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Host
***** Content may disturb - Not for the squeamish***** A group of strangers, taken by force, is surrounded by most people's worst nightmare. They devise an escape plan, but will it work?
43 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 4, 2020
3 people are currently reading
43 people want to read
About the author
D.J. Doyle
25 books263 followersD.J. Doyle was raised by pot-smoking hippies and spent her days worshipping pagan deities in the HellFire Club and her nights watching horror movies and reading horror books. She now lives with her family in a treehouse, preying on unsuspecting travellers, and where she likes nothing better than coming up with ideas for new stories and plotting her next novel. Some of this might have been made up. To learn more about D.J. Doyle, her website can be found at http://djdoyleauthor.com and her official Facebook author page is https://www.facebook.com/DJDoyleAuthor/
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
June 3, 2025
Oof, this was tough to read. Not because it was a bad story, but the vivid details of the bugs. Peter Topside does not do bugs. So, I damn near itched my skin off reading this. It's a short horror experience from DJ Doyle, and fans of the tie'm up and torture'm sort of stories will soak this up. However, there are still plenty of creative spins in here to make it stand out from the rest. Short, icky, and yucky, this was a great way to spend 25 minutes of my Tuesday afternoon.
May 15, 2021
This was a short romp into terror!
A small backstory:
Lucy has plans to go out on a date plus she has plans to swing by to see her mother, but all her plans come to a complete halt when she is kidnapped and wakes up in a room covered in vegetation along with other people that are chained to chairs. A psycho loony tune has snatched all of them as he is performing tests on each one of them with the infestation of bugs! All that Lucy cares about is trying to escape any way she can as she has decided that she will not become a vessel to harvest bugs and the fight for survival is her first priority!
Why was Lucy kidnapped? Who are the other people in the room? Why were they kidnapped? Who is the psycho? Does Lucy escape? No spoilers here as you will just have to read the book!
Thoughts:
This was a cool bug extreme horror short story which kind of made me scratch as I was reading it, but it kept me entertained as I delved into the story of the bug invasion. I really liked the character Lucy as she was strong headed and had a mind of her own - she was not one to bend under the will of anyone and her survival instincts just went into overdrive as she tried to figure a way out of her predicament. The story is very short, but the pace is fast and there is quite a bit of tension as the characters have to endure the bugs that are crawling all over them! Giving this one four "Bug Infested" stars!
A small backstory:
Lucy has plans to go out on a date plus she has plans to swing by to see her mother, but all her plans come to a complete halt when she is kidnapped and wakes up in a room covered in vegetation along with other people that are chained to chairs. A psycho loony tune has snatched all of them as he is performing tests on each one of them with the infestation of bugs! All that Lucy cares about is trying to escape any way she can as she has decided that she will not become a vessel to harvest bugs and the fight for survival is her first priority!
Why was Lucy kidnapped? Who are the other people in the room? Why were they kidnapped? Who is the psycho? Does Lucy escape? No spoilers here as you will just have to read the book!
Thoughts:
This was a cool bug extreme horror short story which kind of made me scratch as I was reading it, but it kept me entertained as I delved into the story of the bug invasion. I really liked the character Lucy as she was strong headed and had a mind of her own - she was not one to bend under the will of anyone and her survival instincts just went into overdrive as she tried to figure a way out of her predicament. The story is very short, but the pace is fast and there is quite a bit of tension as the characters have to endure the bugs that are crawling all over them! Giving this one four "Bug Infested" stars!
November 7, 2020
Daaaaaamn I love a woman who can kick ass at extreme horror.
I can do bugs, in fact, I absolutely love ants, what I can't do is creepy, inside your skin, feeding off of you, parasites.
Well done, I actually have another of D.J's books, time to crack it open.
I can do bugs, in fact, I absolutely love ants, what I can't do is creepy, inside your skin, feeding off of you, parasites.
Well done, I actually have another of D.J's books, time to crack it open.
November 7, 2020
I'm gonna go ahead and give this one five stars..... Solely on the basis of hitting on so many phobias within the same story. Seriously, some people hate bugs. Combine that with the people who hate being abducted and chained up. Yep. It's a recipe for disaster.
It's a short... I get it. I almost wish we would have gotten more answers.. but let's face it... Its extreme horror. Do I really care bout the who or why?... Nope. Not as long as the bugs continue to live in their human hosts lol.... Also, I'm having a hard time sharing notes and highlights from my phone... But there is something about a person named Sea who looks like Barbie, but acts like Chucky .. I would totally read a story about that character lol
It's a short... I get it. I almost wish we would have gotten more answers.. but let's face it... Its extreme horror. Do I really care bout the who or why?... Nope. Not as long as the bugs continue to live in their human hosts lol.... Also, I'm having a hard time sharing notes and highlights from my phone... But there is something about a person named Sea who looks like Barbie, but acts like Chucky .. I would totally read a story about that character lol
November 11, 2020
For lovers of extreme horror and terrifying situations, this is a must. Our poor victims are subjected to such terrible cruelty from the antagonist that one can barely contemplate how they've survived for so long without dying through shock. Bugs, nasty, biting, flesh-eating bugs says it all.
A short story I thoroughly enjoyed reading despite the disturbing content!
A short story I thoroughly enjoyed reading despite the disturbing content!
May 30, 2024
This was a nasty little horror story- full of parasites, bugs, and so many other gross critters. It was on the shorter side, which was good because I don’t think I could’ve handled too much more.
“Host” will certainly give readers the heebie jeebies, and keep you on the look out creepy crawlies! I saw a little centipede when I was gardening after reading this and jumped away!!!
“Host” will certainly give readers the heebie jeebies, and keep you on the look out creepy crawlies! I saw a little centipede when I was gardening after reading this and jumped away!!!
November 6, 2020
Creepy crawly horror that will get under your skin.
Doyle plunges us into the grotesque world of a mad man and his unfortunate victims. I loved every stomach churning moment of it.
This is an EXTREME HORROR, not the squeamish, or even sem-squeamish.
Doyle plunges us into the grotesque world of a mad man and his unfortunate victims. I loved every stomach churning moment of it.
This is an EXTREME HORROR, not the squeamish, or even sem-squeamish.
April 4, 2021
What a great short read
This was a great short read , gross with awful bugs , so if your not a fan of crept realisation might be hard to read. But it was thoroughly , from the start. I'm lay in bed having just finished reading it and I've already looked across.All my walls and ceilings for any critters haha. Night night sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite!
This was a great short read , gross with awful bugs , so if your not a fan of crept realisation might be hard to read. But it was thoroughly , from the start. I'm lay in bed having just finished reading it and I've already looked across.All my walls and ceilings for any critters haha. Night night sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite!
November 10, 2020
Great, gross, read. Perfect short tale for any fan of extreme horror.
November 18, 2020
The author has done it again. What a light and delightful read. 😂
She never fails to amazing with all the good and twisted stories.
She never fails to amazing with all the good and twisted stories.
August 8, 2023
A fun, fast read with unexpected twists and turns at every corner…
My first by this author but definitely won’t be the last. This was an amazing read that I can’t recommend enough. Well worth the purchase.
My first by this author but definitely won’t be the last. This was an amazing read that I can’t recommend enough. Well worth the purchase.
November 28, 2020
Great
A suitably gross story in the tradition of extreme horror.
A collection of victims are locked in a room and tortured. When the latest experiment arrives, will she be able to save them all?
A suitably gross story in the tradition of extreme horror.
A collection of victims are locked in a room and tortured. When the latest experiment arrives, will she be able to save them all?
November 6, 2020
Definitely not for the squeamish but an entertaining story if you love extreme horror
October 5, 2024
This was a short, fun read! It definitely gave me the creepy crawlies. I can't wait to get into more of her writings!
November 14, 2023
Omg i have no idea why did it took me so long to read this book.
If you like gore you are gonna love it,i mean, i hate insects and those kind of animals but could not make myself stop reading until the end.
If you like gore you are gonna love it,i mean, i hate insects and those kind of animals but could not make myself stop reading until the end.
October 7, 2024
this was the perfect quick read. I haven't read anything similar to this so it was really fun to experience this trope for the first time. fast paced, gross and terrifying. bugs don't bother me but I was itchy and squirmy the whole way through
July 28, 2024
A little firecracker of a novella! I saw this book recommended and knew I'd love it.
November 13, 2024
Good one! Original story without going into incredible detail about the gore, leaving some things to the imagination. The only unfortunate thing was the incorrect information/description of scabies. Errors as such impact the immersiveness.
Other than that, loved it and would like to read more.
Other than that, loved it and would like to read more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 15, 2020
Host by D. J. Doyle is an excellent horror book that is on the shorter side, so you can read this fairly quickly to be honest but it is well worth the read. This author has a way to make my skin crawl and this book does this in more than one ways.
Thankfully I am not prone to dislike insects, well besides spiders, but this one makes me rethink that in many ways. The author knows how to build up the dispense and gore fairly quickly and successfully and then build up some hope, but will it all work out? Read for yourself and find out, trust me it is worth it. I truly enjoyed this book, even with my skin crawling and double checking if there were any bugs in my room for about a week after.
Thankfully I am not prone to dislike insects, well besides spiders, but this one makes me rethink that in many ways. The author knows how to build up the dispense and gore fairly quickly and successfully and then build up some hope, but will it all work out? Read for yourself and find out, trust me it is worth it. I truly enjoyed this book, even with my skin crawling and double checking if there were any bugs in my room for about a week after.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews