Anthony Hains
  • Home
  • Books & Novellas
    • Wrath of a Minor God
    • Terrain of Lost Souls
    • Sins of the Father
    • Nightshade's Requiem
    • Sleep in the Dust of the Earth
    • The Torment
    • Sweet Aswang
    • The Disembodied
    • Dead Works
    • Birth Offering
  • Bio
  • Blog

Review of Old McDonald

8/19/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
Full disclosure: I was offered a free copy of this novella for an honest review, although as a Prime member, I was able to download the work for free. Old McDonald is like The Walking Dead, but with farm animals. Bio-Barn Corporation has developed a means for cloning farm animals (cattle, goats, chickens, you name it) and has started selling their products to farms of all sizes across America. This is the answer to food production problems and high risk agriculture. One of the customers is Gene Gibbs, a farmer in an unspecified mid-western state. Something unthinkable happens, however. These cloned animals are “different” and soon turn on humans. It’s like the food chain has suddenly reversed itself in a cruel (for the people anyway) twist of fate. All of these docile animals become carnivores, ripping, tearing and then devouring men, women, and children alike. When Gene’s wife is seriously injured in an attack, Gene and his young farmhand must run for help. So begins the story.

Author Andrew Saxsma has written a deviously fun novella – which actually appears to be the first in a series. The story is wonderfully told, the pacing is perfect, and the plot is gripping. Granted, the plot is ridiculous, but I didn’t care – I was wrapped up in the world and I was able to suspend disbelief. There are some genuinely creepy and gruesome moments. There is a section where hundreds of cattle attack Gene in his truck which is quite unsettling (I kept thinking, who would have thought you could make cows horrifying?). Needless to say, I think Andrew Saxsma is quite a gifted storyteller.

There are some flaws that the author may want to address in this and future efforts. For instance, he missed occasional misspellings, grammatical errors, and inconsistencies in emotion and logic. There are frequent shifts in point of view – often with each paragraph and sometimes within paragraphs. I found the shifting to be confusing and unnecessary – sticking with one character would have been sufficient and more effective. Nonetheless, the story itself is quite good, and I wouldn’t want any of these things to deter someone from reading Old McDonald and missing out on a rip-roaring yarn. 

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Anthony Hains is a horror & speculative fiction writer.

    Archives

    January 2020
    January 2018
    July 2017
    May 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013

    Categories

    All
    Academia
    Adolescents
    Apocalypse
    Birth Offering
    Birth Offering
    Dead Works
    Horror Authors
    Horror Fiction
    Horror Fiction
    Influences
    Psychology
    Real Life Horror
    Real-life Horror
    Reflections
    Reviews
    Ryan Braun

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.