Last Days [Formato Kindle]

There's just something about the way Adam Nevill writes that scares the bejesus out of me. It's partly his visceral, gutt-wrenching descriptions; partly his relatable, likable, believably flawed characters; and partly the situations he puts them in.

In "Last Days," struggling, destitute filmmaker, Kyle, gets the opportunity to make the best documentary he's ever made, the one that will put him on the map and at the same time wipe out his crushing financial debt. The only thing is, he might not survive the shoot.

But even when things take a turn during filming and start to get weird, and then outright terrifying, I understood why Kyle doesn't call it a wrap. You know those moments in horror movies when the characters do foolish things that are completely unmotivated and cause you to shake your fist and yell at the TV, "What are you doing? Don't go outside! Or into the basement! Or into the woods!" Well, Nevill manages to write horror that scares you without employing those kinds of "foolish decision-making" moments, the kinds mistakes we all believe we would never make if we were put into the same situation.

What's so brilliant about Nevill's characters is that, when they make bad decisions, I think, "Yep. I'd do the exact same thing in this situation."

The first 2/3 of this book is as scary as anything I have ever read-- it made my skin creep, literally. But then the writer began to allow his lead character to rant for paragraph after paragraph, and that reminded me that I really didn't like the character all that much, anyway. For me, the book began to lose steam. The last third featured numerous new plot elements, some of which I thought were good, and some not so much. But the last sentence of the book is awesome! So overall, if you like horror this is worth a read.

Nevill's book is an exceptionally well done horror tale and for those that like the genre it is a real find. The format of the novel is reminiscent of the Blair Witch Project. Kyle Freeman, a second tier maker of documentary films is called upon to make a movie about a defunct cult called the "Temple of the Last Days". In 1975 the cult was terminated by a massacre of the members and it's leader Sister Katherine. Kyle, with the help of his long-time camera man and friend Dan takes on the project and we see the cult's history through the lens of their camera. The two travel to three sites that were homes to the Temple at different times: London, Paris and the Arizona desert. What they find is a miasma of complete horror in the growth and spread of the organization.. Sister Katherine is depicted as holding an almost hypnotic spell over the adherents as well as using deadly force to keep them in line. The horrors found to exist by Kyle and Dan continue to grow in their minds as they go deeper into the
history of "The Temple of the Last Days". Nevill's descriptions of the horrors and it's present day remnants are extremely well done, with Kyle and Dan's fears a logical extension of those terrors.

The book presents two well delineated themes and is certainly the product of a great deal of research. First is an excellent presentation of what a cult is, and the probable draw it has in
getting people to join it, giving up the normal world, and entering into almost slavish devotion. Next is the evolution of the horror permeating the cult and growing in scope as Kyle investigates the massacre and the possible reason for it.
Not everyone enjoys horror stories, but for those that do; read " Last Days" and afterwards look for more of the same from Adam Nevill who surely has the knack of creating undertones of chilling terror in an engrossing book.