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Whiteout #1
The Snow
This is how the world ends: with a single snowflake.
After a tragic accident at work, all Grady Miller wanted was an escape. He finds it months later with two of his closest friends. Together, the three of them travel south to Prism Lake for the upcoming holiday, where they plan on spending the sunny weekend drinking, grilling, and relaxing.
But when a series of monstrous blizzards cover the eastern United States in feet of snow, knocking out communications and making the roads impossible to drive on, they realize their weekend of fun could turn into a lifetime of survival.
Because there’s something out there besides the cold…
Something sinister…
Get your copy of WHITEOUT #1 now!
After a tragic accident at work, all Grady Miller wanted was an escape. He finds it months later with two of his closest friends. Together, the three of them travel south to Prism Lake for the upcoming holiday, where they plan on spending the sunny weekend drinking, grilling, and relaxing.
But when a series of monstrous blizzards cover the eastern United States in feet of snow, knocking out communications and making the roads impossible to drive on, they realize their weekend of fun could turn into a lifetime of survival.
Because there’s something out there besides the cold…
Something sinister…
Get your copy of WHITEOUT #1 now!
214 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 24, 2020
1529 people are currently reading
4204 people want to read
About the author
Flint Maxwell
59 books295 followersFlint Maxwell was born and raised in Northeast Ohio and still lives there today with his beautiful wife and daughter, and their four furry best friends.
He primarily writes horror fiction, but has been known to dabble in many different genres.
He primarily writes horror fiction, but has been known to dabble in many different genres.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 483 reviews
January 17, 2022
The Snow
Steady with a constant suspense. Not an edge of your seat suspense but a dark,heavy kind of suspense. The kind of suspense that shrouds you and hangs on you like a thick wet blanket. A suspense that keeps you reading because you absolutely have to know what happens. There's no glamour or overdone scenes of gore. Just down to earth,good storytelling. (I can see nods to and likenesses of Stephen King.) A rare quality these days. A lost and welcome art.
Steady with a constant suspense. Not an edge of your seat suspense but a dark,heavy kind of suspense. The kind of suspense that shrouds you and hangs on you like a thick wet blanket. A suspense that keeps you reading because you absolutely have to know what happens. There's no glamour or overdone scenes of gore. Just down to earth,good storytelling. (I can see nods to and likenesses of Stephen King.) A rare quality these days. A lost and welcome art.
October 30, 2023
4.50 Stars — Eery as a clown at a letter box in the dead of night — The Snow is an expertly composed novella that oozes guilt pleasures and benefits from the author knowing well exactly what he wants it to be, without trying to crossover into sub-genre or target a wider audience by overdoing the tension or seeking quick thrills. This is an excellently composed, slow-burn apocalyptic tale, set on a fateful July 4th holiday, in the woods of Ohio. Three friends in their mate 20’s, set out together for a holiday weekend of drinking, celebrating & reminiscing, when all of a sudden they’re jolted in the middle of the night by a snow storm of epic proportions.
The author does a sound job of building the narrative, making each character real, likeable & lets the eery tension permeate and the atmospheric tension climax. The knowledge of the apocalyptic event, acting as a lazing-malaise of known end-times permeated through the first fifty pages and the writing is so engaging, that it’s palpably smothering and enticing at the same time. The narrator, with introspection fuelled by depression & recent trauma, has a probing, visceral tone and I can’t help thinking about what he might look like as he tells this gorgeous little novella. The simplistic prose that perpetually abides!
This novella has some Michael McDowell, Stephen King about it, he’s even referenced early on (as is Michael Jordan, TICK). In fact despite the tone and genre of this novel, it’s more crime-sequel-King than horror or scary King. Think - Later or Billy Summers as opposed to From a Buick 8 or Pet Cemetery.
The pacing remains on-point throughout and the story develops at the necessary pace to keep one wanting to turn the page — again — an obvious but altogether fading, art-form that I’m glad is seeing somewhat of a renaissance in my prime reading days, it’s my kinda thing.
Best read in one sitting. I recently listened to the audible version since it was a member included library add, and this perhaps even aided my understanding of this all too realistic telling of the end of days. An author to keeps an eye on, I could easily see this writer doing a 900 page epic southern/gothic masterpiece without any doubt at all. A soothing, eery tale of friendship in modern times.
The author does a sound job of building the narrative, making each character real, likeable & lets the eery tension permeate and the atmospheric tension climax. The knowledge of the apocalyptic event, acting as a lazing-malaise of known end-times permeated through the first fifty pages and the writing is so engaging, that it’s palpably smothering and enticing at the same time. The narrator, with introspection fuelled by depression & recent trauma, has a probing, visceral tone and I can’t help thinking about what he might look like as he tells this gorgeous little novella. The simplistic prose that perpetually abides!
This novella has some Michael McDowell, Stephen King about it, he’s even referenced early on (as is Michael Jordan, TICK). In fact despite the tone and genre of this novel, it’s more crime-sequel-King than horror or scary King. Think - Later or Billy Summers as opposed to From a Buick 8 or Pet Cemetery.
The pacing remains on-point throughout and the story develops at the necessary pace to keep one wanting to turn the page — again — an obvious but altogether fading, art-form that I’m glad is seeing somewhat of a renaissance in my prime reading days, it’s my kinda thing.
Best read in one sitting. I recently listened to the audible version since it was a member included library add, and this perhaps even aided my understanding of this all too realistic telling of the end of days. An author to keeps an eye on, I could easily see this writer doing a 900 page epic southern/gothic masterpiece without any doubt at all. A soothing, eery tale of friendship in modern times.
March 12, 2020
The Snow: A Supernatural Apocalypse Novel by Flint Maxwell is a book I requested and the review is voluntary. This is a great horror book but also an end-of-the-world book and a supernatural/paranormal book. It was full of really creepy parts, suspense, great world building, and characters! I kept telling the characters not to leave the cabin but they didn't listen! They had to go get themselves into dangerous situations like snow in July! It was a terrific read!
January 26, 2021
The Snow is a short yet thrilling apocalyptic read.
The author was able to convey the character's torment from the snow and cold. I felt their isolation and frustration, and I loved the fantastically evil monsters closing in around them.
A few times, especially in the last quarter, intense moments were broken by overly-descriptive similes, memories, and on-the-nose foreshadowing. Climaxes fizzled in unsatisfying lulls.
However, the story was good enough that I will read the second in the series. I want to know what happens next!
The author was able to convey the character's torment from the snow and cold. I felt their isolation and frustration, and I loved the fantastically evil monsters closing in around them.
A few times, especially in the last quarter, intense moments were broken by overly-descriptive similes, memories, and on-the-nose foreshadowing. Climaxes fizzled in unsatisfying lulls.
However, the story was good enough that I will read the second in the series. I want to know what happens next!
August 20, 2020
I spent a large part of this book thinking "did this old guy watch one movie with some 20 year olds in it, and think that's how they all talk?" Turns out the author is a young guy. Maybe it's an Ohio thing, but the way these guys in their late 20s talk to each other is just over the top. In addition, the constant foreshadowing got old fast. Stuff like "little did I know, but this was the last time we'd sit on this porch together" is cool once or twice, but it was constant throughout.
One thing that really annoyed me was how the narrator would derail the story with these unnecessary anecdotes. There would be a climactic, life threatening moment occurring, and the narrator would go "let me relate this to the game of basketball." What?
Anyway, I liked the premise, but it failed to deliver on most everything. Banal horror tropes experienced by dull characters.
One thing that really annoyed me was how the narrator would derail the story with these unnecessary anecdotes. There would be a climactic, life threatening moment occurring, and the narrator would go "let me relate this to the game of basketball." What?
Anyway, I liked the premise, but it failed to deliver on most everything. Banal horror tropes experienced by dull characters.
June 16, 2021
I wasn't aware this is the first of a series, which explains the unresolved ending. Still, there's a lot to be desired about this story: tension, fear, character development... all missing. I know it's supposed to be a novella, but still! I can't recommend it.
November 22, 2024
1.5 ⭐ rounded up because I'm feeling generous and because I like snow.
This novella read like it was written by a juvenile about juveniles. Except maybe juveniles from 30 years ago; we get it, you're BFFs and there's three of you, enough with the Three Musketeers nonsense. There is nothing new to the tired tropes used and the author seems to have confused throwing in a bit of tragic history with building character depth. I would have dnf'd this if it wasn't short, and I wasn't listening to it on audio.
I don't care if these characters live or die, so I won't be continuing the series, which I'm sort of guessing the author is making up (or made up) on the fly.
This novella read like it was written by a juvenile about juveniles. Except maybe juveniles from 30 years ago; we get it, you're BFFs and there's three of you, enough with the Three Musketeers nonsense. There is nothing new to the tired tropes used and the author seems to have confused throwing in a bit of tragic history with building character depth. I would have dnf'd this if it wasn't short, and I wasn't listening to it on audio.
I don't care if these characters live or die, so I won't be continuing the series, which I'm sort of guessing the author is making up (or made up) on the fly.
December 26, 2023
This was a classic monster tail set in a good isolated setting. There was a lot of good thing to enjoy here, the suspense, what happing to the people who didn’t act the way there should be acting. But this was overshadowed by the flaws of this story.
The depth of the characters was circus level, relying more on buzz words rather then truly showing who these characters are. The plot conveniences got more annoying the farther in to the book I got. With this being such short book with sequels, the ending point seemed abrupt. It lift me feeling like one book was split into two. I’m not sure why book one and two aren’t combined. If I read it, I might find the reason for it. As of right now it felt like an unearned cliffhanger ending.
I’m not sure if I’ll continue with this one. If the is a lot of potential here. But if the quality isn’t improved, the sequels will only be as disappointing as this one.
The depth of the characters was circus level, relying more on buzz words rather then truly showing who these characters are. The plot conveniences got more annoying the farther in to the book I got. With this being such short book with sequels, the ending point seemed abrupt. It lift me feeling like one book was split into two. I’m not sure why book one and two aren’t combined. If I read it, I might find the reason for it. As of right now it felt like an unearned cliffhanger ending.
I’m not sure if I’ll continue with this one. If the is a lot of potential here. But if the quality isn’t improved, the sequels will only be as disappointing as this one.
October 23, 2020
Seems like this book is written by a child.
August 20, 2021
This was not a great book. The first quarter of it is used to introduce three generic dudes who get drunk. Every scene ends with some variation of “Little did we know the end of the world was here…” Which is super frustrating. Pointless little scenes that end with the promise that any minute now something will happen.
And if you think this time was spent building characters that you fall in love with, let me disappoint you. All three dudes are utterly interchangeable. One is a firefighter with a tragic backstory, one is disabled with a tragic backstory and the other… um… is called Jonas. Or Jonesy. Or something that begins with J. The guys sound exactly the same. There is nothing that sets them apart from each other. They are just three generic dudes. They might as well be sims.
We are then introduced to other characters, a family in the next house. A dad whose trait is “old-school uncle knobhead”, a mum whose trait is “isn’t my husband charming”, a daughter who is pretty, and a son who… exists.
Eventually, around the 30% mark, the titular snow eventually show up, and the protagonist’s first action, when everyone in the house is yelling “OMG, LOOK OUT THE WINDOW! ISN’T IT WEIRD?!?” is to do absolutely nothing. He just sits there. It reminds me of that annoying trope in movies where someone yells “Run! Run for your life!” and another character (usually female, sigh), demands that the terrified runner stop and explain precisely what is going on. It’s tiresome. It doesn’t build tension, it just makes everyone look stupid.
And from then on, the action crawls by even slower. Although the group has almost no provisions and only makes one effort to get more, they manage to survive without a hint of suffering for weeks. There is no mention of rationing food, nobody gets frostbite, nobody gets ill, nobody gets angry and storms out of the house filled with rage. There is brief mention that the characters feel cabin fever, but it’s not actually shown.
Also, the author delights in spoiling any hint of a plot. Using phrases like, (note: paraphrased, not quoted) “That was the last time I saw Bob alive” or “I assumed the Magic Snow Fairies would save us. Instead they ate us”. It’s just impossible to care about anything when the author is both constantly telling you that it’s about to get good, and simultaneously spoiling everything that happens. Very early on, I switched over to hate-reading it. I kept hoping that it would have a surprise ending (maybe like Guy Burt’s The Hole) that would make me understand why it has such glowing reviews.
Little did I know that it did not. (See what I did there?)
This book is dire. Which is a shame, because I love supernatural threats, I love snow, and the combo should be a winner. Unfortunately the writing style is incredibly basic, the characters are beige paint, and the action… well, I’m sure it will get here any minute. After all, the author keeps promising that it will.
I will not be reading the sequels. I will be looking for something similar written by an author with the talent to pull it off.
And if you think this time was spent building characters that you fall in love with, let me disappoint you. All three dudes are utterly interchangeable. One is a firefighter with a tragic backstory, one is disabled with a tragic backstory and the other… um… is called Jonas. Or Jonesy. Or something that begins with J. The guys sound exactly the same. There is nothing that sets them apart from each other. They are just three generic dudes. They might as well be sims.
We are then introduced to other characters, a family in the next house. A dad whose trait is “old-school uncle knobhead”, a mum whose trait is “isn’t my husband charming”, a daughter who is pretty, and a son who… exists.
Eventually, around the 30% mark, the titular snow eventually show up, and the protagonist’s first action, when everyone in the house is yelling “OMG, LOOK OUT THE WINDOW! ISN’T IT WEIRD?!?” is to do absolutely nothing. He just sits there. It reminds me of that annoying trope in movies where someone yells “Run! Run for your life!” and another character (usually female, sigh), demands that the terrified runner stop and explain precisely what is going on. It’s tiresome. It doesn’t build tension, it just makes everyone look stupid.
And from then on, the action crawls by even slower. Although the group has almost no provisions and only makes one effort to get more, they manage to survive without a hint of suffering for weeks. There is no mention of rationing food, nobody gets frostbite, nobody gets ill, nobody gets angry and storms out of the house filled with rage. There is brief mention that the characters feel cabin fever, but it’s not actually shown.
Also, the author delights in spoiling any hint of a plot. Using phrases like, (note: paraphrased, not quoted) “That was the last time I saw Bob alive” or “I assumed the Magic Snow Fairies would save us. Instead they ate us”. It’s just impossible to care about anything when the author is both constantly telling you that it’s about to get good, and simultaneously spoiling everything that happens. Very early on, I switched over to hate-reading it. I kept hoping that it would have a surprise ending (maybe like Guy Burt’s The Hole) that would make me understand why it has such glowing reviews.
Little did I know that it did not. (See what I did there?)
This book is dire. Which is a shame, because I love supernatural threats, I love snow, and the combo should be a winner. Unfortunately the writing style is incredibly basic, the characters are beige paint, and the action… well, I’m sure it will get here any minute. After all, the author keeps promising that it will.
I will not be reading the sequels. I will be looking for something similar written by an author with the talent to pull it off.
March 12, 2022
TW: Child death, depression, parents death, Ptsd, murder
*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:After a tragic accident at work, all Grady Miller wanted was an escape, and he finds it with two of his closest friends. Together, the three of them travel south to Prism Lake for the upcoming holiday, where they plan on spending the sunny weekend drinking, grilling, and relaxing. But when a series of monstrous blizzards cover the eastern United States in feet of snow, knocking out communications and making the roads impossible to drive on, they realize their weekend of fun could turn into a lifetime of survival.
Release Date: 02/24/2020
Genre: Horror
Pages: 214
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
What I Liked:
• The plot
• Short easy read
• Talking about Northeast Ohio (I'm from there)
What I Didn't Like:
• Reminded of a story I've read before
• Characters all do dumb things
Overall Thoughts: For the most part I enjoyed this book and it was okay. I feel like it wasn't something new I haven't heard about before.
These people didn't even TRY to drive and see how far they could go.
They just break into people's houses like it's nothing.
I am annoyed at how easy it is for dudes in the middle of no where still can find the "hot" girls. Also it's always sickening to listen to men to put claim on women they can't claim.
First the lady mentions that she has ham frozen and she's going to go cook it up. Hahahaha okay you won't be eating that anytime soon... Then Grady mentions how it's been so long since he's had steak... Um it's ham not steak unless he is calling a piece of ham steak. Weird.
Final Thoughts: I think I might just continue on with the books and see where it goes and with the characters.
IG | Blog
*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:After a tragic accident at work, all Grady Miller wanted was an escape, and he finds it with two of his closest friends. Together, the three of them travel south to Prism Lake for the upcoming holiday, where they plan on spending the sunny weekend drinking, grilling, and relaxing. But when a series of monstrous blizzards cover the eastern United States in feet of snow, knocking out communications and making the roads impossible to drive on, they realize their weekend of fun could turn into a lifetime of survival.
Release Date: 02/24/2020
Genre: Horror
Pages: 214
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
What I Liked:
• The plot
• Short easy read
• Talking about Northeast Ohio (I'm from there)
What I Didn't Like:
• Reminded of a story I've read before
• Characters all do dumb things
Overall Thoughts: For the most part I enjoyed this book and it was okay. I feel like it wasn't something new I haven't heard about before.
These people didn't even TRY to drive and see how far they could go.
They just break into people's houses like it's nothing.
I am annoyed at how easy it is for dudes in the middle of no where still can find the "hot" girls. Also it's always sickening to listen to men to put claim on women they can't claim.
First the lady mentions that she has ham frozen and she's going to go cook it up. Hahahaha okay you won't be eating that anytime soon... Then Grady mentions how it's been so long since he's had steak... Um it's ham not steak unless he is calling a piece of ham steak. Weird.
Final Thoughts: I think I might just continue on with the books and see where it goes and with the characters.
IG | Blog
November 26, 2024
This was a quick but fun read. I’m gonna have to search out the rest of the series!!
July 11, 2020
Author is going to milk the story into multiple books. No ending in sight. Lots of annoying foreshadowing like: "So and so stepped through the door. It would he his last time." (And then the character would die 30 pages later.) Feels like a beginners first self-published book. Oh! I just had a thought: this might be OK for prepubescent teen boys. So there's that.
April 10, 2022
Story 5/5
Narration 5/5
I loved it!!
I recommend it!
Narration 5/5
I loved it!!
I recommend it!
January 29, 2023
2¼⭐
…the bullet points
➨ part 1 of 5 each one is a novella length
➨ supernatural horror
➨ wraiths that feed off your greatest fears
➨ a bleak snowpocalypse set in Ohio
Going into this you should know that it has 5 books, each of which is very short in length. But, they are all available on Hoopla in Audio format. This was rather bleak…as if the constant blizzarding snow in July wasn’t enough…there is also some kind of wraiths afoot. Also, I wasn’t a fan of the writing…the banter between the characters was seriously eye-roll-worthy. Plus the author's constant foreshadowing where he literally told you what was forthcoming made me not want to continue the story at all...which is why I won’t be continuing with book #2.
…about the narration
➨ 🎙️🎙️🎙️½/5
➨ Matt Godfrey…he’s not a favorite but I’m not sure why I think it’s something to do with how he delivers his lines.
...the score
➨4.00/10 | Opening-3.5 | Characters-4 | Plot-4 | Atmosphere-5 | Writing Style-4 | Ending-3.5 | Overall Enjoyment- 4
…the bullet points
➨ part 1 of 5 each one is a novella length
➨ supernatural horror
➨ wraiths that feed off your greatest fears
➨ a bleak snowpocalypse set in Ohio
Going into this you should know that it has 5 books, each of which is very short in length. But, they are all available on Hoopla in Audio format. This was rather bleak…as if the constant blizzarding snow in July wasn’t enough…there is also some kind of wraiths afoot. Also, I wasn’t a fan of the writing…the banter between the characters was seriously eye-roll-worthy. Plus the author's constant foreshadowing where he literally told you what was forthcoming made me not want to continue the story at all...which is why I won’t be continuing with book #2.
…about the narration
➨ 🎙️🎙️🎙️½/5
➨ Matt Godfrey…he’s not a favorite but I’m not sure why I think it’s something to do with how he delivers his lines.
...the score
➨4.00/10 | Opening-3.5 | Characters-4 | Plot-4 | Atmosphere-5 | Writing Style-4 | Ending-3.5 | Overall Enjoyment- 4
July 12, 2020
Dumbed down writing
Big mistake in buying this story. It reeks of adolescent writing and until 70% of the book, literally nothing happens except teenage like dialogue between grown boys. And the Grady character keeps warning that something bad is about to happen. Read something better. This book dumbs you down.
Big mistake in buying this story. It reeks of adolescent writing and until 70% of the book, literally nothing happens except teenage like dialogue between grown boys. And the Grady character keeps warning that something bad is about to happen. Read something better. This book dumbs you down.
February 21, 2021
Im intrested enough to continue on with this series, even though I tought it was a stand alone at first. Perfect to read when the weather is freezing and the snow keeps on falling for days and days, it makes you feel like you really are in a snowstorm apocalypse just like in the book ;)
The snow by Flint Maxwell get a 7/10 stars.
The snow by Flint Maxwell get a 7/10 stars.
January 22, 2023
*record scratch*
*freeze frame*
yup. that's me. You're probably wondering how I got into this situation!
*freeze frame*
yup. that's me. You're probably wondering how I got into this situation!
August 20, 2021
This novella had too many elements that I have a personal issue with for me to enjoy it. Excluding the supernatural elements, there was a terrible realism problem as well as numerous continuity mistakes. A few examples
There was a lot of needless explanation, not only in description but in telling the reader in two or three different ways what the author is trying to convey. Additionally the foreshadowing was excessive, although foreshadowing is misleading because these are not subtle hints; Mr. Maxwell is telling you what is going to happen.
There was a lot of needless explanation, not only in description but in telling the reader in two or three different ways what the author is trying to convey. Additionally the foreshadowing was excessive, although foreshadowing is misleading because these are not subtle hints; Mr. Maxwell is telling you what is going to happen.
January 25, 2021
Summary
Grady and his two best friends decide to rent a lakeside cabin to celebrate the 4th of July.
Not only are they surprised by a massive snow storm in the middle of summer, but there's something evil lurking in the snow.
Personal Opinion
An entertaining short read with a bit of a Krumpus / The Dreamcatcher (by Stephen King) vibe.
It did keep my interest while being easy to read. The characters were well developed, each one having their own tragic pasts and problems.
I did have a couple issues with this book though.
I would've liked to learn or at least see a bit more of the creature out in the snow. It seemed as though it was purposely held back to possibly have a bigger role in a following book.
The ending could have been a bit better to lead into the next book.
Overall I'm sticking with 4 stars and will be checking out the next book in the series.
Grady and his two best friends decide to rent a lakeside cabin to celebrate the 4th of July.
Not only are they surprised by a massive snow storm in the middle of summer, but there's something evil lurking in the snow.
Personal Opinion
An entertaining short read with a bit of a Krumpus / The Dreamcatcher (by Stephen King) vibe.
It did keep my interest while being easy to read. The characters were well developed, each one having their own tragic pasts and problems.
I did have a couple issues with this book though.
I would've liked to learn or at least see a bit more of the creature out in the snow. It seemed as though it was purposely held back to possibly have a bigger role in a following book.
The ending could have been a bit better to lead into the next book.
Overall I'm sticking with 4 stars and will be checking out the next book in the series.
October 10, 2020
This was an enjoyable little story. Enough to keep you entertained to read the next book in the series. My favorite part of this book was the wintry/snowy elements. Trying to survive whatever terrorizing monster or paranormal activity that is hunting you, you’re trying to survive the freezing landscape and your own plummeting mental health. That right there makes the story even more frightening and that’s why I love survival horror/wintry horror.
This book gets a solid 3.5 stars. Definitely going to read the next book in the series. I want to see where the story goes......
This book gets a solid 3.5 stars. Definitely going to read the next book in the series. I want to see where the story goes......
August 3, 2022
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ -Kindle Book 📕
November 26, 2022
Kniha sice není kdo ví jak propracovaná, ale mě tyhle svižné horory čas od času baví. Scéna s obřím pavoukem mi teda přišla trošku přehnaná, ale jinak je to svižné, akční čtení. Jsem zvědavá, v jakém duchu bude druhý díl a jestli si udrží tempo.
March 10, 2021
I love reading books set in winter during winter, so I was stoked when I found Flint Maxwell's The Snow on Hoopla. I downloaded all three books that were available to me thinking it was the entire series. I was wrong.
I've now listened to the first 3 novellas of Flint Maxwell's Whiteout series: The Snow, The Dark Winter, and The Numbing. There are 2 more novellas in the series, and I have no way to read them without purchasing them. Even though these books were fine, I found them to also be a bit unremarkable and I have no desire to spend any money to finish the series. Oh well.
I'm going to write this as a general review for all 3 books because, as usual, I'm behind on reviews, and I want these to be over with as quickly as possible.
Tbh, the story here in Flint Maxwell's Whiteout series isn't terrible. However, I'm NOT a fan of these short, episodic horror novella series. None of these books felt like complete narratives. All of them end on cliffhangers with little resolution and there just isn't enough forward progression in any of them for me to really have a good time.
So these books are about a guy named Grady who is hanging out with his friends on the 4th of July when a devastating, apocalyptic blizzard shows up to ruin the world. Grady and his friends need to survive and, along the way, team up with some other people trying to do the same thing.
As far as apocalyptic fiction goes, there is nothing new here. And yes, this story is done well enough for me not to hate it, but it was so full of tropes that, even though they were also done well, I still steadily lost interest the more I continued to read.
I mean, Maxwell is obviously a huge Stephen King fan as he not only directly references King and his works throughout the part of this series that I read, but there is also a store named "Pennywisers" (a la Pennywise the Dancing Clown), a black guy with crutches (a la Susannah Dean), a pregnant lady (a la Frannie Goldsmith), and a dog (a la Oy). And while I fully support being a King superfan, the references and similarities to King's work here just felt a bit too much like fanfiction.
The most unique thing in these little novellas is that the apocalypse that comes is not one of fire and brimstone, but one of snow and ice. And honestly, the survival scenes where they are battling the problems that come along with snow are the best part of these books. But weather is not the only thing they have to fight with.
The monsters in these books are silly tropes. Also, not particularly scary or well explained. They are monsters we've seen a million times in horror: "wraiths" that kind of hypnotize people by manipulating them with their worst fears. I mean, the author already blatantly used the name Pennywise in this book, but to also make the monsters here weak, knock-off replicas of King's classic villain is a bit to... ON THEclown NOSE for my tastes.
But again, none of these books were bad they just weren't that special.
The 3rd entry into the series was where I really started to lose interest in the narrative. I mean, I wasn't particularly fond of the characters anyway and the tropes were really starting to annoy me. One that I haven't mentioned being a romance between Grady and the lead female protagonist that just irritated me because ALL romance irritates me, especially when it's telegraphed a thousand miles away and when it's in a horror book that doesn't need any damn romance.
When I started listening to The Numbing I made a prediction. Taking all the tropes and the Stephen King fanfiction nods into consideration, I predicted that one of the main characters would die. I just knew that was the next step in the formula. I then predicted who I thought would die and whether or not it would be at the hands of the monsters, the cold, or some humans they meet along the way because we all know in post-apocalyptic stories that humans are always the "real" monsters.
And I won't spoil it, but I GOT IT RIGHT. I predicted exactly who would die and who/what would do the deed. It was so formulaic! I'm not even happy about being right in this case. I wanted to be wrong because being wrong would mean that that this series was going to steer away from King and tropes and find its own path. But it didn't and I would bet $50 that the only path from here is downhill.
And that's why I'm not going to go out of my way to finish this series. If the other two books pop up on Hoopla, I will probably give them a listen. Like I said, these novellas weren't terrible... but they also weren't anything remarkable. They are short reads and I just HATE leaving things unfinished.
Here are my ratings for the novellas individually:
The Snow: 3.5 stars
The Dark Winter: 3.25 stars
The Numbing: 3 stars
You might like these books if you like: winter apocalypses, survival stories, and narratives that follow already-forged paths.
I've now listened to the first 3 novellas of Flint Maxwell's Whiteout series: The Snow, The Dark Winter, and The Numbing. There are 2 more novellas in the series, and I have no way to read them without purchasing them. Even though these books were fine, I found them to also be a bit unremarkable and I have no desire to spend any money to finish the series. Oh well.
I'm going to write this as a general review for all 3 books because, as usual, I'm behind on reviews, and I want these to be over with as quickly as possible.
Tbh, the story here in Flint Maxwell's Whiteout series isn't terrible. However, I'm NOT a fan of these short, episodic horror novella series. None of these books felt like complete narratives. All of them end on cliffhangers with little resolution and there just isn't enough forward progression in any of them for me to really have a good time.
So these books are about a guy named Grady who is hanging out with his friends on the 4th of July when a devastating, apocalyptic blizzard shows up to ruin the world. Grady and his friends need to survive and, along the way, team up with some other people trying to do the same thing.
As far as apocalyptic fiction goes, there is nothing new here. And yes, this story is done well enough for me not to hate it, but it was so full of tropes that, even though they were also done well, I still steadily lost interest the more I continued to read.
I mean, Maxwell is obviously a huge Stephen King fan as he not only directly references King and his works throughout the part of this series that I read, but there is also a store named "Pennywisers" (a la Pennywise the Dancing Clown), a black guy with crutches (a la Susannah Dean), a pregnant lady (a la Frannie Goldsmith), and a dog (a la Oy). And while I fully support being a King superfan, the references and similarities to King's work here just felt a bit too much like fanfiction.
The most unique thing in these little novellas is that the apocalypse that comes is not one of fire and brimstone, but one of snow and ice. And honestly, the survival scenes where they are battling the problems that come along with snow are the best part of these books. But weather is not the only thing they have to fight with.
The monsters in these books are silly tropes. Also, not particularly scary or well explained. They are monsters we've seen a million times in horror: "wraiths" that kind of hypnotize people by manipulating them with their worst fears. I mean, the author already blatantly used the name Pennywise in this book, but to also make the monsters here weak, knock-off replicas of King's classic villain is a bit to... ON THE
But again, none of these books were bad they just weren't that special.
The 3rd entry into the series was where I really started to lose interest in the narrative. I mean, I wasn't particularly fond of the characters anyway and the tropes were really starting to annoy me. One that I haven't mentioned being a romance between Grady and the lead female protagonist that just irritated me because ALL romance irritates me, especially when it's telegraphed a thousand miles away and when it's in a horror book that doesn't need any damn romance.
When I started listening to The Numbing I made a prediction. Taking all the tropes and the Stephen King fanfiction nods into consideration, I predicted that one of the main characters would die. I just knew that was the next step in the formula. I then predicted who I thought would die and whether or not it would be at the hands of the monsters, the cold, or some humans they meet along the way because we all know in post-apocalyptic stories that humans are always the "real" monsters.
And I won't spoil it, but I GOT IT RIGHT. I predicted exactly who would die and who/what would do the deed. It was so formulaic! I'm not even happy about being right in this case. I wanted to be wrong because being wrong would mean that that this series was going to steer away from King and tropes and find its own path. But it didn't and I would bet $50 that the only path from here is downhill.
And that's why I'm not going to go out of my way to finish this series. If the other two books pop up on Hoopla, I will probably give them a listen. Like I said, these novellas weren't terrible... but they also weren't anything remarkable. They are short reads and I just HATE leaving things unfinished.
