"It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day in the neighborhood, and would you be mine? Would...you be...my neighbor?" The disembodied voice sang Mr. Roger's theme song as the camera panned a peaceful, affluent community.
It was an old-fashioned hamlet, each house nestled on tightly manicured foliage on expensive half-acre plots. The streets were filled with the reckless driving of ninety-nine-pound, perfectly coiffed mommies in their expensive and oversized SUVs. If the speed limit was thirty-five down a residential path, they were pushing at least fifty. The only blot on the horizon was how to fit soccer, ballet, piano, and yoga class between four p.m. and six p.m., so the skinless and boneless chicken would have time to cook to perfection and the quinoa wouldn't be al dente.
Seth, the singer of this charming ditty, took his new camera on a tour of his property. Small patches of snow covered the lawn, remnants of an unusually early November snowstorm that happened two weeks ago.
Although it was chilly outside after that freak weather event, it had been unseasonably mild. "It was funny," Set mused. The anchors on television had turned weather into newsworthy items: rain was an event, storms became a "super-event," and snowstorms and the media were on a first-name basis.
He looked at a tree on his property. Magnolia buds had stupidly started sprouting.
As he spoke, his breath floated before the
lens of the camera. "Casa de Fletcher, baby."
BROOD X:
A Firsthand Account of The Great Cicada Invasion
By Michael Phillip Cash
"And they shall cover the face of the earth,
that one cannot be ale to see the earth..."
--Exodus 10:5
When Cash does horror...he "does" horror! First he puts us into the scene and we meet our characters, good or bad... I quickly formed an opinion about Seth who is laid off from work and doesn't seem to care...while his wife is working...
His poor wife is worrying and struggling, but if he sees
"Everything is funny as long as it is happening to somebody else."
--Will Rogers
Cash counterbalances his main character by using chapter headings to lead readers into what might be happening next. With Seth nothing seems to get through to him...it's just hype... Can't worry... So when they start broadcasting the news that the invasion of the cicada is coming, he laughs or ignores it...
It was from the Bible that I had learned about the 17 year cycle, plus I, of course, have had my own experience with them. This year, for one, I was glad that I didn't read this book before they came!😟 Two, I was hardly bothered because the cicadas settled up in my acres of timber and only a few came down around my cabin. But the sound, their song, is bad enough to throw most of us into constant caution...
Cash counterbalances his main character by using chapter headings to lead readers into what might be happening next. With Seth nothing seems to get through to him...it's just hype... Can't worry... So when they start broadcasting the news that the invasion of the cicada is coming, he laughs or ignores it...
In the meantime, his wife, is pregnant and they begin planning for its arrival... playing a game with what they will name the child. You can tell the two are in loved... but... his arrogant, condescending attitude just might get them into trouble...
I must say that the brilliant opening of the book automatically sets the reader up for a tense, waiting, experience. Remember that camera that was filming everything...well...it was found by the police and was the basis upon which the story was put together....after everything was over...
"What quarrel, what harshness, what unbelief in each other can subsist in the presence of a great calamity, when all the artificial vesture of our life is gone, and we are all one with each other in primitive mortal needs." --George Eliott
Brood X is the author's first horror novel. Readers will readily
see that he has a talent for creeping us out! He also lets us know that this is the perfect summer read when you're sitting outside listening to the cicadas sing... Me? I'm more likely to remember this deliciously scary novel when I hear the cicadas singing... and quickly run inside! This novel will draw many different emotional responses for readers. Starting with a suggestive prologue and then moving into daily suburban life, only to see what happens when nature takes control... it's chilling, shocking, and...quite an educational book about ignoring Mother Nature...
GABixlerReviews
Michael writes full-time and lives on the North Shore of Long Island with his wonderful wife and screaming children. You can follow him @michaelpcash.
Connect with Michael on:
Facebook: facebook.com/michaelphillipcash
Twitter: twitter.com/michaelpcash
Web: www.michaelphillipcash.com
Email: michaelphillipcash@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment