Lockdown

by Mark Woods

So you think you’ve had a tough Lockdown? One husband and wife awake to find themselves trapped in their own home during Lockdown, and are forced to complete a series of challenges in order to survive - not knowing that their plight is being live streamed across the Dark Web for anyone to watch and that there is NO escape from this nightmare. This is an extreme horror, not for the faint of heart, and as such may contain scenes some readers may find very distressing.

140 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 2, 2021

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.

Reviews

[Lisa Lynch · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know if I can read Lockdown by Mark Woods.

To most extreme horror authors, this would be a compliment. However, I want to make it clear that this is in no way, shape, or form a compliment. I'm actually offended that the author is asking people to pay money for this pile of trash. No joke, this is the most poorly written published work I've ever had the displeasure of encountering.

I didn't make it past page one and I'm not sure that I have the fortitude to push on.

Let me give you a taste of what I'm talking about for you to judge for yourself. Ladies, gentlemen, and others, I present to you the two most terrible sentences I've ever read in a book in my life:

Frank glanced down at his watch, to try and see what time it was - his watch having luminous numbers, so you could read it in the dark - but was perturbed to find his watch curiously not on his wrist. A fortieth birthday present from his wife last year, the only time he ever normally took it off was right before he went to bed - at which point he'd put it directly on top of his bedside cabinet so he could find it easily in the morning; when he washed up - at which point he'd put it directly on the windowsill in front of him so he didn't lose it; or when he went swimming - at which point he would lock it away safe and securely in a locker.

Like, did you read that????? I mean... I feel like my brain has been damaged by the amount of errors here!

But the real kick to the teeth is that I paid $8.44 USD a little over a year ago for the paperback, which is now on Amazon for $9.71. I about choked when I saw that the Kindle version is an astounding $5.42. Like, excuse me??? I'm truly appalled at the nerve of the author to be asking people to pay for such unedited nonsense. It's straight up disrespectful, and I feel like I was scammed!

Not only is the writing error filled nonsense, but the formatting is all jacked up and there is not one single indentation at the start of any paragraph. Not one!! There aren't even page numbers for ffs!!

I know from the author's note that this is his first "novel" but that is no excuse for how incredibly bad this is. I would STRONGLY encourage all new authors who can't afford an editor to PLEASE take that into consideration when setting your price point!

Also, maybe look up some basic punctuation and grammar rules.

I'm so angry, I'm about to travel back in time to slap my past self for buying this and not opening it until after my window of return expired. I guess the only thing I got for my $8.44 was the lesson to never buy an extreme horror book and not at least crack it open and read the first page.

Because the crimes Mark Woods committed to the English language here are egregious!

I am marking this one star even though I didn't get past the first page because people need to know that Lockdown is not worth the ticket price. I'm not normally vindictive, but it pisses me off that this book is sitting at a 4.17 rating here on Goodreads. I'm happy that this is the average of only 6 ratings and I can't wait for my 7th to knock it down a peg.

I haven't decided if I want to soldier on and try to read more of this. It might be a fun experiment, but it also might make my head explode. If I do end up reading more and I survive the experience, I will return to this review with an update.

Quick question: Can you ask a book for reparations? Because I feel I'm owed.

[Aileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first time reading an extreme horror novel where Frank and Sara wake up to a nightmare lockdown situation. Doors are locked, windows bricked up and they are in separate rooms, infected by a deadly virus. From there they are contacted via an earpiece and made to do certain things in order to become immune and able to leave. I have to admit to only feeling a ‘twinge’ when Sara had to vaccinate herself but it was more a case of ‘been there, done that, twice’ (albeit by an anaesthetist!)

It was an enjoyable read though, some parts I found funny, it’s quite sweary and rude, but I wasn’t offended in the least, though I guess some would be!

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully brutal with surprising twists

This is the second book I've read by Mark and I loved this even more than Feed.
I love his ability to pull you into the characters and be genuinely interested in where everything is going to go.
This book had me squirming with discomfort with some situations and I couldn't put it down.
This was horrifying, fucked up and brutal and I loved every second.
Don't sleep on this author!