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The Branding Ax
For Dominic, the annual fishing trips with his grandfather Earl were usually uneventful. Now at eighteen, he knows this will be the last trip they take together because Earl has recently been diagnosed with dementia and his lucid time is running out.
Clearcutting has resumed in the Tongass National Forest in Alaska and, unbeknownst to Dominic, Earl has decided to sabotage the logging equipment nearby. When Earl returns to camp in a panic, raving about being attacked by something evil in the woods, Dominic fears his dementia has caused Earl’s delusion and as he tries in vain to calm him down, an explosion erupts in the distance clarifying to him what Earl has done.
Back in their tent, Earl succumbs to a heart attack. Dominic, afraid and alone, covers him and tries to figure out how he is going to get home. But Earl’s body does not remain dead very long. In the darkness of the tent, Dominic hears his corpse moving and realizes the nightmare has only just begun.
Pursued through the forest by his undead grandpa, Dominic struggles for survival as the wildfire rages. He will soon find out that an ancient evil has been stirred up by the activity and it is determined to protect its forest sanctuary at all costs.
Clearcutting has resumed in the Tongass National Forest in Alaska and, unbeknownst to Dominic, Earl has decided to sabotage the logging equipment nearby. When Earl returns to camp in a panic, raving about being attacked by something evil in the woods, Dominic fears his dementia has caused Earl’s delusion and as he tries in vain to calm him down, an explosion erupts in the distance clarifying to him what Earl has done.
Back in their tent, Earl succumbs to a heart attack. Dominic, afraid and alone, covers him and tries to figure out how he is going to get home. But Earl’s body does not remain dead very long. In the darkness of the tent, Dominic hears his corpse moving and realizes the nightmare has only just begun.
Pursued through the forest by his undead grandpa, Dominic struggles for survival as the wildfire rages. He will soon find out that an ancient evil has been stirred up by the activity and it is determined to protect its forest sanctuary at all costs.
231 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 13, 2022
12 people want to read
About the author
Justin Fulkerson
23 books51 followersAuthor of An Hour for Magic, Justin Fulkerson’s literary tastes turned from science fiction (Isaac Asimov) to horror (Stephen king, of course) at the innocent age of twelve years old. His outlook on life was forever changed by the experience, his mind suffered the consequences.
Justin Fulkerson was born in Lubbock, Texas on March 5, 1976. With an intense passion for reading since he was young, Justin began to write while in high school. After years of working for others, he finally decided to dedicate time to the craft that he loves. Justin has been focusing on his writing career in his spare time for years. He has been married to his beautiful wife, Mary Ellen, for twenty two years and they have two crazy children. A native Texan, he wants to prove to the world that intelligent people do reside there.
Justin Fulkerson was born in Lubbock, Texas on March 5, 1976. With an intense passion for reading since he was young, Justin began to write while in high school. After years of working for others, he finally decided to dedicate time to the craft that he loves. Justin has been focusing on his writing career in his spare time for years. He has been married to his beautiful wife, Mary Ellen, for twenty two years and they have two crazy children. A native Texan, he wants to prove to the world that intelligent people do reside there.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 24, 2022
One thing I’ve always worked hard to do, is try and give some support to those who are looking to get some reviews and get some eyes on their work. Now, I’m not saying I’m anybody to anyone, I’m admitted a small fish in a massive, massive, massive pond – BUT – if I read and review one book and somebody sees that and buys that book – that’s a win and I’ve accomplished my goal.
Since officially re-opening to review requests for novels and novellas, I’ve had a few come through, but when Justin Fulkerson reached out and asked if I’d like to review any of his books, I read their synopsis and of all of them, the one that I was really intrigued by was ‘The Branding Ax.’ It ticked those three boxes I need ticked – an evil, forests and survival. I mean, come on, how could you not be intrigued by a book that includes all of those things!
What I liked: The story follows a grandpa and grandson as they go into the woods to camp. The grandpa, Earl, is in the early-ish stages of dementia, which is used well when things hit the fan. Seeking vengeance on a company logging the forest, Earl sets off some explosives to destroy their operation.
It’s from here the we see the grandson, Dominic, encounter two of the overnight loggers as he flees from an evil that has infected his grandpa. Survival becomes their only option as they try and remain one step ahead of their attacker, but also remain hidden from the evil itself in the forest.
I enjoyed how we get some of the back story and how things came to be and how Earl ultimately became the Earl at the start of the story. The flashbacks were well done and didn’t interrupt the flow of the story telling at all.
The ending was well done and gave us a fitting and logical conclusion. I like when stories like this end in this way because it makes it a solid ending and one that gives the readers what they want.