Here are my ratings for the novellas individually:
The Snow: 3.5 stars
The Dark Winter: 3.25 stars
The Numbing: 3 stars
You might like these books if you like: winter apocalypses, survival stories, and narratives that follow already-forged paths.
May 12, 2022
Short and fast paced apocalypse-ish story. Interesting concept that grabbed me immediately. Looking forward to continuing this series
May 28, 2024
I don’t write reviews.
Decent story, with a bit of a mystery. I liked the character development at the beginning. I’m hoping Maxwell keeps that up when new characters enter. The idea of another series is a bit of a downer, but I’m in desperate need of light reading at this point of my life. I need some marshmallow fluff apocalypse to ease my leaden burden.
Decent story, with a bit of a mystery. I liked the character development at the beginning. I’m hoping Maxwell keeps that up when new characters enter. The idea of another series is a bit of a downer, but I’m in desperate need of light reading at this point of my life. I need some marshmallow fluff apocalypse to ease my leaden burden.
October 11, 2024
Decent horror story, fairly short with ending unresolved - but that's because it's the first in a series which I didn't know before starting (my fault). I'm not averse to continuing so will probably grab the next one at some point.
November 4, 2024
I took a couple of screenshots for this but, honestly, they were mostly just talking about the writing style. I did not like it. It was as if telling the story after it had happened and the narrator would be like, "But that was the last we saw of him" or "But that wasn't the worst of it" kind of deal.
No thank you.
This had an interesting concept and potential but fell through on multiple aspects for me.
The whole bit between Grady and Eleanor was weird too...
If I'd known this was going to span over multiple books, I probably wouldn't've bothered as much was left to be desired by the ending (the weird, nonchalant ending). Not the first I've read by this author, and I don't think I'll be picking up another. Think this author just isn't for me.
No thank you.
This had an interesting concept and potential but fell through on multiple aspects for me.
The whole bit between Grady and Eleanor was weird too...
If I'd known this was going to span over multiple books, I probably wouldn't've bothered as much was left to be desired by the ending (the weird, nonchalant ending). Not the first I've read by this author, and I don't think I'll be picking up another. Think this author just isn't for me.
September 13, 2020
This is a damn good yarn about an end of the world type occurrence that starts with snow..... so very much snow. And bitter, bitter cold. In JULY, and all across the nation. Then, what’s that shadow, coming out of the swirling snow...? 😱
I enjoyed this novel quite a bit. It can be very tense, and harrowing as well. I can’t wait to read the next novel in the series, and I hope it’s just as good.
The author did have a problem with using foreshadowing a little too much in the beginning, I must say. After the third time, it got to be too much. And he also derailed the tense moment happening in the novel by some anecdote from the past, which was silly and not at all helpful. But I still enjoyed the novel enough to say that I’m not upset that I bought it, and I don’t think I wasted my money on it, no matter how little I paid for it. This would be the perfect read for a summer day that’s too hot, and humid, in front of the air conditioning unit.
Matt Godfrey is the narrator for this audiobook, and he was very good. I hope he is the narrator for the second novel, also.
3.5 stars, and recommended to those who love tense horror novels with a little supernatural elements thrown in with all the ice, snow, and bitter temperatures.
I enjoyed this novel quite a bit. It can be very tense, and harrowing as well. I can’t wait to read the next novel in the series, and I hope it’s just as good.
The author did have a problem with using foreshadowing a little too much in the beginning, I must say. After the third time, it got to be too much. And he also derailed the tense moment happening in the novel by some anecdote from the past, which was silly and not at all helpful. But I still enjoyed the novel enough to say that I’m not upset that I bought it, and I don’t think I wasted my money on it, no matter how little I paid for it. This would be the perfect read for a summer day that’s too hot, and humid, in front of the air conditioning unit.
Matt Godfrey is the narrator for this audiobook, and he was very good. I hope he is the narrator for the second novel, also.
3.5 stars, and recommended to those who love tense horror novels with a little supernatural elements thrown in with all the ice, snow, and bitter temperatures.
February 13, 2021
A fairly good read, that has characters you can relate to.
There was too much foretelling in the author’s writing style.
Such as:
Little did we know, it would never stop.
Or,
He opened the door and we went in, but he would never walk in through a door again.
Then, try as he might there is no tension in the scene, we know that, that guys going to die .
There was too much foretelling in the author’s writing style.
Such as:
Little did we know, it would never stop.
Or,
He opened the door and we went in, but he would never walk in through a door again.
Then, try as he might there is no tension in the scene, we know that, that guys going to die .
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