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Beware the Ills
For the last 30 years he has been the sole protector of the legendary Diamond Town. Every hour it snows, howls, and storms. Every week, wave after wave of invaders crawl through the woods scouring for a bit of fame and glory on this lost island -- and he cuts them all down with indiscriminate slashes of his sword. No one has survived being the Guardian as long as him, and the shadows are seething with vengeance in the forests and mountains. A vengeful cannibal from a lost invasion, ancient beasts stalking about the mountains waiting to attack, and a fresh new batch of invaders with a beautiful berserker and emotionless captain are simply a few of the festering plagues on this cursed island. There will be no respite. There will be no end to the war and strife. The winters are growing longer, the cold harsher, and the enemies bolder. Take a walk in the footsteps of the Diamond Town’s Guardian and his world, through his own blood-weary eyes. Count your footsteps and mind the silence, it’s time to hunt, and to fill the graveyard again. PART ONE IN THE CAGED THUNDER SERIES
203 pages, Paperback
First published July 7, 2013
3 people are currently reading
21 people want to read
About the author
Patrick W. Marsh
8 books19 followersPatrick W. Marsh is an author, blogger, and screenwriter from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Since an early age, Patrick has been consumed with the suspense and mysteries of monsters. His work has appeared in multiple literary magazines, which include Calliope, The Quail Bell Quarterly, Under Construction, and Realities. His fiction has been featured on the podcast Bob's Short Story Hour and his short film "The Smell" won best use of line in the 48 Hour Film Festival in 2018. Patrick is best known for his apocalyptic book series The Greenland Diaries; a journal of an unskilled bank teller trying to survive apocalyptic Minnesota.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 8, 2013
Beware The Ills by Patrick W. Marsh is listed in the horror genre, however I think it should be listed in the war genre and fantasy genre instead. Although it is not a war between man in the conventional sense, as it has monsters and other beast, it is basically a story of war games of a man who’s name we never learn and his friend Blue. They feel it is their job to protect their land from outlanders and monsters that wander onto the island.
I liked the cover of the book being black and white with the forest seemingly surrounding you. It gives you a sense of mystery. However with the nostalgia that the cover gave me I felt let down by its contents. I found the story very descriptive, which I like in a book, but lacking the thrill of a good horror book. I did note a few grammar errors throughout the book, but they didn’t affect the story itself. I also noticed that some of the things in the story seemed repetitive. I would probably recommend this to someone for a weekend read, as it is short. I would only recommend it to someone who likes war stories as well as fantasy, because I feel like that is what it is better classified under. If you don’t like stories with a ton of battles this is not the book for you.
I liked the cover of the book being black and white with the forest seemingly surrounding you. It gives you a sense of mystery. However with the nostalgia that the cover gave me I felt let down by its contents. I found the story very descriptive, which I like in a book, but lacking the thrill of a good horror book. I did note a few grammar errors throughout the book, but they didn’t affect the story itself. I also noticed that some of the things in the story seemed repetitive. I would probably recommend this to someone for a weekend read, as it is short. I would only recommend it to someone who likes war stories as well as fantasy, because I feel like that is what it is better classified under. If you don’t like stories with a ton of battles this is not the book for you.
April 30, 2014
Ostensibly a horror novel, this is actually much deeper than that. There is a sense that the characters, whilst never fully realised, are more complex and introspective than they appear at first glance. I also enjoyed the way it didn't follow a conventional stroy arc and was brave enough to twist the plot about enough to keep me guessing.
There are a few problems with the writing, too much repetition of certain phrases happens a lot and there are a fair amount of typos and grammatical errors in the text. It would be nice to have some more background as well (although I believe this is the first part of a trilogy so I have high hopes that some of the back story will be addressed in the coming books.
I also liked the way the author was brave enough to avoid answering every question the novel poses. There are as many questions raised as there are answered; does it detract from the story? No, I don't think it does. All in all, a good read that could be improved by more editing and a slight trimming of the wordcount to get rid of some of those annoying repetitious phrases.
There are a few problems with the writing, too much repetition of certain phrases happens a lot and there are a fair amount of typos and grammatical errors in the text. It would be nice to have some more background as well (although I believe this is the first part of a trilogy so I have high hopes that some of the back story will be addressed in the coming books.
I also liked the way the author was brave enough to avoid answering every question the novel poses. There are as many questions raised as there are answered; does it detract from the story? No, I don't think it does. All in all, a good read that could be improved by more editing and a slight trimming of the wordcount to get rid of some of those annoying repetitious phrases.
February 11, 2018
To be fair I read The Greenland Diaries before this book. It started off slow for me but the ending was epic. Some typo's but nothing that I worry about as long as I can understand what is going on. The battles are awesome. Someone's death was very sad. The ending....man that is tough to swallow. In a good way. The unique characters and the fantasy feel they have are a nice touch. Haukter is an awesome villain yet also a victim.
October 1, 2013
Beware the Ills is a short "horror" novel that really defines the term "Hack & Slash" as that's really all there was to this book. At first glance I was intrigued at seeing the text from the first person perspective of the "killer" if you will. The first person writing wasn't bad but at times became redundant just as anything with constant variations of "I" will do. Speaking of redundancy, the repetition in this novel wasn't the worst but it was annoying at times, especially when the facts would change compared to what was just read a few pages previously. Also it needs to go through another few rounds of editing as there are quite a few typos/grammatical errors.
The plot was more of a jump from battle scene to battle scene with very little else to fill the gaps. World building was almost non-existant and any plot forwarding ideas were never pursued. Though any male reader would generally enjoy the "action" of this book, the lack of overall story line, emotion or really anything else really negates anything gained. The plot was extremely simple yet for some reason was hard to follow in the big picture because nothing was ever explained.
The characters weren't much more than representations of whatever special battle abilities they had. There is no connecting with characters, only mind numbing internal dialogue which may very loosely count as some kind of foreshadowing.
The author can write a good battle scene, but beyond that I don't know how much of a "story" this is. My personal suggestion would be to make the book another 200-300 pages longer, keeping the fights, but actually building a story to care about or relate to.
The plot was more of a jump from battle scene to battle scene with very little else to fill the gaps. World building was almost non-existant and any plot forwarding ideas were never pursued. Though any male reader would generally enjoy the "action" of this book, the lack of overall story line, emotion or really anything else really negates anything gained. The plot was extremely simple yet for some reason was hard to follow in the big picture because nothing was ever explained.
The characters weren't much more than representations of whatever special battle abilities they had. There is no connecting with characters, only mind numbing internal dialogue which may very loosely count as some kind of foreshadowing.
The author can write a good battle scene, but beyond that I don't know how much of a "story" this is. My personal suggestion would be to make the book another 200-300 pages longer, keeping the fights, but actually building a story to care about or relate to.
September 23, 2013
I am absolutely wholeheartedly a fan of Patrick William Marsh. The twists and excitement is almost non-stop throughout the story. It has been very well written and editing was good it has me wanting more from this author. Such is the writhing, riveting feeling of suspense that consistently plagues not only the characters of this thrilling horror story, but also serves to brilliantly and fluently infect its readers.
This book has many good qualities. The cover is full of mystery which makes you want to read the book. It is well conceived, intriguing, and, for the most part, well executed. And the story was so different but very believable. I felt like I was there in the middle of all the fighting and killing. Just when I thought it was going in one direction the author does a great job of taking me into another completely different and unexpected direction. I certainly never guessed the ending.
Beware the Ills is an electrifying, blood-tingling, and macabre mix of literary skill and strategy and the meticulously depicted range of human emotion and experience. This truly effective combination serves to not only keep readers constantly questioning and guessing, but also allows readers to connect more intimately with the experiences and reactions of the characters. The characters were well developed and I still felt for the villains as much as the good guys. You feel like you are standing right there in the middle of all the action. I highly recommend this book.
This book has many good qualities. The cover is full of mystery which makes you want to read the book. It is well conceived, intriguing, and, for the most part, well executed. And the story was so different but very believable. I felt like I was there in the middle of all the fighting and killing. Just when I thought it was going in one direction the author does a great job of taking me into another completely different and unexpected direction. I certainly never guessed the ending.
Beware the Ills is an electrifying, blood-tingling, and macabre mix of literary skill and strategy and the meticulously depicted range of human emotion and experience. This truly effective combination serves to not only keep readers constantly questioning and guessing, but also allows readers to connect more intimately with the experiences and reactions of the characters. The characters were well developed and I still felt for the villains as much as the good guys. You feel like you are standing right there in the middle of all the action. I highly recommend this book.
October 20, 2013
On a cold remote island where snow falls every day, an unnamed narrator, The Guardian, protects the Diamond Town from all invaders. For many years, the invaders have come in waves. This time is no different. With his pet/companion, a giant animal named Blue, he sets a trap and prepares himself for battle. And thus begins Beware the Ills, an exciting, fast-paced novel by Patrick W. Marsh.
The black-and-white cover matches the starkness of the story, and the overall theme is very dark. The first-person narrative pushes the action forward at relentless speed. The blood-soaked prose is often poetic. The battle scenes (filled with axes, crossbows, swords, and massive walking machines of war) are dizzying in their imagery and depictions. Amidst all the violence and bloodshed, a sense of loss runs through the novel. The writing brought to mind the works of Cormac McCarthy and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Once I started reading, I didn't stop until I reached the end. Highly recommended.
The black-and-white cover matches the starkness of the story, and the overall theme is very dark. The first-person narrative pushes the action forward at relentless speed. The blood-soaked prose is often poetic. The battle scenes (filled with axes, crossbows, swords, and massive walking machines of war) are dizzying in their imagery and depictions. Amidst all the violence and bloodshed, a sense of loss runs through the novel. The writing brought to mind the works of Cormac McCarthy and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Once I started reading, I didn't stop until I reached the end. Highly recommended.
May 22, 2015
In Beware the Ills, Marsh creates a world unlike any I've read. It is a steady to fast paced read analyzing the habits and thoughts of Diamond Town's Guardian along with weaving mystery about the world and the commands ruling his blood. Written in first person, the author puts the reader right in the driver's seat without spoiling what's coming. With literary style language the horror of this book is not in the gruesome battles, but in stripping and deconstructing the world, sentient life, and the protagonist from anything resembling humanity and then again, how far off are we?
February 2, 2014
It took me a while to get into the world, but once I was pulled in I was captivated. The story gave me the chills and showed me characters I had not met before. I am looking forward to much more from this author.
January 10, 2015
The ending made a lot of difference to my opinion of this book. There are some typo errors and it took a while to understand the motives involved, but I dug it.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews