RUST: SEASON ONE is a discount omnibus edition that collects episodes one to five of the horror serial RUST.
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She died in New York. She woke in Rustwood.
After being pushed in front of the subway C-Line, Kimberly Archer finds herself in an impossible town with a husband she's never seen before and a life she can't remember. The rain never stops, the phones don't work and the doctors think she's delusional.
Kimberly only wants to get back to her fiance in New York. But for that, she needs the help of Fitch, a madman who believes something dark lives at the heart of Rustwood. He'll help her, so long as she joins him on his mission to burn the town to the ground.
Kimberly might be crazy. Then again, she might be the only sane person left. People are disappearing from the streets, and something black and foul is stalking her in the night. Rustwood has plans for Kimberly, and if she doesn't find a way out soon she'll be lucky to survive...
RUST is a serial small-town horror story in the style of Cronenberg, Lynch and King. The SEASON ONE OMNIBUS collects episodes one through five in a single discount edition.
Christopher "Ruz" Hayes-Kossmann was born in Hong Kong, raised in Vienna, and is now settled in Melbourne, Australia. Although he graduated in 2010 with a Bachelor of Industrial Design, his first love has always been writing.
He's been published by Weaponizer, Labyrinth Inhabitant's Magazine and Birdville Magazine, and has won both the first Ergofiction Search Term Challenge and the first Birdville Impromptu Award.
His first fantasy trilogy, Century of Sand, is releasing Q1 2019 from Parvus Press.
Christopher Ruz is just one of those authors that totally speaks to me and my reading style and habits; I can't give any higher praise than that.
I love his work, and I thoroughly enjoy his visions that he shares with the readers. I enjoy the settings he creates, the imagery he paints, the prose he uses to convey that imagery, and the characters that populate these nightmare stories.
Personally, while this book series is wickedly enthralling to me, and is also what he is best known for, (and rightfully so), I actually think I prefer Century of Sand a wee bit more than this series thus far.
What a plot! A young woman falls under the train in New York to end up in a wicked place called Rustwood. How did she get there? How can she get back home? Where is home? Who are the people that pretend they know her? So many questions ...
I would've given this book five stars, but there were parts in the book where the writing could've been sharper. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the story a lot and I can't wait for the next book in the series.
It is amazing. It’s got this wicked Lovecraft feel, with a big ol' side of the Yellow King, freaky disease and infestations, and disturbing, visceral, brutal violence. It’s weird and unsettling in all the right ways. You connect with the characters fairly easily. The shock and confusion Kimberly feels upon waking in Rustwood is quite palpable. And it's so terribly, hideously clear that there is nothing natural or normal about the town. There are things hidden everywhere. Unseen horrors in every shadow and person. Ruz can go from creepy to squeamish in a heartbeat. The prose is great. The story is tight and beautiful. Absolutely amazing stuff. Must read for any horror fan.
That did not work very well for me... - I was not very excited by the way the book is written; this is probably influenced by the fact that I'm coming directly from the first three Baru Cormorant books and the bar was set very, very high; - I didn't really care about any of the characters; they were not that developped and lacked personality; - the overall setting and the story itself, to me, were neither particularly innovative nor surprising.
This one surprised me, in the best way. I don't want to go too far into it, but this balances the future promise of more intrigue and suspense with the fact that it is a story in and of itself well.
I was constantly questioning, always on the edge of my seat and (now this is key!) I never felt cheated by the way it was told. I was fine with not knowing answers (though I wanted them so damned much!), because of the masterful balance in this book.
This was more than I expected. Though the idea is well known (from movies, video games, and even other books) Christopher Ruz does a fantastic job setting the scene and driving home the unease. Making it feel new and different. I was actually scared and I'm not sure I'll be able to sleep any time soon. Which means to me that it was a good horror novel. It has a sense of dread and unknown laced throughout the story and really had my heart racing. Though I think it fell short on character development(the characters felt very...common and straight forward. No real surprise with any of them.) and plot development. Truly the story move along and it was never boring, it also felt that we got nowhere. But it probably worked in the book's favor. I am quite interested to see where the author takes this story.
I don't typically read horror but Ruz's writing has converted me. Rust is gripping and chilling in equal measure. Set in the mysterious town of Rustwood, the first in this series introduces us to a cast of misfit characters. Some of them remember they're not supposed to be there, while others seem to have forgotten any lives they had before the town took them. Through the character of Kimberly Ruz discusses postpartum psychosis. An interesting theme in the story, as it forces you to question the reliability of the characters. Is Kimberly really a stranger here? Or is she suffering from psychosis? I cannot wait to read 2 and 3 in this instalment. Go buy it and read it. You won't be disappointed.
I feel like this book was only part of the book, nothing was resolved. It's a good story, but I don't know how much more I need to read to have resolution.
I was excited to read Rust because I've always thought that Christopher Ruz's voice was made for horror. Horrific imagery leaks through in bits and pieces in his other speculative fiction, and he has propensity to get very personal with thoughts and desires, as well as hold nothing back from a character's raw experience, even at the expense of making the reader uncomfortable.
All I can say is that I was not disappointed. Horror is one of those love/hate genres for me-if done well it can be amazing, but almost all the time you see it it's not done well. And if making good horror movies is difficult, then writing good horror must be nearly impossible, because I can count on one hand the number of horror authors I've read who really got under my skin. With Rust, Ruz has joined an elite cadre of authors including King and Barker who can do horror well.
There's a lot to like here, starting with the setting. Rustville is a suitably disturbing playground for all manner of macabre adventures had and yet to come, and the brilliant decision to place the series in the mid-1980′s only ramps up the creepiness and sense of dread (horror is so much better when no one has a cell phone). The plight of the main character Kimberly, waking up in a life she assumes must be a lie but which all evidence points to being real, adds a mysterious touch to the heart-pounding, skin-crawling action. But most of all, the story just flows in that typically Ruz-ian fashion, events transpiring at just the right pace to draw you in and not let go.
I'm also a fan of the serialized format, mimicking how shows like Lost follow one continuous storyline, while also delivering a separate climax at the end of each season. One thing I would like to see for future seasons would be an expanding of the cast to be more of an ensemble, though the focus on Kimberly and Fitch this time around works well as an introduction.
First off, I need to say I received a copy in exchange for a fair and honest review. So here we go.
I'm pretty picky when it comes to spelling and grammar errors in self-published books - it spoils my reading. Well the good news is, I didn't find any - so top marks there.
In general I found Rust: Season One to be well written in terms of structure, character and scene description. It makes for a good read and it cracks along at a decent pace. I kept on wanting to know what happened next - which I would think is the goal of every storyteller. There are a couple of ideas that I haven't come across, which always spices up the entertainment level. The tension is quite well done. The blood and guts scenes are well enough put together not just to be gore for the sake of it.
There are very few negatives. Although it's well written, it doesn't stand out - it's kind of what you'd expect from the horror genre (not sure if that should actually count as a negative). If I'm being ultra-critical it's occasionally a little repetitive, but it's rare and doesn't spoil things.
However, I was moderately frustrated by the ending. There's no conclusion. It just cuts off. I appreciate it's Season One - and the author tells us there's more to come - but I would have liked it at least to come to some kind of resolution and then maybe leave us with a cliffhanger. I think serialized fiction should do that.
Although I would like to have seen it in a longer, more complete form, I certainly wouldn't want to put anyone off. Like I said, it's a good read. I'd be happy to read more from this author.
Pleasantly surprised by this one! Indies can be super hit and miss and the premise for this one seemed simplistic. What indies are great for, though, is subverting your expectations.
Rust opens quite strongly, it's good a good hook and Kimberley was quite likeable. What made this book rate so strongly though was how it developed. Straight off the bat you've got a fish out of water tale, you've got a woman who's plucked out of her life and can't get home. No idea if she's dead or where is is or why she can't leave. The confronting scenes with Kimberley encountering her "life" in Rustwood are really well realised. Her characterisation is fantastic!
But Christopher Ruz takes it deeper. The small town quiet and the main character freaking out are a given and are well done, but it's things like strange ritual summonings and mutated bodies and our main sidekick having a mini cthulhu-esque creature living like a pet in his pocket that make this story interesting.
It's reminiscent of King with that small town juxtaposed with dark and weird happenings, but the originality here is all Ruz's own. There were lots of plot threads that aren't indicated by the summary (and which I won't go into for obvious reasons) and the pacing is pretty slick - there's a fair amount of nicely gory action and running around to make it a strong first instalment.
This book is deeper than I expected and I enjoyed it. It's a well-rounded horror book that has strong hooks that I can't wait to see develop in later instalments. It's times like this I remember that indie authors are sometimes worth giving a shot!
Rust is the perfect blend of riveting storytelling, action, adventure, and surrealistic world building. Reading it reminded me of the beginning scenes in David Lynch's Blue Velvet. And, like Blue Velvet, this book is not for those who are squeamish. I also recommend those who suffer from OCD related feelings of being tainted or unclean steer clear of this series.
Christopher Ruz does an amazing job of storytelling. His character building is excellent. There are few authors who can superbly build a surreal world. By surreal, I mean the type of world where time isn't necessarily linear and doesn't necessarily pass at the same rate all the time. A world where the main characters can hardly tell if they are dreaming or awake, sane or insane, up or down. Mr. Ruz is a king of surreal story telling. I look forward to reading more of his works.
Please note that the cover to this book is different than the cover advertised on Amazon.
This one gets a 4.5 stars from me. It was awesome!! I haven't read straight up horror in awhile and I loved the heck of out this. Chris does dark and horrific SO well and I can't wait for the next installment.
Speaking of, if I was a crueler person I'd mark down to 4 stars because of where he left season one hanging. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS. Here's hoping we don't have to wait too long to find out ;-)
After reading this book, I can say that it sets up a very interesting premise and that I will be happy to check out Season 2 to see how the story progresses. The town of Rustwood gives me a "Welcome to Nightvale" vibe though a much more serious version.
Yes it does end on a cliffhanger but luckily Season 2 has already been released.
If you enjoy horror, especially the gruesome, creepy kind with a mysterious setting I would definitely recommend this book.
It tells the story of a woman who finds herself in a strange town with no idea of how she got there, or memory of her life in the town. The setup reminds me of the Prisoner TV series or Wayward Pines, but this book throws in some really dark horror into it (think HP Lovecraft) to create some terrifying scenes
Its the first part of a trilogy and the ending sets things up nicely for the sequels. I cant wait to read them