****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
The cover and title of this novella caught my attention right away -- the searing red, the deer-skulled being, and the title almost ridiculously at odds with the apparent horror content within. And this being October, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to read something on the frightening side. "Sour Candy" is a short read, but it's definitely menacing, showing how one person's life can go so catastrophically wrong and giving us a taste of Lovecraftian horror alongside one of the creepiest children I've ever met in literature.An ordinary trip to the grocery store turns Phil's life into a nightmare after he encounters a disturbing child... and said child latches onto him in the worst way. Now everyone on Phil's life is convinced that the child is his, despite the fact that he's never met the child before today. The boy dominates Phil's life, demanding all his attention, even dictating his diet of sour candy... and giving him glimpses of a terrifying world beyond our own. If Phil is to stop this nightmare world from touching ours -- and the boy from destroying his life -- he may have to do the unthinkable...Kealan writes well, maintaining a clean and uncluttered writing style that focuses on crafting a plot and characters rather than flowery description and wordplay. I love beautiful description and wordplay, but in a story like this it would just interfere with the story and the buildup of tension. Some of the events feel a little clunky and forced, but for the most part the story flows well and builds up to a chilling climax.It helps that Phil, the main character, is a well-done character, an everyman of sorts who isn't perfect but is still a decent enough human being that we can empathize with him. Adam, the child character, is pretty much every creepy child cliche wrapped up in one and no personality beyond that, but given that he's more of a plot device than a character, that's understandable."Sour Candy" is a short read, but a chilling one, and Keanan Burke is shaping up to be a strong name in the horror genre. If you love your horror with a splash of cosmic influence and creepy children, give this a read.
