The Lost Children

by Brett Rutherford

Marsha is an eleven-year-old problem child who finds delight in a new computer placed in her bedroom. Late at night, the computer wakes Marsha, and asks questions about her life, her parents, her world. Marsha soon considers her computer a friend, even when her new friend begins to ask for odd favors.

Genres: Horror

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Jack Tripper · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my 30-plus years of reading horror, this was one of the most ludicrous, batshit crazy I've ever experienced. It's pure trash, but in the best possible way, like a good 80s B-movie, featuring evil biological home PCs corrupting kids, pot smoking nuns living in a convent that doubles as an insane asylum, mind control, an unhinged psycho doctor who digs electric shock therapy, Re-Animator-esque experiments, a fully conscious human brain with eyeballs, even (Somewhat Spoilery) nefarious ancient aliens living underground.

It's a lot of fun if you're in the mood for this sort of thing, and you should already have an idea of what you're getting into if you're cracking open a Zebra novel with a blindfolded skeleton holding a creepy doll on the cover* (which of course has nothing to do with the story within). They're just not typically this inventive and entertainingly over the top, in my experience. It is bloated at 431 pages, as was the norm for Zebra, but it was never a slog, and the writing is definitely a notch above other mainstays of this imprint like William W. Johnstone.

It's been a couple years since I've read this and the details are a little hazy, but I just felt like saying a little something because every time I'm in the mood for some tasteless schlocky pulp lately, I think of this as the exact thing I'm looking for, but rarely succeed in finding. It's your prototypical "so bad it whipped back around to good"-type deal, imo, with author Rutherford constantly throwing more and more revolting scenes and ridiculously over-the-top plot elements into the mix. So it's only right that I at least mention it here. You may think it belongs in a garbage can.

But by Zebra standards, it's an absolute gem.

*Cover art by the great William Teason, who also painted one of the freakiest ever/possibly my all-time fave: We Have Always Lived in the Castle.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an absolute blast to read and oozed pulpy goodness from start to finish. Rutherford starts the tale with us following a nun to her garden outside her convent where she and a new sister promptly fire up a hooter-- she is not just growing tomatoes! Why the nuns? Rutherford keeps that story line alive while moving to the next; the antics of four nerdy kids in a small town in Pennsylvania just outside Pittsburgh.

The kids have a club-- the Cougars-- where the main activity seems to be 'science' experiments, like making stink bombs among other things. Two of the kids are straight A students in the local school, while the other two are bright but discipline 'problems'. After hanging out with them for some time, Rutherford introduces another story line; some ex-preacher comes to town to donate some computers to the local school kids and all the Cougars get one for home use. As this was first published in 1988, the machines are some knockoffs of Commodore 256K. Better, the computers some with some nifty software that is really cutting edge...

The story and plot of this little gem breathe new life into the term batshit crazy and finding stories like this is one of the main reasons I love 80s era horror. The writing style is punchy and the story moves along nicely, although it takes some time before you really figure out what is going on and how all the disparate story lines start coming together. Rutherford mixes creepiness with dark humor and absurdities that had me laughing out loud. My tattered Zebra edition has many typos and even the odd lost page along the way, which had me scratching my head for a bit. This could have been cleaned up and polished, but it really captured the essence of the horror boom in a good way. Love OTT pulpy horror? Definitely check this one out. 4.5 trashy stars!!

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything you expect in a Zebra horror book from the 80's is here. Kids in peril. Creepy adults. Nice settings. This book just kept getting crazier and crazier as it went on to step away from your normal Zebra product.

Kids in a rural area are given home computers. The school does no checking on the foundation that are being so nice and has no clue of what is about to happen. Seems these computers have a mind of their own and make them do bad things. I don't stop there. The web of insanity keeps branching out.

[Con · Rating 5 out of 5]

horror

I'm a sucker for old eighties horror books, l can remember reading this back in the day. it might be a bit dated but still fun. it reads like a b movie horror film.

[Egghead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inefficient plan:
Computers make kids killers
That's Zebra horror!

[Bruce M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review posted at my blog.