Welcome back to Dark Reads! Today I’m going to be talking about Woom by Duncan Ralston.
Woom is an extreme horror novel so if you need to check trigger warnings I suggest you do so!
Plot
“I believe pain lingers,” Angel said. “Do I believe in spirits? In the supernatural? Probably not.”
The Lonely Motel holds many dark secrets… and Room 6 just might possess the worst of them all.Angel knows all about pain. His mother died in this room. He’s researched its history. Today he’s come back to end it, no matter the cost, once and for all.
Shyla, a plus-sized prostitute, thinks the stories Angel tells her can’t be true. Secrets so vile, you won’t want to let them inside you.But the Lonely Motel doesn’t forget. It doesn’t forgive. And it always claims its victim.
My Thoughts
I mean wow, what a journey this was! I would say this is definitely one for seasoned horror/extreme horror readers, if that sounds up your street hold onto your guts and jump right in!
We meet Angel, an ambiguous but clearly troubled individual with a disturbing connection to the Lonely Motel’s room 6.
Angel calls an escort service and requests a plus size lady to join him in room 6. Once Shyla arrives story time begins!
Angel tells a series of seemingly random tales. Shocking, depraved and deliciously gross, with each one Shyla becomes more invested.
I loved this book, the storytelling, although extreme and explicit, was fantastic throughout, I didn’t feel it’s was shocking for the sake of being shocking. I felt it was necessary for the story. I could not stop reading! I cringed, made ‘what the fuck’ faces and laughed. Some of the one liners in this book had me in stitches.
I enjoyed the way everything came together at the end. Not sure I’ve ever read an ending quite like that, (shame on you Duncan) but I loved it!
As a side note, and just a small point but I appreciated it, as Angel’s character begins to unravel, his speech impediment becomes more and more prominent, I knew shit was about to go down haha!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me!
About The Author
“Intelligent, character-driven horror tales.” – Bram Stoker Award-winning author Jack Ketchum’s review of Gristle & Bone.
Duncan Ralston was born in Toronto and spent his teens in small-town Ontario. As a “grownup,” Duncan lives with his wife in Toronto, where he writes dark fiction about the things that frighten, sicken, and delight him. His work has been reviewed in Scream: the Horror Magazine, Cultured Vultures and Daily Dead. In addition to his twisted short stories found in GRISTLE & BONE and VIDEO NASTIES, he is the author of the novels SALVAGE, THE METHOD and GHOSTLAND, and the novellas WILDFIRE, WOOM and EBENEZER.
Duncan’s influences include (but are not limited to): Stephen King, Clive Barker, Richard Matheson, Harlan Ellison, Jack Ketchum, Roald Dahl, Irvine Welsh, Chuck Palahnuik and Bret Easton Ellis.
He runs the small press Shadow Work Publishing, which has published the writing of Jack Ketchum, Wrath James White, Jeff Strand, William Malmborg, The Sisters of Slaughter, Glenn Rolfe and many others.
Check out his website here
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