I: The Dark Stalkers

The Dead Chronicles of Martha Railer #1

by Henry Bassett

In a town not too dissimilar to yours lived Martha Railer; a solitary individual who lived by herself, yet enjoyed the company of her close friends whom she spent time with on days out. In a realm outside of human perception, something sinister had been put into motion, and inhuman dark figures arrived in her town. They stalked Martha on her day to day activities, but was she chosen or was it chance or, perhaps, even fate? However, a simple choice of a short cut home would change everything for her...& them.

73 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 10, 2019

Reviews

[Dianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Henry Bassett’s THE DARK STALKERS follows single woman, Martha Railer in her day to day routine, almost like a hidden camera crew chronicling a day in the life of the most average person ever. Somewhere in the undertones, a sense of evil begins to darken each day and only Martha seems aware. Readers are left to ask, “Why?”

There is no sense of why Martha has been “chosen,” just that she has. With no dialogue, we are given a perspective from the mysterious entity following her, her sense that something isn’t quite right and that no one else seems to grasp anything different, yet there is a flatness that invades each page, a sense that we are missing something from the development of Martha, her life. If not for the impending unknown, there would be no “uneasiness” to move this tale along.

With some detail and fleshing out, this could promise to be a suspenseful and riveting tale. For a quick read, it does have merit, I just wanted more.

I received a complimentary copy from Henry Bassett! This is my honest and voluntary review.

Series: The Dead Chronicles of Martha Railer - Book 1
Publication Date: April 10, 2019
Publisher: Henry Bassett
Genre: Suspense | Dark Fantasy
Print Length: 68 pages
Available from: Amazon
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[Inkslinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC provided by Henry Bassett. All opinions are mine and freely given.

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03-12: 'I: The Dark Stalkers (The Dead Chronicles of Martha Railer #1)' by Henry Bassett is an incredibly unusual story and not simply for the most obvious reason.. that there's absolutely zero dialogue.

Told from a sort of.. drifting point of view between a handful of characters, some human.. and some shadows, it seems to lack any specific direction. Though in this case, that's also not a bad thing. Rather than a story with any discernible plot, it reads more like a glimpse in the lives of these characters. There's no indication of a purpose and much of the circumstances actually appear to be outside the reader's range of observation.

Initially, the story begins by following the main character.. Martha, as she rides a train through the city. There's emphasis put on the darkness and isolation she feels, as well as the reality of it around her. The shadows are somehow both menacing and almost sympathetic, simultaneously.

Throughout the days, we get peeks of Martha with her friends, more sightings of the shadows, and even a bit of drama. We learn a bit about the shadows.. but just enough to leave us with a lot of questions. And by the end, we almost wonder how much of it was real.. if not for.. certain remnants of evidence along the way.

It feels very metaphorical, but even if that's the case.. who's to say what's being philosophized? How much theoretically could just be manifest of the mind? The collapse beneath the weight of all that lonely isolation.. or a uniquely literal, yet wholly unbelievable experience?

There are a couple of minor issues where the author uses two divergent ideas together, the combination of which seems to make no sense. But after reading it in its entirety, I have to wonder if they're intentional.

I'll tell you, I enjoyed the book and I certainly have my own theories, but perception is everything. It's a short read, that will leave you pondering it longer than it takes to reach that final page. Hours later, that's exactly what I'm doing.. and that.. if anything.. is a sign of skill.

I do believe this is going to be a very niche book. It's stylistic and unlikely to appeal to the average reader, but I know there are others like me out there. Others who will read it.. and find themselves fascinated.

PURCHASE LINK: AMAZON

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03-11: Review to come, such an interesting read.

03-09: Getting ready to start this one, the synopsis is intriguing and apparently the storytelling approach is unique.

[Mani · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual Rating: 2.5 stars

This was an unusual read for me. I had no dialogue throughout the whole book and it took me a while to get used to, but by the time I did the book ended. I found the story itself to be quite simple yet an intriguing one.

As with Arrival I once again found this book to be a little too short and felt it needed to be a little more fleshed out to get the a true understanding as to what it was about. This is definitely one of those book where you need to the read the whole series to see exactly where it is heading. I hope to continue the series to see how it develops.

[D.J. Doyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story that lulls you into a sense of normality, then eerily introduces you to the strange realm of dark stalkers. This is an unusual read with no dialogue, it took a while to get used to but once it hit the strange elements, I wanted to read more. Martha is an ordinary character going through the mundane tasks in life, yet she has some hidden past that keeps me intrigued. This author is taking a risk with the style of writing, or is this the new age style? We'll have to wait and see.

[WS_BOOKCLUB · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://wittyandsarcasticbookclub.home...

Have you ever seen one of those artsy films? You know, the ones where the story-telling is so different, and the camera shots are so distinct, that you know there will never be another movie like that made, no matter how many other people try to mimic the style? This felt a bit like that.

The story itself is a simple one, but the execution is so unique that the story-line in and of itself really doesn’t matter. I’m used to books that attempt to make the reader a part of the world. This one deliberately keeps the reader at arms’ length, allowing a glimpse into what’s happening, but never opening the door all the way. It lent the book a sinister vibe, like there was a secret being held which added a sense of urgency.

The point of view switches back and forth from that of Martha and the stalkers. Martha never really reveals much personality at all. Because of that, certain things that happened in the book didn’t hit me the way I think they were supposed to. This is one of six novellas and I wonder if possibly combining them all into one full-length novel might help the characters come to life a bit more.

I can’t sum up my opinion of this book in a neat “I liked it” or “I didn’t”. I’ll settle for this: the book is intriguing and will stick with me for quite a while.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Please note: I was gifted a copy of this book in return for an honest review

This was an interesting read. It's experimental in that it has no dialogue, which I thought worked in itself, however did leave some of the other text a bit stilted and repetitive. It had an interesting storyline with some beautiful descriptions at points, yet at the same time there was too much tell over show and I felt that the main character was underdeveloped, meaning that I couldn't empathise with her as much as I would have liked to. I actually found myself more invested in the shadows, another point of view followed throughout. A curious and intriguing read, but not the writing style I would usually go for.

You can read my full review here:
https://pagesplacesandplates.com/2020...

[Azaaa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was not my cup of tea.

Things I liked: No typos, descriptive, and the author has a beautiful way of giving inanimate objects actions. Such as 'her flat welcomed her home' and 'Martha managed to overcome her bed’s possessiveness'.

Things I disliked: No dialogue, short chapters, a lack of action/mystery/drama in most chapters.

I'm glad I read it (stepping out of my reading comfort zone), and I hope this writer continues writing because he can write. However, this story needs to start around chapter 18 (that's when the action begins) and each chapter needs to be crucial to the plot (that's where beta reader feedback can help).

[Esther · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to the author for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was quite intriguing to me. There were no written conversations in this book, but I didn't even mind. It was easy to read and easy to follow as well.

Full review can be found at BiteIntoBooks

There were a lot of dark and awful things happening in this book and that took away some of the fun to read this book. The word Dark in the title is well chosen, but the little parts there was fun, did not add up to the horrible things happening.