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Ride The Spiral
To save his son, he must leave reality behind.
It's been 32 years since a massive dimensional rift opened in the sky, and in that time The Ripped Sky Event has been largely covered up and denied. Spencer Smith has vague memories of what happened during those few hours, though, including the strange behavior exhibited by kids all over the world.
Now, his five-year-old son Luke is acting strangely too, and Spencer thinks there's a connection.
When Luke's behavior becomes increasingly frightening and violent, Spencer grows desperate to discover the root cause and help him before any permanent damage is done. After exhausting every available option, Spencer uncovers a means to reach higher planes of existence and perception, through a process his former physics teacher calls "riding the spiral".
By doing this, he hopes to see what's happening inside Luke's brain with his own eyes.
But, as Spencer travels through the coils of reality beyond the human experience, an inhuman presence is stalking him. And he learns that, to help Luke, he may have to ride the spiral so far that he can't come back.
It's been 32 years since a massive dimensional rift opened in the sky, and in that time The Ripped Sky Event has been largely covered up and denied. Spencer Smith has vague memories of what happened during those few hours, though, including the strange behavior exhibited by kids all over the world.
Now, his five-year-old son Luke is acting strangely too, and Spencer thinks there's a connection.
When Luke's behavior becomes increasingly frightening and violent, Spencer grows desperate to discover the root cause and help him before any permanent damage is done. After exhausting every available option, Spencer uncovers a means to reach higher planes of existence and perception, through a process his former physics teacher calls "riding the spiral".
By doing this, he hopes to see what's happening inside Luke's brain with his own eyes.
But, as Spencer travels through the coils of reality beyond the human experience, an inhuman presence is stalking him. And he learns that, to help Luke, he may have to ride the spiral so far that he can't come back.
- GenresHorror
303 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 26, 2026
About the author
Ben Young
15 books129 followersBen lives in the Cincinnati, OH area with his family and dogs, where he is currently working on more stories which may or may not ever see the light of day. He does not enjoy writing about himself, especially in the third person like this. Find him online at www.benyoungstories.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
March 31, 2026
This is the 3rd book I’ve read by Ben Young. And just like before, it did not disappoint! Young does such an incredible job with incorporating the real struggles that can come with having a child that is neurodivergent. Although this is due to an external force, it is still an incredible representation of real world experiences and shows that a parent will do whatever needs to be done to ensure their children’s happiness. And the imagery??? TOP. NOTCH. Entering the 3rd coil was vivid and life like in my mind and for the first time ever, I felt as though I was watching a movie play within my head.
I cannot praise Ben enough in this top notch cosmic horror! Which says A LOT because I typically tend to veer away from this genre! But the afterword? You could feel every emotion that Ben is trying to convey and all the pieces fall into place. An absolute masterpiece.
Ride the Spiral will be released on May 26th. Be sure to preorder now so that you can ingest this bad ass masterpiece immediately!
I cannot praise Ben enough in this top notch cosmic horror! Which says A LOT because I typically tend to veer away from this genre! But the afterword? You could feel every emotion that Ben is trying to convey and all the pieces fall into place. An absolute masterpiece.
Ride the Spiral will be released on May 26th. Be sure to preorder now so that you can ingest this bad ass masterpiece immediately!
May 9, 2026
Do you want to talk about journeys? Let’s talk about journeys. Ben Young wields his expertise with surgical precision as he manages to completely captivate (overwhelm) all the nerve endings that ignite my writer brain. Every little bit in this journey, intentional and purposeful to the story. The philosophical pieces entwined that read how a song works its way into your brain for days and days. One must imagine the writer in me pleased, and humbled. (Here is an appropriate place to drop the GIF of Wayne and Garth bowing to Alice Cooper, citing ‘we’re not worthy, we’re not worthy…)
Now with the writer in me out of the way, let’s talk about the FATHER in me. (Deep breath, you can still back up, or make a joke, deflect like you so expertly do)
I come before you a broken man upon finishing Ride the Spiral. As the father of a teenager who has ADHD, this book spoke to my soul, at first only a whisper that perked my ears, and then it invited me in by pretending it understood my own plights. I leaned in… I answered the call… and as the story… unraveled, I was faced with awful truths that I was embarrassed to feel so connected to, I was seen by analogies that felt new to me (Italy), and in the establishing parts of the plot I felt a traumatic anxiety I hadn’t felt in a long time. Ben Young touched my brain through his painfully honest words, and in doing so, I also see Ben. I see his wife. And I see his son as a parable of my own. Through my own experiences, this book rattled me to the core.
When is the last time a fictional tale made you feel something? Made you forget you have scars and were conditioned to be strong and keep going? How does this book so menacingly encourage you to keep sailing for less turbulent waters while also showing you the threat of a monster lurking beneath your voyage, so impossibly unimaginable… but impossibly real?
Ride the Spiral is one held breath where I don’t breathe, not anymore, and the author holds the rug I’m standing on with a smile. The push and pull, the heartfelt panic as the story reaches its crescendo, the perfectly contradictive feelings I sifted through in rapid succession waiting for the rug to be ripped from underneath me. A clinic in execution. When a writer can embody their truth, and portray horror in the intangible and innocuous, and bring sight to the unseen, then they’ve done a great job.
I never knew where this was going, and such is life. A million questions posed under the guise of science and possibility, highlighting the many wars of parenting. Surrendering to the job tasked for mothers and fathers and accepting in your soul that all you can do is try your best and that sometimes your best efforts won’t be enough. You won’t win them all, and you just have to continue riding the spiral.
One must imagine this review complete. See you in Italy, but maybe Holland is good enough.
Now with the writer in me out of the way, let’s talk about the FATHER in me. (Deep breath, you can still back up, or make a joke, deflect like you so expertly do)
I come before you a broken man upon finishing Ride the Spiral. As the father of a teenager who has ADHD, this book spoke to my soul, at first only a whisper that perked my ears, and then it invited me in by pretending it understood my own plights. I leaned in… I answered the call… and as the story… unraveled, I was faced with awful truths that I was embarrassed to feel so connected to, I was seen by analogies that felt new to me (Italy), and in the establishing parts of the plot I felt a traumatic anxiety I hadn’t felt in a long time. Ben Young touched my brain through his painfully honest words, and in doing so, I also see Ben. I see his wife. And I see his son as a parable of my own. Through my own experiences, this book rattled me to the core.
When is the last time a fictional tale made you feel something? Made you forget you have scars and were conditioned to be strong and keep going? How does this book so menacingly encourage you to keep sailing for less turbulent waters while also showing you the threat of a monster lurking beneath your voyage, so impossibly unimaginable… but impossibly real?
Ride the Spiral is one held breath where I don’t breathe, not anymore, and the author holds the rug I’m standing on with a smile. The push and pull, the heartfelt panic as the story reaches its crescendo, the perfectly contradictive feelings I sifted through in rapid succession waiting for the rug to be ripped from underneath me. A clinic in execution. When a writer can embody their truth, and portray horror in the intangible and innocuous, and bring sight to the unseen, then they’ve done a great job.
I never knew where this was going, and such is life. A million questions posed under the guise of science and possibility, highlighting the many wars of parenting. Surrendering to the job tasked for mothers and fathers and accepting in your soul that all you can do is try your best and that sometimes your best efforts won’t be enough. You won’t win them all, and you just have to continue riding the spiral.
One must imagine this review complete. See you in Italy, but maybe Holland is good enough.
June 9, 2026
Depending on how you define horror, this book contains plenty of it. The horror of living through your worst fear, which may have nothing to do with cryptids, demons, serial killers, blood, or gore. In this case, Ride the Spiral arguably taps into the most horrifying fear of all: losing your children to an unexplainable monster.
A family grapples with raising a neurodivergent child while the father leans on Camus’s interpretation of Sisyphus to come to terms with his life, a philosophy that becomes vital to his mindset. Young weaves this beautifully into every decision the protagonist makes.
Young highlights the raw emotions that accompany raising a neurodivergent child. But what struck me most was Young’s portrayal of the father’s inner struggle. The guilt and shame he feels for occasionally longing for respite from the constant demands of parenthood, even when that respite is from his own son. Those emotions are rarely discussed so openly, and they lend a rare authenticity to the story.
Though it identifies itself as a cosmic horror novel (weaving in heavy sci-fi elements) it’s unapologetically human and deeply emotional. On the surface Ride The Spiral is a story of an otherworldly terror, but once you dig deeper, it’s an exploration of family and love.
A family grapples with raising a neurodivergent child while the father leans on Camus’s interpretation of Sisyphus to come to terms with his life, a philosophy that becomes vital to his mindset. Young weaves this beautifully into every decision the protagonist makes.
Young highlights the raw emotions that accompany raising a neurodivergent child. But what struck me most was Young’s portrayal of the father’s inner struggle. The guilt and shame he feels for occasionally longing for respite from the constant demands of parenthood, even when that respite is from his own son. Those emotions are rarely discussed so openly, and they lend a rare authenticity to the story.
Though it identifies itself as a cosmic horror novel (weaving in heavy sci-fi elements) it’s unapologetically human and deeply emotional. On the surface Ride The Spiral is a story of an otherworldly terror, but once you dig deeper, it’s an exploration of family and love.
Review of advance copy received from Author
I remember in philosophy seminars having some trouble with Camus, the French existentialist philosopher, and his notion of The Absurd. My difficulty had to do with evil, and how Camus' existentialist heroics could not accommodate evil, thus his philosophy ending up falsifying common human experience. I never expected, however, to discover a concrete version of this kind of questioning in a horror novel by Ben Young! A novel whose protagonist is a philosophy professor infatuated with the philosophy of Camus; especially his perspective on Sisyphus, and the latter's predicament of eternally repeating the same senseless task of taking a huge rock up the hill, and it rolling down back to the starting point. That's essentially the plot structure of Young's book, though the journey in this case has the form of a spiral, travelling on which proves to be a dizzying and intense experience!
Philosophy aside, this is also a stunning sci fi horror novel, building on the theoretical insights of String Theory, that late 2000s fad promising to deliver a Theory of Everything, and complete the early 20th Century revolution in Physics. The book's protagonist faces serious problems at home (on which more later), his life having been marked by a traumatic childhood experience of watching the sky literally opening up and evil peeking through the hole (the Event, so-called); yet a colleague and past Physics teacher proves to have a solution at hand, one involving the technological capacity to take human consciousness deep into the microcosm, and coordinate it with the mysteries of the world of the strings; our protagonist goes through the blender, and comes back fully resonating with the parts of the cosmos human consciousness wasn't privy to as yet (and perhaps was never meant to be!).
Philosophy and Science Fiction aside, this is also an incredibly moving record of one man trying to save his family from disaster. His little boy mysteriously keeps acting up, attacking his parents for no apparent reason, throwing tantrums, and even threatening them with physical harm, while masking his symptoms when other people are around. His situation worsens, bringing the mother to her knees, and the father (the philosophy professor) at the end of his rope. This is a messy and desperate situation, as doctors find nothing wrong with the kid, the parents losing hope and fearing they're going to lose their son to the system. Young describes everything in heartbreaking detail, and his afterword shows that he's drawing on his own personal experience of bringing up a neurodivergent son.
The book is a definite page-turner. Though I didn't much like the professor, I was fascinated by his thinking, moved to tears by his love for his family, and pleasantly overwhelmed by the way he brought philosophy and science to deal with his problems - all the while the huge mystery of The Event lurking in the background, making for a thrilling and absolutely suspenseful tale of extreme displays of emotion, knowledge, and the occasional absurdity!
What about evil, then? Well, I didn't find hard to imagine the kind of ending Young was going for: in brief, evil persists - and perhaps that's the greatest absurdity of all. The ambiguity of the finale, however, leaves it open to other readings as well, depending, perhaps, on the reader's overall optimism when facing the unknown.
This is one of my top three books of the year, points for originality, raw honesty, and beautiful writing. Highly recommended!
Philosophy aside, this is also a stunning sci fi horror novel, building on the theoretical insights of String Theory, that late 2000s fad promising to deliver a Theory of Everything, and complete the early 20th Century revolution in Physics. The book's protagonist faces serious problems at home (on which more later), his life having been marked by a traumatic childhood experience of watching the sky literally opening up and evil peeking through the hole (the Event, so-called); yet a colleague and past Physics teacher proves to have a solution at hand, one involving the technological capacity to take human consciousness deep into the microcosm, and coordinate it with the mysteries of the world of the strings; our protagonist goes through the blender, and comes back fully resonating with the parts of the cosmos human consciousness wasn't privy to as yet (and perhaps was never meant to be!).
Philosophy and Science Fiction aside, this is also an incredibly moving record of one man trying to save his family from disaster. His little boy mysteriously keeps acting up, attacking his parents for no apparent reason, throwing tantrums, and even threatening them with physical harm, while masking his symptoms when other people are around. His situation worsens, bringing the mother to her knees, and the father (the philosophy professor) at the end of his rope. This is a messy and desperate situation, as doctors find nothing wrong with the kid, the parents losing hope and fearing they're going to lose their son to the system. Young describes everything in heartbreaking detail, and his afterword shows that he's drawing on his own personal experience of bringing up a neurodivergent son.
The book is a definite page-turner. Though I didn't much like the professor, I was fascinated by his thinking, moved to tears by his love for his family, and pleasantly overwhelmed by the way he brought philosophy and science to deal with his problems - all the while the huge mystery of The Event lurking in the background, making for a thrilling and absolutely suspenseful tale of extreme displays of emotion, knowledge, and the occasional absurdity!
What about evil, then? Well, I didn't find hard to imagine the kind of ending Young was going for: in brief, evil persists - and perhaps that's the greatest absurdity of all. The ambiguity of the finale, however, leaves it open to other readings as well, depending, perhaps, on the reader's overall optimism when facing the unknown.
This is one of my top three books of the year, points for originality, raw honesty, and beautiful writing. Highly recommended!
June 1, 2026
This is a book that touches on a topic that is so deeply personal to so many people, it would be incredibly easy for it to go sideways. If you aren’t aware of the kind of judgment parents of neurodivergent children face on a daily basis, I invite you to join a single parenting group on any social media platform for just one day. We face overwhelming loneliness. We feel like failures. We’re constantly reminded of what our child should be doing and isn’t doing, how far away they are from what society would deem acceptable. At times, we genuinely feel as though we’re in some sort of mental health crisis because what we know to be true is denied by our families, friends, even medical professionals. Are we making too big a deal of things? Are we imagining it? Would our children be better off with other parents who might see them in a different light? Because of this, we are fiercely defensive. Any form of media that tries to capture just what it’s like to live a life like ours is highly scrutinized.
Ben Young takes such exquisite care of the most sensitive (and at times infuriating) parts of being a parent to a child with neurodivergence. There’s a rawness to the moments where Spencer and Marty are struggling with their son Luke because Young says the quiet parts out loud. The things that parents are sometimes too embarrassed or scared to say, or even think, are expressed by Spencer and Marty, and through this dialogue, Young lets the reader know they are not alone. The desperation a parent feels, the level of love that is so painful you’d burn the world to the ground if you simply had enough matches, the frustration of the same child who at times makes you want to smash your head against the wall being the same child you can’t stop staring at when they’re asleep. All of those very real, very complex emotions are written out on the pages so masterfully, it almost feels nonfiction.
But then we get weird, yeah? I have never considered myself to be a sci-fi girlie. I’ve said it more than once. One of the things I enjoyed most (and I think is most impressive) about Ride the Spiral is Young’s use of dialogue to explain very complicated concepts. We are learning things along with Spencer through his conversations with his colleague. It’s not one of those books where you’re reading along and thinking, “Am I just too dumb for this?” No, Spencer is the dumb one, and we learn as he does. Just another example of Young bringing us right along on the journey as opposed to simply explaining the plot. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know a thing about physics. You’ll learn just enough to understand its impact on the story.
Outside of all this, there’s just the brilliance of the writing itself. How vivid the descriptions are when Spencer finds himself seeing the world around him with a different perspective. How tangible the personification of the monster in his son’s head is. How intensely you feel for Spencer and Marty, you can almost hear their voices in your head, like they’re real, like friends you’ve known forever.
I’m trying to avoid making this an entire book in itself, so I’ll leave you with this: If you are looking for a book that makes you feel something, makes you see things differently, with an ending that will have you thinking about it for days, pick up Ride the Spiral.
Ben Young takes such exquisite care of the most sensitive (and at times infuriating) parts of being a parent to a child with neurodivergence. There’s a rawness to the moments where Spencer and Marty are struggling with their son Luke because Young says the quiet parts out loud. The things that parents are sometimes too embarrassed or scared to say, or even think, are expressed by Spencer and Marty, and through this dialogue, Young lets the reader know they are not alone. The desperation a parent feels, the level of love that is so painful you’d burn the world to the ground if you simply had enough matches, the frustration of the same child who at times makes you want to smash your head against the wall being the same child you can’t stop staring at when they’re asleep. All of those very real, very complex emotions are written out on the pages so masterfully, it almost feels nonfiction.
But then we get weird, yeah? I have never considered myself to be a sci-fi girlie. I’ve said it more than once. One of the things I enjoyed most (and I think is most impressive) about Ride the Spiral is Young’s use of dialogue to explain very complicated concepts. We are learning things along with Spencer through his conversations with his colleague. It’s not one of those books where you’re reading along and thinking, “Am I just too dumb for this?” No, Spencer is the dumb one, and we learn as he does. Just another example of Young bringing us right along on the journey as opposed to simply explaining the plot. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know a thing about physics. You’ll learn just enough to understand its impact on the story.
Outside of all this, there’s just the brilliance of the writing itself. How vivid the descriptions are when Spencer finds himself seeing the world around him with a different perspective. How tangible the personification of the monster in his son’s head is. How intensely you feel for Spencer and Marty, you can almost hear their voices in your head, like they’re real, like friends you’ve known forever.
I’m trying to avoid making this an entire book in itself, so I’ll leave you with this: If you are looking for a book that makes you feel something, makes you see things differently, with an ending that will have you thinking about it for days, pick up Ride the Spiral.
Review of advance copy received from Author
If there is one book you need to add to your TBR this year, it’s Ben Young’s Ride The Spiral.
On its surface it follows a family who are desperate for answers to their son’s behavioral issues. One moment Luke is bright and cheerful, the loving boy they know, and the next he seems almost possessed—violent, angry, hateful. Years of unsuccessful treatments and being dismissed by every doctor or therapist they met with, they’ve run out of options and are faced with the heartbreaking choice of institutionalizing their son or continuing to live a life they both know to be unsustainable.
At their wits end, Spencer decides to follow up with one of his colleagues who claimed to have a way that might let Spencer fix whatever was wrong with his son—the ghost tunnel. Spencer rides the coils of reality, willing to go to the ends of the universe to save Luke. The deeper he goes, the more he realizes he’s not alone on the spiral.
This book is like an Andy Weir sci-fi novel if it had a doctorate in philosophy and created a child with Stephen King’s five scariest novels (you choose what those are). The trauma this family is living under while just trying to survive each and every day makes every decision as believable as they come. Ben’s ability to convey the desperation of Spencer and Marty, their desire to be the best parents they can be, and their absolute inability to do so made them two of the most honest and human characters I’ve ever read. I don’t know what it would take to get me to “shunt” myself into another realm of existence, but I never once questioned Spencer’s choices. The love Spencer and Marty have for Luke despite the war-zone they live in is one of the most relatable sensations I know as a parent. We’ve all been there and obviously some are forced to live there constantly which is an incredibly isolating and terrifying reality.
If you’re familiar with Ben Young, you’ll know that he can build a world that is captivating and beyond rich in detail and this book is no exception. In fact, it further proves that he is one of the best authors of the generation. If you thought he could transport you into a cave (Stuck) or a small town(Home), just wait until he shunts you to the third coil and you see the universe in a way you didn’t know existed in …
RIDE THE SPIRAL
On its surface it follows a family who are desperate for answers to their son’s behavioral issues. One moment Luke is bright and cheerful, the loving boy they know, and the next he seems almost possessed—violent, angry, hateful. Years of unsuccessful treatments and being dismissed by every doctor or therapist they met with, they’ve run out of options and are faced with the heartbreaking choice of institutionalizing their son or continuing to live a life they both know to be unsustainable.
At their wits end, Spencer decides to follow up with one of his colleagues who claimed to have a way that might let Spencer fix whatever was wrong with his son—the ghost tunnel. Spencer rides the coils of reality, willing to go to the ends of the universe to save Luke. The deeper he goes, the more he realizes he’s not alone on the spiral.
This book is like an Andy Weir sci-fi novel if it had a doctorate in philosophy and created a child with Stephen King’s five scariest novels (you choose what those are). The trauma this family is living under while just trying to survive each and every day makes every decision as believable as they come. Ben’s ability to convey the desperation of Spencer and Marty, their desire to be the best parents they can be, and their absolute inability to do so made them two of the most honest and human characters I’ve ever read. I don’t know what it would take to get me to “shunt” myself into another realm of existence, but I never once questioned Spencer’s choices. The love Spencer and Marty have for Luke despite the war-zone they live in is one of the most relatable sensations I know as a parent. We’ve all been there and obviously some are forced to live there constantly which is an incredibly isolating and terrifying reality.
If you’re familiar with Ben Young, you’ll know that he can build a world that is captivating and beyond rich in detail and this book is no exception. In fact, it further proves that he is one of the best authors of the generation. If you thought he could transport you into a cave (Stuck) or a small town(Home), just wait until he shunts you to the third coil and you see the universe in a way you didn’t know existed in …
RIDE THE SPIRAL
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I’ve read most of Ben Young’s work and he is such a talented author. My first introduction was Stuck which was easily one of my favorite books of 2024. Conceptually I seem to really align with the way he writes and the ingenuity within stories. Ride the Spiral is no different. RtS follows the Smith family: Spencer, Martine and Luke. Luke has been struggling for a while with outbursts which Spencer and Martine assume is a form of neurodivergence. They’ve tried all the meds and therapies but nothing seems to help Luke stay regulated and Spencer and Martine aren’t feeling heard by doctors. When their only remaining option is committing their son to an inpatient program, Spencer turns to his peculiar colleague, Nathan, who claims to have perfected a method to allow a human to experience additional dimensions.
There’s a good bit of science in this one and as a complete dumbass I want to be blunt that Young has done an excellent job at making this accessible. Often when I struggle with the more intellectual divots of a book I just kind of go on auto pilot and power through, but I found myself rereading passages because I was understanding and enjoying it. The way the various coils were described were so vivid. It gave me Interstellar black hole vibes (one of my GOAT movies) in the very best way. I worried this book would lean ableist, but Young does an excellent job at avoiding the feel good pitfalls that sound idyllic but don’t sync with reality. My children are neurotypical so while I can’t directly empathize with Spencer’s state of mind I found him to be authentic and well written. The characterization was great and I loved the “BOY” interludes. After reading the afterword it appears this is a deeply personal book for Young and this grittiness really gives the book an exemplary quality. I simultaneously love and hate exploring the endless possibilities of existence in different dimensions and this RtS epitomizes this curiosity. Highly recommend this dimensional shifting cosmic horror.
There’s a good bit of science in this one and as a complete dumbass I want to be blunt that Young has done an excellent job at making this accessible. Often when I struggle with the more intellectual divots of a book I just kind of go on auto pilot and power through, but I found myself rereading passages because I was understanding and enjoying it. The way the various coils were described were so vivid. It gave me Interstellar black hole vibes (one of my GOAT movies) in the very best way. I worried this book would lean ableist, but Young does an excellent job at avoiding the feel good pitfalls that sound idyllic but don’t sync with reality. My children are neurotypical so while I can’t directly empathize with Spencer’s state of mind I found him to be authentic and well written. The characterization was great and I loved the “BOY” interludes. After reading the afterword it appears this is a deeply personal book for Young and this grittiness really gives the book an exemplary quality. I simultaneously love and hate exploring the endless possibilities of existence in different dimensions and this RtS epitomizes this curiosity. Highly recommend this dimensional shifting cosmic horror.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Ride The Spiral is a heart-breaking story of a parents’ love for their son, Luke, who has behavioural problems. Those parents, Marty and Spencer Smith, are struggling day to day with the aggressive, insane, and crazy outbursts from Luke. Nothing seems to work to calm and appease him. No one believes them — bad parenting cited as the cause.
Spencer almost sounds crazy himself when he is convinced that his son’s problems are related to the Ripped Sky Event, which happened 32 years ago. An event which most people dismiss as a conspiracy theory, ignoring those that witnessed the sky literally rip open. The psychologists don’t believe it, or choose not to, so Spencer’s suggestion that the Event is affecting his son is dismissed as ludicrous.
Part psychological horror, part sci-fi, Ride The Spiral takes the reader on a journey beyond our reality. A desperate journey, by a desperate father. With help from his former physics teacher, Nate Ackerman, Spencer begins to embark on a trip that is beyond our own reality, beyond our feeble imagination, to try and understand the root cause of Luke’s problems. As the Smith’s world spirals out of control, Spencer himself ‘rides the spirals’ of reality to delve into a higher plane of existence to ‘fix’ Luke’s problem once and for all, even though just entering the physicist’s Ghost Tunnel could destroy his own existence.
When the narrative switches to Luke’s inner thoughts and feelings for the first time it really forms a vision of Luke’s true character in your mind almost instantly. Ben Young’s writing slides through your hippocampus like silk in the wind, and I struggled to put it down; constantly wanting to know what happens next. Brilliant. And that twist at the end! All I’m going to say, is there better be a sequel. Yes, Ben, I’m talking to you!
I highly recommend this book. If you’ve read Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter you will devour this, too.
Spencer almost sounds crazy himself when he is convinced that his son’s problems are related to the Ripped Sky Event, which happened 32 years ago. An event which most people dismiss as a conspiracy theory, ignoring those that witnessed the sky literally rip open. The psychologists don’t believe it, or choose not to, so Spencer’s suggestion that the Event is affecting his son is dismissed as ludicrous.
Part psychological horror, part sci-fi, Ride The Spiral takes the reader on a journey beyond our reality. A desperate journey, by a desperate father. With help from his former physics teacher, Nate Ackerman, Spencer begins to embark on a trip that is beyond our own reality, beyond our feeble imagination, to try and understand the root cause of Luke’s problems. As the Smith’s world spirals out of control, Spencer himself ‘rides the spirals’ of reality to delve into a higher plane of existence to ‘fix’ Luke’s problem once and for all, even though just entering the physicist’s Ghost Tunnel could destroy his own existence.
When the narrative switches to Luke’s inner thoughts and feelings for the first time it really forms a vision of Luke’s true character in your mind almost instantly. Ben Young’s writing slides through your hippocampus like silk in the wind, and I struggled to put it down; constantly wanting to know what happens next. Brilliant. And that twist at the end! All I’m going to say, is there better be a sequel. Yes, Ben, I’m talking to you!
I highly recommend this book. If you’ve read Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter you will devour this, too.
Review of advance copy received from Author
*ARC Review*
Title: Ride The Spiral
Author: Ben Young
Rating: 5 Stars
Genre: Horror
One must imagine Sisyphus writing a book review.
Part of me wants to day "screw you, Ben!" and leave my review at that, but that no where comes close to what I felt reading this book. I'm pretty sure I've read all of Ben's published books at this point, and I can honestly say that he puts more of himself in every sentence than most authors do in their entire bibliography.
Ride The Spiral, in essence, is about a dad who is at his wits end, but will still do anything for his family. When doctors can't diagnose or help Spencer and Marty with their neurodivergent son, Spencer starts looking in other areas to try and find a reason, find anything to help them out and give them some peace.
This was an incredibly hard book for me, in a good way, because I found myself having to relive the time I was told my own daughter's diagnosis, having to come to terms with what that meant, and having to come to terms with my own personal issues as a father and husband. Each sentence hurt, but that shows the marks of a great author.
Ben Young has always had a way with words. His writing draws you in, and makes you feel in new and unique ways. Ride the Spiral was an amazing and smart book, somewhere between Stephen King and Blake Crouch, delivering the scares, but grounding it in science fiction. He doesn't pull punches, he doesn't tone down, he makes you feel everything. If you come out of this book feeling only half of the emotion I felt, then you'll absolutely love this too!
Preorder Ride the Spiral by Ben Young today! I promise you this will end up in your top reading list by the end of the year.
Title: Ride The Spiral
Author: Ben Young
Rating: 5 Stars
Genre: Horror
One must imagine Sisyphus writing a book review.
Part of me wants to day "screw you, Ben!" and leave my review at that, but that no where comes close to what I felt reading this book. I'm pretty sure I've read all of Ben's published books at this point, and I can honestly say that he puts more of himself in every sentence than most authors do in their entire bibliography.
Ride The Spiral, in essence, is about a dad who is at his wits end, but will still do anything for his family. When doctors can't diagnose or help Spencer and Marty with their neurodivergent son, Spencer starts looking in other areas to try and find a reason, find anything to help them out and give them some peace.
This was an incredibly hard book for me, in a good way, because I found myself having to relive the time I was told my own daughter's diagnosis, having to come to terms with what that meant, and having to come to terms with my own personal issues as a father and husband. Each sentence hurt, but that shows the marks of a great author.
Ben Young has always had a way with words. His writing draws you in, and makes you feel in new and unique ways. Ride the Spiral was an amazing and smart book, somewhere between Stephen King and Blake Crouch, delivering the scares, but grounding it in science fiction. He doesn't pull punches, he doesn't tone down, he makes you feel everything. If you come out of this book feeling only half of the emotion I felt, then you'll absolutely love this too!
Preorder Ride the Spiral by Ben Young today! I promise you this will end up in your top reading list by the end of the year.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Ride the Spiral is Ben Young’s newest novel, and one you don’t want to miss!
There’s something wrong with Spencer and Marty’s 5-year-old son, Luke. He gone from a bright, curious, and happy boy to an utter terror. This is more than a child’s temper tantrums, and his parents have no idea how to help him. They’ve been to so many doctors and tried so many medications, they can barely keep up. As Luke’s behavior grows more dangerous, Spencer becomes convinced it’s linked to an event from his childhood when the sky ripped open. An event many people deny ever happened. But Spencer knows what he saw. And now, he’s discovered a way to reach other dimensions, to “ride the spiral” on other planes of existence. He makes a desperate, dangerous bid to save his son before his family is completely destroyed, traveling to the strangest places no one has ever been before.
This tale of cosmic horror is unlike Ben’s other two books, and was definitely frightening on multiple levels. There’s the overwhelming sense of existential dread that’s ramped up when Spencer is on the spiral that is terrifying on a deeper level and will leave you grasping to understand concepts you may not may not have ever pondered. And over it all, there’s the nightmare of two parents who love their son more than anything, and who are clueless as to how to help him. But they know they’ll do anything, in this world and all the others, to save him and bring him back to who he used to be. I flew through this and am still reeling from the gut punch ending. I can’t recommend this enough for anyone who’s a fan of cosmic horror and family strife.
May 4, 2026
*I received an eARC copy from the author
Spencer and his wife Marty are at their wits end. Their five year old son Luke has started behaving… strangely. Out of control. Erratic. Doctors shrugged; psychiatrists scratched their heads. Modern medicine cannot provide an answer, but perhaps physics can. Perhaps it’s connected to what happened years ago, when the sky ripped open.
The concept was very fascinating. At first it seemed ordinary enough, but then immediately you realize wait, there’s some sci-fi thing going on. Is it aliens? It’s apparent that Spencer is trying to do everything to help Luke (except institutionalize him), so when his friend volunteers a very out of the box method, Spencer jumps at the chance. Everyone is very human; they have flaws, their blind spots, but mostly mean well.
NGL a lot of the physics and maths stuff went right over my head. The explanations and theories were extensive, and while it didn’t really make sense to me, you do get a TL;DR later on. Like dumb it down for normies like me, thank you. The process is complicated, though I get the gist of it. I can’t imagine throwing myself into something this experimental, but that just proves Spencer’s love and dedication to his family.
The way Ben Young ended the book… damn. This is one of those love it or hate it things. I’m not gonna complain about it 😆
Spencer and his wife Marty are at their wits end. Their five year old son Luke has started behaving… strangely. Out of control. Erratic. Doctors shrugged; psychiatrists scratched their heads. Modern medicine cannot provide an answer, but perhaps physics can. Perhaps it’s connected to what happened years ago, when the sky ripped open.
The concept was very fascinating. At first it seemed ordinary enough, but then immediately you realize wait, there’s some sci-fi thing going on. Is it aliens? It’s apparent that Spencer is trying to do everything to help Luke (except institutionalize him), so when his friend volunteers a very out of the box method, Spencer jumps at the chance. Everyone is very human; they have flaws, their blind spots, but mostly mean well.
NGL a lot of the physics and maths stuff went right over my head. The explanations and theories were extensive, and while it didn’t really make sense to me, you do get a TL;DR later on. Like dumb it down for normies like me, thank you. The process is complicated, though I get the gist of it. I can’t imagine throwing myself into something this experimental, but that just proves Spencer’s love and dedication to his family.
The way Ben Young ended the book… damn. This is one of those love it or hate it things. I’m not gonna complain about it 😆
June 15, 2026
Nothing stops a parent from doing everything to help their child, not even the limits of reality. Young’s Ride the Spiral tells the tale of Spencer Smith’s simultaneously depressing and hopeful journey to help his son Luke, a once sweet boy who suddenly turns violent and destructive. Stretched to his mental breaking point, Spencer turns to a science he doesn’t understand to enter a level of reality he never thought possible.
The strength of this novel is how Young quickly endears you to Spencer and the sheer exhaustion that comes with parenting, quadruply so when your child is suffering with no relief in sight. To any parent, read with caution, because you won’t escape this one with a dry eye.
Like all cool people, I have a degree in philosophy and imagine my delight to learn existentialism infuses this novel top to bottom. And metaphysics. Yes, metaphysics, that curious intersection of philosophy and physics, the most daunting and confusion-laden class of my undergrad. Luckily, a degree is not needed to ride the spiral. Young does an excellent job of keeping the concepts straightforward and relevant without unnecessary overloads or tangents.
An unknowable entity, philosophy, a sci-fi dimensional rip in the sky, greater planes of perception, all grounded by a soulful human center. Take a chance. Ride the spiral.
The strength of this novel is how Young quickly endears you to Spencer and the sheer exhaustion that comes with parenting, quadruply so when your child is suffering with no relief in sight. To any parent, read with caution, because you won’t escape this one with a dry eye.
Like all cool people, I have a degree in philosophy and imagine my delight to learn existentialism infuses this novel top to bottom. And metaphysics. Yes, metaphysics, that curious intersection of philosophy and physics, the most daunting and confusion-laden class of my undergrad. Luckily, a degree is not needed to ride the spiral. Young does an excellent job of keeping the concepts straightforward and relevant without unnecessary overloads or tangents.
An unknowable entity, philosophy, a sci-fi dimensional rip in the sky, greater planes of perception, all grounded by a soulful human center. Take a chance. Ride the spiral.
Review of advance copy received from Author
I've been sitting on this for several hours now... letting it fester in my gut like a glass of sour milk. Every so often it makes it's way up into my throat again and I'm forced to swallow it back down because come on.... it's just a book right?! RIGHT?!
WRONG‼️ You read a book, you feel Ben Young's Ride the Spiral 🥏😵💫
I was fortunate (I use this term loosely because I'm NOT okay) enough to get a beta of Ben's upcoming masterpiece, I DO NOT use this term lightly, but other descriptions are failing to come to mind.
🥏Ride the Spiral to me felt like The Exorcist meets We Need to Talk about Kevin mixed with When Rabbit Howls but if they were written by Blake Crouch on a manic sinking ship..... (God I don't even know how else to describe the cataclysmic war my emotions have been put through 💔)
I love this book/I hate this book... I want to cry/I want to yell... I feel.... nothing... I feel everything.
So to avoid spoilers because this book hasn't even really been announced properly yet (and with Ben's permission) I'll leave you with this....
How much do you love your child? Would you sacrifice everything? Would you give your life? Go to the ends of the Earth.... further? Would you dismantle the very fabric of the universe out of love?
WRONG‼️ You read a book, you feel Ben Young's Ride the Spiral 🥏😵💫
I was fortunate (I use this term loosely because I'm NOT okay) enough to get a beta of Ben's upcoming masterpiece, I DO NOT use this term lightly, but other descriptions are failing to come to mind.
🥏Ride the Spiral to me felt like The Exorcist meets We Need to Talk about Kevin mixed with When Rabbit Howls but if they were written by Blake Crouch on a manic sinking ship..... (God I don't even know how else to describe the cataclysmic war my emotions have been put through 💔)
I love this book/I hate this book... I want to cry/I want to yell... I feel.... nothing... I feel everything.
So to avoid spoilers because this book hasn't even really been announced properly yet (and with Ben's permission) I'll leave you with this....
How much do you love your child? Would you sacrifice everything? Would you give your life? Go to the ends of the Earth.... further? Would you dismantle the very fabric of the universe out of love?
June 24, 2026
It will be interesting to see how people categorize this book. I feel that the plot presents a very engaging sci-fi thriller with hints of existential horror on the periphery. If you dig a little deeper into the themes, especially if you have experienced some of those themes first hand, you may realize that Ride the Spiral, at its core, is most definitely a horror story.
Ben young is an excellent writer, and while I can extol his abilities as a composer of prose, or praise his ability to tightly coil up the tension in his stories - both of which are true - I think that his most notable talent is his ability to write with true heart. I rarely get to experience this with many authors. Mostly, books that try to wear their hearts on their sleeve either come off as disingenuous or cheesy. Not the case here! This is authentic. Ride the Spiral is a terrible little window into this author's greatest fears, and that is what makes it, undeniably, a horror novel.
The fear parents have in regards to their kids is something incomprehensible until experienced first hand. The guilt parents feel, the shame over feeling like we just haven't hit the mark while raising our kids is also something you just have to live through first hand. Ben Young has captured that with Ride the Spiral with a level of vulnerability that a reader can only sit back, close the last page, and respect.
Ben young is an excellent writer, and while I can extol his abilities as a composer of prose, or praise his ability to tightly coil up the tension in his stories - both of which are true - I think that his most notable talent is his ability to write with true heart. I rarely get to experience this with many authors. Mostly, books that try to wear their hearts on their sleeve either come off as disingenuous or cheesy. Not the case here! This is authentic. Ride the Spiral is a terrible little window into this author's greatest fears, and that is what makes it, undeniably, a horror novel.
The fear parents have in regards to their kids is something incomprehensible until experienced first hand. The guilt parents feel, the shame over feeling like we just haven't hit the mark while raising our kids is also something you just have to live through first hand. Ben Young has captured that with Ride the Spiral with a level of vulnerability that a reader can only sit back, close the last page, and respect.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Ride the Spiral by Ben Young
When Spencer was a kid, the sky ripped open. 32 years later, the event is a conspiracy theory, but he knows what he saw. The effects are ongoing, still affecting him. And worse? Now it might be affecting his son too.
I just…I loved this book so much. I have no idea how to put into words exactly how much I loved it. I want to start by saying that as a parent of a child with DMDD (Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder) I have never related to characters more than I did Marty and Spencer. Their struggle with Luke was so heartbreakingly real and relatable to me.
I loved the idea of the ghost tunnel and how string theory tied into everything. There was a lot of research that went into this book but there’s still plenty of room for creativity too. I loved the balance.
When I finished this book, I sat in silence for a while because it’s been a long time since I’ve read a book that put me in my feels like this.
I’d give this book 5000 stars if I could, but I guess I’ll settle for five. Seriously. If you’re a fan of cosmic horror and sci-fi, don’t sleep on this one!
When Spencer was a kid, the sky ripped open. 32 years later, the event is a conspiracy theory, but he knows what he saw. The effects are ongoing, still affecting him. And worse? Now it might be affecting his son too.
I just…I loved this book so much. I have no idea how to put into words exactly how much I loved it. I want to start by saying that as a parent of a child with DMDD (Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder) I have never related to characters more than I did Marty and Spencer. Their struggle with Luke was so heartbreakingly real and relatable to me.
I loved the idea of the ghost tunnel and how string theory tied into everything. There was a lot of research that went into this book but there’s still plenty of room for creativity too. I loved the balance.
When I finished this book, I sat in silence for a while because it’s been a long time since I’ve read a book that put me in my feels like this.
I’d give this book 5000 stars if I could, but I guess I’ll settle for five. Seriously. If you’re a fan of cosmic horror and sci-fi, don’t sleep on this one!
Review of advance copy received from Author
As a parent with a special needs 6 year old I am baffled by how many REAL emotions and thoughts this book brought to life. It’s hard to understand and be prepared for the turn your life takes when caring for a special needs kiddo. Doesn’t mean you don’t love them…doesn’t mean you don’t do everything in your power to do the right thing but faulter from time to time bc we are all human. You beat yourself up and you get desperate for answers and relief. Spencer and Marty just want help. Their soon to be 6 year old son Luke is quickly spiraling; having manic almost bipolar episodes as if someone or something is hijacking his brain and forcing him to do and act aggressively.
I cried throughout this book. It hit home in a lot of aspects and sends a very powerful message. My take away was as a parent of a neurodivergent child-we can feel unseen, unheard, and at times so desperate we are willing to do absolutely anything to make life easier if only for a day. You won’t be the perfect cookie cutter parent but killing yourself in the process of change won’t help either. We do the best we can.
I cried throughout this book. It hit home in a lot of aspects and sends a very powerful message. My take away was as a parent of a neurodivergent child-we can feel unseen, unheard, and at times so desperate we are willing to do absolutely anything to make life easier if only for a day. You won’t be the perfect cookie cutter parent but killing yourself in the process of change won’t help either. We do the best we can.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from Author
So, I feel like I've been anxiously waiting for anther Ben Young special, would this one make it hard to breathe, would a town have a ultimate showdown or would this be one where he ripped my heart out?
Well folks, this one left a mark as I spiraled into the depths a parent can and will go to for their child. Your thinking, now Alexus, a parents undying love is a beautiful thing and it is..
But we're here for horror and that's what we got.
A man just trying to save his family, desperate to try anything his kid becoming worse and worse. I felt the actual desperation in this, even thought I can't say I liked the dad, but damn if Ben didn't have me feeling that feeling of grasping for an answer and desperate along with him and I'm not even a parent.
I really enjoyed seeing this scifi-lean to Ben's writing and woukd love to see more of it, the string theory parts, absolutely fascinating.
This book will absolutely rip your heart out and let you wipe your tears with it.
I felt like I was holding my breathe the entire time, afraid my one exhale would blow the whole course of the story and change everything...
Well folks, this one left a mark as I spiraled into the depths a parent can and will go to for their child. Your thinking, now Alexus, a parents undying love is a beautiful thing and it is..
But we're here for horror and that's what we got.
A man just trying to save his family, desperate to try anything his kid becoming worse and worse. I felt the actual desperation in this, even thought I can't say I liked the dad, but damn if Ben didn't have me feeling that feeling of grasping for an answer and desperate along with him and I'm not even a parent.
I really enjoyed seeing this scifi-lean to Ben's writing and woukd love to see more of it, the string theory parts, absolutely fascinating.
This book will absolutely rip your heart out and let you wipe your tears with it.
I felt like I was holding my breathe the entire time, afraid my one exhale would blow the whole course of the story and change everything...
April 20, 2026
RIDE THE SPIRAL by Ben Young
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Are you looking for the book of the year? Look no further!!
Ride the Spiral pulled me in right away and never let go. The intensity just keeps building all the way to the end. This book completely WRECKED me in the best way possible. I cried for a solid hour after finishing and I’m a pretty tough girl who doesn’t cry easily. I wasn’t crying for the ending - it was more about the whole story. The way it relates to my own life. It hit ALL of my feels!
Ben Young writes with so much emotion and complexity that you don’t even realize is happening. Just when I thought I knew where things were going, he completely flipped it and took the story somewhere I didn’t expect at all.
This is easily my favorite read of the year so far. Seriously - you will not regret reading this one and will wish you could start it over again without knowing the ending.
Don’t sleep on this one!
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Are you looking for the book of the year? Look no further!!
Ride the Spiral pulled me in right away and never let go. The intensity just keeps building all the way to the end. This book completely WRECKED me in the best way possible. I cried for a solid hour after finishing and I’m a pretty tough girl who doesn’t cry easily. I wasn’t crying for the ending - it was more about the whole story. The way it relates to my own life. It hit ALL of my feels!
Ben Young writes with so much emotion and complexity that you don’t even realize is happening. Just when I thought I knew where things were going, he completely flipped it and took the story somewhere I didn’t expect at all.
This is easily my favorite read of the year so far. Seriously - you will not regret reading this one and will wish you could start it over again without knowing the ending.
Don’t sleep on this one!
Review of advance copy received from Author
This is the second book I've read by Ben Young. Once again he took me on a gut-wrenching ride through hell. This book is a cosmic horror but part grief horror. Grief over the loss of what could have/should have been, even though a parent
has done everything possible. What do you do when no one will listen to you? What if no one will help you? When do you proceed to the last, most extreme option even though you know it's wrong in your heart? How do you protect your wife, yourself, and your child when all those interests are at odds? This mind-blowing book brings together science fiction, cosmic horror, neurodivergence, and theoretical physics all together in a story that will break you in two. Don't start this story unless you have time to finish it because you won’t put it down. 4.5 stars
has done everything possible. What do you do when no one will listen to you? What if no one will help you? When do you proceed to the last, most extreme option even though you know it's wrong in your heart? How do you protect your wife, yourself, and your child when all those interests are at odds? This mind-blowing book brings together science fiction, cosmic horror, neurodivergence, and theoretical physics all together in a story that will break you in two. Don't start this story unless you have time to finish it because you won’t put it down. 4.5 stars
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
It admittedly took me a few chapters to get into the book, but I was hooked once I did. It was such an interesting take on a neurodivergent child, and the sci-fi element really brought it all together. The descriptions were so detailed that the reader was fully immersed in the fear, worry, and hopelessness that the couple feels for their son.
I appreciated the scientific explanations because I am completely clueless on that, and I loved the references to Sisyphus (I thought it was really clever).
Once the story gets going, it is a fantastic page-turner that keeps your attention all the way through. It really is a testament to what parents will go through for their children and that ending...enough said!
I appreciated the scientific explanations because I am completely clueless on that, and I loved the references to Sisyphus (I thought it was really clever).
Once the story gets going, it is a fantastic page-turner that keeps your attention all the way through. It really is a testament to what parents will go through for their children and that ending...enough said!
Review of advance copy received from Author
Ride The Spiral tells the story of Spencer, a dad who's feeling extremely worn out and desperate for a solution to the problems his family is facing, particularly the challenges his neurodivergent son Luke is experiencing, and he'll do whatever it takes to find help and bring some stability to his family. As Luke's behavior becomes more and more threatening, Spencer becomes convinced that the cause of the problem is linked to an event from his childhood when the sky seemed to tear open.
This book grabbed my attention from the beginning and kept me engaged. The story's intensity just kept building until the very end. It shows the unbreakable bond between parents and children and the extraordinary lengths to which parents will go in order to protect their kids.
This book grabbed my attention from the beginning and kept me engaged. The story's intensity just kept building until the very end. It shows the unbreakable bond between parents and children and the extraordinary lengths to which parents will go in order to protect their kids.
Review of advance copy received from Author
How far would you be willing to go to save your family? Ben Young’s upcoming novel “Ride the Spiral” poses this age-old philosophical question with teeth bared. This book ripped my heart out of my ribs, chewed it up, and spit it out onto concrete. I’d rate this sucker punch of a novel 6 stars if I could.
If you enjoy the reality-bending thrill of “Dark Matter” by Blake Crouch or the domestic tension of “Incidents Around the House” by Josh Malerman, this book needs to be next on your TBR.
Pre-order “Ride the Spiral” from Wicked House and hate/thank me later.
Thank you to the author for allowing me to read a beta copy!
If you enjoy the reality-bending thrill of “Dark Matter” by Blake Crouch or the domestic tension of “Incidents Around the House” by Josh Malerman, this book needs to be next on your TBR.
Pre-order “Ride the Spiral” from Wicked House and hate/thank me later.
Thank you to the author for allowing me to read a beta copy!
Review of advance copy received from Author
Ride the Spiral
Ben Young
This is a mind bender of a book. If you are interested in time travel or multidimensional theories this will be right up your alley. Think the Third Rule of Time Travel mixed with The Mobius Door.
The pacing, the tension, the prose, and the characters are all carefully crafted in this work. I feel like it was honest and raw in its handling of a sensitive topic (raising neurodivergent children) as well. In my opinion this Ben's best work yet. I took me a good 3 days to process the ending. It will stay with me for a while and not be forgotten.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ben Young
This is a mind bender of a book. If you are interested in time travel or multidimensional theories this will be right up your alley. Think the Third Rule of Time Travel mixed with The Mobius Door.
The pacing, the tension, the prose, and the characters are all carefully crafted in this work. I feel like it was honest and raw in its handling of a sensitive topic (raising neurodivergent children) as well. In my opinion this Ben's best work yet. I took me a good 3 days to process the ending. It will stay with me for a while and not be forgotten.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Review of advance copy received from Author
Almost six months into the new year, and I’ve found my favorite book of the year. What a great read, filled with horror, pain and real emotion. There are so many levels to this one, figuratively and literally, and it packs a bang at the end.
Spencer, Marty and Luke have found themselves having to deal with serious problems, and the horrifying possible answer unravels for them bit by bit. The solution however is unlike anything I’ve ever read - the horror was original and engrossing, and included a nightmarish element of love and sacrifice.
You absolutely can’t go wrong with Ben’s stories, so make sure you grab a copy next week when it is available.
Spencer, Marty and Luke have found themselves having to deal with serious problems, and the horrifying possible answer unravels for them bit by bit. The solution however is unlike anything I’ve ever read - the horror was original and engrossing, and included a nightmarish element of love and sacrifice.
You absolutely can’t go wrong with Ben’s stories, so make sure you grab a copy next week when it is available.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Thank you to AETHON: Wicked House for providing a review copy.
Spirals, Camus, and string theory, oh my! These are a few of my favorite things, and they all combined into a book quite unlike anything I've read before. Cosmic horror is one of my favorite subgenres, so reading a new twist on an old favorite was such a treat. The loving nods to my favorite French absurdist was the icing on the cake. The book was a bit of a gut punch, especially the interludes written from the child's perspective. Some parts stretched my suspension of disbelief a little thin, but I heartily recommend it nonetheless. 4.5 stars
Spirals, Camus, and string theory, oh my! These are a few of my favorite things, and they all combined into a book quite unlike anything I've read before. Cosmic horror is one of my favorite subgenres, so reading a new twist on an old favorite was such a treat. The loving nods to my favorite French absurdist was the icing on the cake. The book was a bit of a gut punch, especially the interludes written from the child's perspective. Some parts stretched my suspension of disbelief a little thin, but I heartily recommend it nonetheless. 4.5 stars
Review of advance copy received from Author
The prose is clean. Every sentence carries the weight of Mt. Everest. Parents on the brink of collapse. A father, desperate to help his son, turns to something he doesn't fully understand. The spiral that crosses dimensions, hoping for a glimpse of hope. An answer no matter what the cost. But desperation breeds desperate acts and desperate acts turn to catastrophe laced in loss. "Ride the Spiral" cuts into the heart then bleeds into the soul. The story stays with you long after the last page. Every once in a while, a book comes around that changes how we perceive what good art is. Ride the Spiral is this book.
June 11, 2026
This was very interesting and well put together. It takes several aspects of life and brings them together. I remember going through all of the nonsense to get my son's diagnosis. So many appointments. So many questions left unanswered. You feel alone, so alone. The author did very well at describing the torment the parents go through, as well as the child. As a parent you would do anything to help your child, regardless of the cost. I was no different and if I were given the choice to "ride the spiral", I would not have hesitated. This one will pull at your heart and also make you think very hard.
July 1, 2026
This is the first book I’ve read by Ben Young. What a ride it was. I think the only reason I didn’t give a five is because cosmic fantasy isn’t my normal cup of tea.
The first two chapters were slow but when their son got talking, in his head, I was fully immersed. What wouldn’t you do for your child?
The ending was… sudden which left me with questions letting me create my own final chapter.
I must admit that since I’m a math nerd, I loved all the theories and theorems that came up. Well done! I’d have my students read this and write their own sequel.
Thoroughly enjoyed.
The first two chapters were slow but when their son got talking, in his head, I was fully immersed. What wouldn’t you do for your child?
The ending was… sudden which left me with questions letting me create my own final chapter.
I must admit that since I’m a math nerd, I loved all the theories and theorems that came up. Well done! I’d have my students read this and write their own sequel.
Thoroughly enjoyed.
July 1, 2026
Ben Young has a way of ripping your heart out like no other horror author can. As a parent, this book was equal parts terrifying and heartbreaking.
Watching Spencer do everything he can to try and help his son, and his every attempt falls just short of success . . . a parent knows that feeling on a level so intrinsically deep, its a part of your very being. And Young brings that to life in a way that makes you feel powerless and incapable, and that is where the true horror lies.
Watching Spencer do everything he can to try and help his son, and his every attempt falls just short of success . . . a parent knows that feeling on a level so intrinsically deep, its a part of your very being. And Young brings that to life in a way that makes you feel powerless and incapable, and that is where the true horror lies.
April 11, 2026
First off, I want to thank Ben Young for the ARC of this book! I really enjoyed it. I could feel the frustration that Spencer and Marty felt, no one believing them when they discussed their son Luke’s behavioral issues. This is a fantastic read, and I’ll continue to read anything Ben Young writes!
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