Topsiders

by Scott Tyson

An abandoned house by the edge of the river. Uninhabited for decades.


A secret as old as time itself. A truth hidden from the topsiders. But that's about to change.


When all the adults suddenly disappear, Mathew convinces his older brother that something is very wrong. Their search leads them to a place they never knew existed.


A place that will have them question everything they knew about life.


Soon, the truth.

Genres: Horror

ebook

First published December 6, 2013

About the author

Scott Tyson is a new voice in the field of Australian horror. Born and bred in the central tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, Scott found his passion for writing at an early age, but it wasn’t until a few years ago that he began to take it a little more seriously.
With over twenty years of business management experience and a background in electronic repairs, Scott is no stranger to the horrors of consumerism and the perpetrators themselves. More than enough fuel for his musings.
Living with his partner, Trish, and three children, Scott balances his time between writing, repairing and renovating, leaving little time for much else.
His first book, Topsiders, has been shortlisted for an Australian Shadows Award.
He can be found at http://www.ScottTyson.com, where he does his best to keep up to date with news of writing, living, and everything in between.
Keep an eye out as he is always hard at work on a new story or two.

Reviews

[Melissa Chung · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a pretty high rating here on Goodreads. I enjoyed it for the most part. Giving it 3 stars.

Topsiders is a book about a "haunted house". It's not really haunted, but there is a dark tunnel that leads from one of the rooms in the house that would definitely be considered scary.

Our book starts off with two brothers 14 year old Mathew and 15 year old Guy. There isn't a time reference in this book so I'm not sure what decade it takes place in. I know it's somewhere in the U.K. because they say boot for the trunk and everything is in the metric system. The book isn't very long so the author had to get a lot into its pages.

The boys are staying at a family friends house. They always go here during the holidays and the adults are up to something. Mathew overhears their conversation about going into an abandoned house. Mathew frets about this arrangement throughout the night and into the next day. His older brother Guy doesn't really believe him because it's so out of character for their parents.

The parents of Mathew and Guy are on the rocks. The wife Judy doesn't really care for her husband Bill. She thinks he's a wimp. Bill has eyes for their friend Helen the owner of the house along with her husband Phil. Helen and Phil are happily married. Their children are Claire and Jimmy. Both boys have the hots for Claire. Now that we have all the characters established...lets get on with the plot.

The adults decide they are going to "break into" this abandoned house. The kids catch wind of this and when the adults don't come home by dinner time the kids go off to investigate. When they find the abandoned house the grown-ups were talking about there are no signs of the parents. The kids then have to find out what is going on.

The book itself is pretty boring. Mathew is a bit of a whiner complaining that his brother is being mean and the fact that Claire may like his brother more gets annoying. The adults aren't any better with all the bickering. Once we are in the house and going down the dark tunnel the book turns a bit more interesting. It reminded me of the story 'Off Season' by Jack Ketchum in the fact that both "monsters" eat human flesh and keep the women around longer than the boys. Both monsters have a distinct way of speaking and are pretty barbaric. The ending was slightly off. Not sure what the monsters are, but they were creepy. Definitely original.

Overall I don't think I'd re-read this book since it wasn't as scary as I was hoping it would be. Also it's not really a haunted house book. More of a monster book.

[Kaisersoze · Rating 4 out of 5]

The following was originally posted at Horror After Dark and is based on a copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

When you review books for a blog every so often you put your hand up for something suspecting it won’t really be all that good, but the author has taken the time to submit it for review, so it’s rude not to give it a try, and besides if you want to keep your name on the reviewing roster you better take one for the team every once in a while… Such was my sentiments as I picked up Scott Tyson’s debut novel Topsiders. It didn’t hurt he was a fellow Aussie, but the blurb gives away very little, and the cover art didn’t really grab me, so I kind of shrugged my way into it, thinking at least it wasn’t very long.

A day or so later, I’d completed my one hundred and eighty degree turn and was wishing there was a whole lot more of Topsiders to go round.

I was quickly drawn into Tyson’s world of a family staying with their well-to-do friends for a holiday, and soon stumbling into something that they never could have imagined. Tyson takes his time establishing his characters in the first half of the short novel – which makes it much easier to empathise with them when they’re put in harm’s way – paying particular attention to 14 year old Matthew and his less than courageous father, Bill. Matthew has a real thing for the slightly older daughter of the other family, Claire, but has to vie for her attention with his older brother, Guy. Meanwhile (in what amounts to a welcome twist on a familiar genre trope) the parents of the kids are getting themselves neck deep in a mess that Bill has qualms about from moment one, but against his better judgment, goes along with …

And that’s about all the plot rehashing anyone should need. Part of the beauty of Topsiders is the way in which Tyson builds the tension in sure-footed, deliberate steps, but without showing his hand too early. Wondering what the menace is within the house adds a creep factor that considerably aids the read, until said menace is let off its chain and proceeds to carve through the characters in a fashion that should please most who enjoy a bit of bloodshed. Technically, the writing is crisp, assured and the dialogue has a realistic edge to it that assists in bringing the characters to life.

In terms of areas for improvement, one set of characters has a marriage that is so caustic it’s a wonder paint wasn’t stripped from every wall they happened past, with one half of said couple especially vindictive and nasty. This read as a bit over the top and could have been scaled back to seem less melodramatic.

Regardless of this, Topsiders is highly recommended to those who enjoy short, easy to read and gripping horror novels, and should especially appeal to fans pining after early Richard Laymon (even if the word “rump” barely gets a mention here).

4 Abdominal Wounds for Topsiders.

[Matthew Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Topsiders
http://www.amazon.com/Topsiders-Scott...
by Scott Tyson
http://urbanhorror.blogspot.com/
Release Date: December 6, 2013
Publisher: LegumeMan Books
http://www.legumeman.com/

When it comes to horror in general, there are many avenues through which terror can be unleashed. One of my favorites is via old, abandoned houses. Who has not lived in an area with at least one ramshackle building for which stories and legends abound? With TOPSIDERS, author Scott Tyson gives readers yet one more reason not to venture into these dark, foreboding structures. But things are never as simple as they sound…and this book will thrust you deep into a nightmare of epic proportions.

This is one of those books that is perfect for a movie or a miniseries. As the events unfolded throughout the pages, I kept visualizing each scene in my mind. These visions came complete with an eerie soundtrack and even creepy camera angles. This is definitely a testament to the talent and imagination of the author.

TOPSIDERS is written well with flowing sentences and minimalistic descriptions. Instead of calling out every leaf on every tree or using paragraph after paragraph to describe a single scene, Tyson lets the reader’s mind do the world-creating. I particularly enjoy this style of writing, as my own mind can conjure up images more vivid than even the most adjective-infused prose.

The characters within the story are complex and emotional, just like people in real life. The reader laughs with them during goofy moments, and then cringes with them when embarrassing situations arise. This camaraderie the reader feels with the characters intensifies the tension when terrible things start happening. As a result, the immersion into the story is deeper and more satisfying.

The horror in the story is top notch, and I found myself nervous while reading certain sections. Tyson builds tension with ease but never lets up once the plot starts moving. And when all hell breaks loose, grab something to hold onto; the thrill ride of an ending will leave you breathless.

If I were forced to find a flaw with TOPSIDERS, I might mention that the strained relationship between Bill and Judy is a bit too strained to be realistic. With as acidic as Judy is towards him, I don’t see Bill staying, even if he is a beaten-down man with no backbone. This is the only point that stood out to me, however it is definitely needed for the story, so I cannot devalue its merit too much.

Regardless, TOPSIDERS is an excellent read and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good scare. Tyson is definitely a force to be reckoned with when it comes to horror, and I can’t wait to see what he does next. The book is available now in a variety of formats; pick it up for sure.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Topsiders. To be honest I haven't read much horror other than H.P Lovecraft and other "Lovecraftian" horror books, so I wasn't sure what to expect with Topsiders.

My girlfriend had read it and said it was good, plus i thought it would be kind of cool to read a book by a local author, so I ended up going onto the Kindle store and buying it there.

I was pleasantly surprised, and before long it had dug it's hooks into me.

Scott seems to have a good grip on ending each chapter in such a way that you just have to keep reading, and can't put it down. I ended up reading more than I was originally planning on in a sitting and ended up staying up a bit too late!

I gave it four out of five stars because I had some nitpicks here and there, such as redundant adverbs (at some point a character performs an action with "effortless ease", when I think just performing that action with ease would have sufficed) but these nitpicks did not detract too much from the overall experience.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys horror or suspenseful stories.

I believe this is one of the first books released by Scott, so I am sure the nitpicks I had will disappear as he writes more and hones his craft.

Judging by how much I enjoyed Topsiders, I will be keenly watching this author, and am looking forward to further releases!

Summary: Great page-turning horror novel, highly recommended.

[Greg Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fine debut from Aussie author Scott Tyson.

The book, which tells the story of an ill-fated expedition to an abandoned house, starts off slowly, introducing us to the main characters of Mathew and his father Bill from separate POVs.

Although the first half of the book might seem to focus a little too much on Mathew and Bill and their respective love interests (Bill, who's wife Judy makes his life a living hell, has the hots for his friend's wife, Helen and Mathew for Helen's daughter Claire), this starts to pay off once the family ventures into the house and finds a hole in a wall that leads into a series of tunnels and caves.

Inside these caves is a horror so unexpected that I was hooked for the rest of the read. I don't want to give anything away, but the discovery of these monsters brings everything together in a neat and satisfying little bow.

Although I loved the ending I would have liked if Tyson gave us a hint as to these critters origins, but perhaps he has plans for a sequel?

[Geoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, solid first novel that should be read by any Laymon or Steve Gerlach fan

[Erik Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Full disclosure: I was a beta-reader for this book [Yup. That's me in the acknowledgements] and the author sent a copy to me when the book was published.)

That being said...

I very much enjoy Topsiders by Scott Tyson.

It's difficult to talk about the plot without giving anything away; let's just say that there is a point where everything goes off the rails (in the best way), and i love the way the story ends. (That should give people who know me an idea of how things end.) I'm afraid if I say any more, it would give away all the twists and turns. Oh, I suppose I can say that it is funny, scary, and violent. Three of my favorite things.

The characters are well written. The relationship between the brothers, Mathew and Guy, seems quite realistic.I have seven siblings, so I know how they can go from being at each others throats, to having each others backs, in the blink of an eye. While I may not have made the same choices as the characters, I can understand why THEY made those choices. (And, as I always argue, you have to remember: the characters DO NOT KNOW that they are in a horror story!)

I like the structure of the book, with chapters alternating between Mathew's point of view, and that of his father, Bill. This keeps you turning the pages: "What's gonna happen to Mathew?! Oh, crap! Where's Bill going now?!) Definitely a smart choice, on the author's part.

Topsiders is a strong debut. It's not a perfect novel, but one can see the potential, as Scott hones his craft. (I believe another reviewer said the same thing. it's a good phrase, and quite fitting.) I definitely look forward to seeing Tyson grow, as a writer, and I look forward to reading his next effort.

[Horror DNA · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Topsiders kicks off, teenage brothers Mathew and Guy both have a crush on Claire, whose parents are good friends with their parents. The families are spending some time together during a holiday, but instead of focusing on having fun, the adults are planning something they're trying to keep from the youngsters. The grown ups leave the kids alone, hop on a boat, and enter an abandoned house by the edge of the river. Unfortunately, their adventure quickly turns into the most dangerous situation they've ever been in. When the parents fail to return home, the three youngsters decided to go looking for them, and that might just be the last bad decision they make.

This is Scott Tyson's debut novel, but nothing about it seems amateur. The author takes his time setting the pieces of the puzzle in place and allowing the reader to become familiar with each character. While they're not all likeable and the cracks in Mat and Guy's parents' marriage soon become evident, more than enough rapport is built so that when the violence, mayhem, and death come, there are some emotions involved. Also, for a first novel, this has superb dialogue and Tyson demonstrates a knack for both great spatial descriptions and gore.

You can read Gabino's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.

[Dean Knowsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this book in one sitting. 'A real page turner' is a phrase that is used so cheaply these days, however this book is one of those genuine 'can't turn the page fast enough to see what happens next' affairs.

The author cleverly weaves a story around a family, a family that is recognisable as any family you have ever known, complete with flaws, issues and emotions. As such, the emotional investment from the reader in the characters is almost instantaneous and generous. This feeling for the characters sets up very real 'heart in mouth' moments.

I am reluctant to compare the book and author to Stephen King, as again, thats a comparison that is used all too frequently by publishers and the like, keen to flog copies. In saying that, in reading , I genuinely felt this story would fit in nicely with Kings work, and at the very least, the book is a brilliant piece of genre work.

I personally rate a book based on how often I go back and think about it after it has been put down. This one has me still jumping at shadows.

[Amanda J Spedding · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this read but I’m going to begin this review with a disclaimer. It’s fair to say quite a few of my reviews will have a disclaimer of sorts; as a writer, I have a lot of writerly friends and colleagues who pen the genre I love reading, so there’s bound to be cross-overs from time to time. Scott Tyson falls into the cross-over category. While I’ve worked with Scott on another project, I was not involved with either the pre or post-production of Topsiders. Yes, that is me mentioned in the acknowledgements, but that was for providing general advice of a writing/editorial nature. My only knowledge of the Topsiders story was based solely on the back-cover blurb. I did not receive a free copy of the book – I buy the books that fill (overfill?) my shelves, and do so gladly.

As the rest of this review contains spoilers, you can read it here: http://amandajspedding.com/2014/04/10...

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in one sitting as I just had to know what was going on.
For quite a short book I still managed to get to know the characters, especially Mathew and his father Bill. I did get quite attached to both of them.
The suspense was very well built and I was glad all loose ends were tied up, nothing worse for me than to be left wondering.
I would definitely read more of Scott Tysons work.

[Tarquin Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not often a new author will deliver such a great read for his first release. The sort of book that makes looking for that noise in the middle of the night a spine tingling affair. Can't wait for his next release.