What I didn’t like: I wasn’t overly keen on the two secondary characters from the logging site. Their backstory didn’t add much other than an odd tension that I personally didn’t think flowed with the story. As well, after they see the transformed Earl chasing them, they still appeared to not completely believe Dominic’s story and treated him oddly.
Why you should buy this: If those three box ticks also tick your boxes for a book, then definitely get on this. This one hums along and gives us another fun entry with mythological elements in the ‘survive-in-the-woods’ story list!
Since officially re-opening to review requests for novels and novellas, I’ve had a few come through, but when Justin Fulkerson reached out and asked if I’d like to review any of his books, I read their synopsis and of all of them, the one that I was really intrigued by was ‘The Branding Ax.’ It ticked those three boxes I need ticked – an evil, forests and survival. I mean, come on, how could you not be intrigued by a book that includes all of those things!
What I liked: The story follows a grandpa and grandson as they go into the woods to camp. The grandpa, Earl, is in the early-ish stages of dementia, which is used well when things hit the fan. Seeking vengeance on a company logging the forest, Earl sets off some explosives to destroy their operation.
It’s from here the we see the grandson, Dominic, encounter two of the overnight loggers as he flees from an evil that has infected his grandpa. Survival becomes their only option as they try and remain one step ahead of their attacker, but also remain hidden from the evil itself in the forest.
I enjoyed how we get some of the back story and how things came to be and how Earl ultimately became the Earl at the start of the story. The flashbacks were well done and didn’t interrupt the flow of the story telling at all.
The ending was well done and gave us a fitting and logical conclusion. I like when stories like this end in this way because it makes it a solid ending and one that gives the readers what they want.
What I didn’t like: I wasn’t overly keen on the two secondary characters from the logging site. Their backstory didn’t add much other than an odd tension that I personally didn’t think flowed with the story. As well, after they see the transformed Earl chasing them, they still appeared to not completely believe Dominic’s story and treated him oddly.
Why you should buy this: If those three box ticks also tick your boxes for a book, then definitely get on this. This one hums along and gives us another fun entry with mythological elements in the ‘survive-in-the-woods’ story list!
December 21, 2022
The Branding Ax - was my first time reading Fulkerson and it won’t be my last.
The terror and dread and fear are in here in abundance, the idea behind this story is unique too, an almost ecological horror - and how Fulkerson handles the material, which veers near the undead but stays clear of certain traps is very cool.
For me there was a lot of flirting back and forth from the story at hand with flashbacks, although these are told very well and add details to the previous things just read, the frequency of them did steal some of the pacing for me, as the ‘here and the now’ of the book was a full on adrenaline rush!
Great work, enjoyable story, horror in abundance… I’ll be reading more of this writers work in the future!
The terror and dread and fear are in here in abundance, the idea behind this story is unique too, an almost ecological horror - and how Fulkerson handles the material, which veers near the undead but stays clear of certain traps is very cool.
For me there was a lot of flirting back and forth from the story at hand with flashbacks, although these are told very well and add details to the previous things just read, the frequency of them did steal some of the pacing for me, as the ‘here and the now’ of the book was a full on adrenaline rush!
Great work, enjoyable story, horror in abundance… I’ll be reading more of this writers work in the future!
August 22, 2022
This is a solid 5 star story. The pacing is good. The action starts early enough and continues pretty much nonstop. The intermittent flashbacks didn't seem to take away from the pacing in my opinion. I'm not a fan of flashbacks, but this author did it right. This author has blended a spooky camping trip and some twisted family dynamics creating a great tale. Oh yeah, there's a message in there too, but I don't want to spoil anything here..
November 18, 2023
Loved the narration of Dana Rae, who brings out the suspense.
I now know why I do not like camping. Dominic is on the annual fishing trip with his grandfather Earl. Both are getting on and this could be the last together. Earl is ill with dementia. Earl is not happy that there is clearcutting in the National Forest and decides to damage the logging equipment. When Earl returns to the campsite he is shouting about evil in the woods. Dominic believes his grandfathers dementia has got worse. Earl dies of a heart attack. Dominic. Problem is Earl does not stay dead .The nightmare has only just begun. This book has horror, twists and the right amount of scare.
I now know why I do not like camping. Dominic is on the annual fishing trip with his grandfather Earl. Both are getting on and this could be the last together. Earl is ill with dementia. Earl is not happy that there is clearcutting in the National Forest and decides to damage the logging equipment. When Earl returns to the campsite he is shouting about evil in the woods. Dominic believes his grandfathers dementia has got worse. Earl dies of a heart attack. Dominic. Problem is Earl does not stay dead .The nightmare has only just begun. This book has horror, twists and the right amount of scare.
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September 26, 2023DNF - 78%
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews