liking, narrative too disjointed.
December 15, 2014
strange...and disturbing...if you don't have a strong stomach I wouldn't suggest it.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews