What do you think?
Rate this book
The Hidden: Jack's Disease
They told him it was just a parasite...
Jack Fuller’s life took a swan dive after he cheated on his wife two years ago. His most recent spate of “bad luck” is a list of symptoms that don't seem to fit any particular disease profile. Internet searches and medical hip shots are as close as he can get to an actual diagnosis.
Matters grow more complicated when a mysterious blood deposit with no apparent source is found in the middle of his bed. Then there is the intense hunger to contend with, the repeating erotic nightmares and the panic attacks.
When the cause of the illness finally manifests, it is wilder than Jack could ever have imagined. The illness has a name.
Its name is Jerry.
Jack Fuller’s life took a swan dive after he cheated on his wife two years ago. His most recent spate of “bad luck” is a list of symptoms that don't seem to fit any particular disease profile. Internet searches and medical hip shots are as close as he can get to an actual diagnosis.
Matters grow more complicated when a mysterious blood deposit with no apparent source is found in the middle of his bed. Then there is the intense hunger to contend with, the repeating erotic nightmares and the panic attacks.
When the cause of the illness finally manifests, it is wilder than Jack could ever have imagined. The illness has a name.
Its name is Jerry.
- GenresHorrorParanormal
100 pages, Paperback
First published May 15, 2015
19 people are currently reading
297 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Michael Schwarz
39 books6 followersI grew up in a cold place called Minnesota. It means Land of Many Waters in the native Indian tongue, but what I took it to mean was Land of Many Winters.
There, during the long snowy months and sub zero temperatures, I learned about a place called Narnia and spent my days figuring out how to move there. When I grew up, I figured it out. Only when I got there, I found it was much darker than I had anticipated or than CS Lewis had reported. Now, I tell the stories of what I found in Dark Narnia.
There, during the long snowy months and sub zero temperatures, I learned about a place called Narnia and spent my days figuring out how to move there. When I grew up, I figured it out. Only when I got there, I found it was much darker than I had anticipated or than CS Lewis had reported. Now, I tell the stories of what I found in Dark Narnia.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 16, 2021
Soooo...I got this audiobook on a whim to listen to while at work. It’s...um...really good.
It isn’t the type of book that you want stuck blaring out of your headphones while frantically trying to shut it off or turn down the volume.(this occurred once while a narrator unabashedly described Ted Bundy’s fellating of decapitated corpses)
I’m definitely about to dive into other works by this author as there’s a gap between Kafke and Ketchum in my library.
It isn’t the type of book that you want stuck blaring out of your headphones while frantically trying to shut it off or turn down the volume.(this occurred once while a narrator unabashedly described Ted Bundy’s fellating of decapitated corpses)
I’m definitely about to dive into other works by this author as there’s a gap between Kafke and Ketchum in my library.
December 30, 2015
I had to take a couple of days to process this one. The story takes a sharp turn right into "What in the world am I reading?" land. It was unexpected. And then the climax. You know what is coming. You can feel that sense of foreboding and the tension just builds. Make no mistake, this is indeed a horror story. I'm curious about the second part, but on the other hand I'm not entirely sure I really want to know what happens next. This is definitely something that will haunt you for a bit.
June 25, 2021
Your writing style is super good. I don’t know how many books you’ve written or how long you’ve been writing but it doesn’t sound amateur at all (if that makes sense) and you don’t “over-“ or “under-describe” any part of the story and its characters, nor do you use too much or too little of anything when analogizing, choosing words, metaphorizing, etc. I never once sat in (bad) judgement on how it was written and from just a casual reader’s perspective it sounded like a good book- nothing caught my attention or stuck out (in a negative way.)
The story was interesting and definitely kept me going. I find myself bored with books about 50% of the time, but I definitely did want to find out what was going to happen next and didn’t get bored with this one except for the one part where Jack is monologuing about Jerry while they’re at the zoo.
That being said, there was too much sex for my liking. Personally, I would’ve liked to see a wider spectrum in terms of the theme of the story, as it seemed to me that most of the story was carried mostly by the use of sex positively and negatively. The rape(s) and sexual slavery in the “Hellfire” secret society didn’t deter me as much as the fact that Jack seemed to think about sex more than anything else, Amy definitely spent most of her time thinking about it, and throughout the book there are details on women’s bodies specifically that are thrown in there seemingly unnecessarily.
Now, I did look at it from another perspective - Jack is obviously a sex addict and that’s why so much of the book is geared around sex. So, in that regard, this aspect of the story was written very well. In fact, this and his blatant-but-not-blatant sexism was written so well that I ended up hating him. From that perspective, it’s very admirable how much depth he has and how many times I went back-and-forth on liking him and not liking him - I think it’s an underused motif to make the main character unlikeable and out of the few books that have done it, this was one of the best ones I’ve read.
Finally, I did not like the narrator. His voice was a bit too grating and didn’t match Jack.
The story was interesting and definitely kept me going. I find myself bored with books about 50% of the time, but I definitely did want to find out what was going to happen next and didn’t get bored with this one except for the one part where Jack is monologuing about Jerry while they’re at the zoo.
That being said, there was too much sex for my liking. Personally, I would’ve liked to see a wider spectrum in terms of the theme of the story, as it seemed to me that most of the story was carried mostly by the use of sex positively and negatively. The rape(s) and sexual slavery in the “Hellfire” secret society didn’t deter me as much as the fact that Jack seemed to think about sex more than anything else, Amy definitely spent most of her time thinking about it, and throughout the book there are details on women’s bodies specifically that are thrown in there seemingly unnecessarily.
Now, I did look at it from another perspective - Jack is obviously a sex addict and that’s why so much of the book is geared around sex. So, in that regard, this aspect of the story was written very well. In fact, this and his blatant-but-not-blatant sexism was written so well that I ended up hating him. From that perspective, it’s very admirable how much depth he has and how many times I went back-and-forth on liking him and not liking him - I think it’s an underused motif to make the main character unlikeable and out of the few books that have done it, this was one of the best ones I’ve read.
Finally, I did not like the narrator. His voice was a bit too grating and didn’t match Jack.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 19, 2017
The Hidden: Jack's Disease is a page turner!
This book is a real page turner! Can't wait for part two! Someone has a vivid imagination; just like me!
This book is a real page turner! Can't wait for part two! Someone has a vivid imagination; just like me!
May 9, 2016
I won a paperback copy of “The Hidden: Jack’s Disease” by Andrew Michael Schwarz, on Goodreads.com and am posting an honest review. I gave it a rating of 2 stars.
This 90-page novella is a horror story that could be called Me and My Bizarre Shadow. Lawyer Jack Fuller’s life spirals downhill after he cheats on his wife. A mysterious ongoing weight loss, strange menacing nightmares,and botched encounters with other women soon follow. When a search of the internet for his symptoms proves unsatisfactory, Jack sees a doctor, and then a specialist who can only tell him he’s been afflicted with some kind of parasite. Unexplained bloody discharges further alarm Jack. Then he thinks he sees some kind of shadowy wraith-like creature lurking in the edge of his peripheral vision. Concerns for his sanity arise as the creature begans to take on a more solid visible form. What is it and what does it want?
This tale is the first of a series of novellas about Jack and his daughter Amy, and their involvement with the ominous creature. Based on this installment, I’ll skip the rest of the series.
This 90-page novella is a horror story that could be called Me and My Bizarre Shadow. Lawyer Jack Fuller’s life spirals downhill after he cheats on his wife. A mysterious ongoing weight loss, strange menacing nightmares,and botched encounters with other women soon follow. When a search of the internet for his symptoms proves unsatisfactory, Jack sees a doctor, and then a specialist who can only tell him he’s been afflicted with some kind of parasite. Unexplained bloody discharges further alarm Jack. Then he thinks he sees some kind of shadowy wraith-like creature lurking in the edge of his peripheral vision. Concerns for his sanity arise as the creature begans to take on a more solid visible form. What is it and what does it want?
This tale is the first of a series of novellas about Jack and his daughter Amy, and their involvement with the ominous creature. Based on this installment, I’ll skip the rest of the series.
Read
June 14, 2016I think this book was really pretty good. It has just enough action to keep you reeled into reading. I like when books take a turn you never expected to occur and now I can't wait to read the next installment in the series . So that being said if you want a read that is pretty awesome and leaves you wanting more than this is the book for you. Happy reading.
August 31, 2016
Like Kafka's Metamorphosis, the opening line lures you down an ever-twisting path. Strong, relentless voice that makes it really hard to stop reading. Not sure where this is headed, but I’ve already opted for the second and third episodes.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews