Savage is the latest work of speculative fiction author Gary Fry. The story involves a young academic whose specialty is cognitive psychology. Daryl is driving home from a professional conference when his car runs out of fuel. He had taken an alternative route to avoid a major traffic jam which means he runs out of gas on a rural road well off the beaten path with no cell phone service. After leaving his car to search for help, he spots a small village in the distance and heads in that direction. He discovers that all is not right in this town. What he had hoped would save him turns into a living nightmare.
I enjoy the work of Gary Fry, and while this is not one his best (those honors in my opinion go to Lurker and Menace), Savage casts an eerie spell. The developing story is unusual, and I was driven by a constant sense of “what the heck is going on here”. Just when I thought I had a sense of the plot, the author pulled the rug out from under me.
This is not a dialog-rich novella. The third person point of view is from Daryl, and he thinks and makes observations like a smug university faculty. There are themes of social conformity, rigidity, human flexibility, and openness to new experiences. You don’t have to access these underlying messages to enjoy the plot, although I found them clever additions. I noticed some reviewers did not like the “heady” narrative, but to me this made perfect sense given the character. Similarly, the narrative is ambiguous relative to the explanation of events. Fry leaves you suspended in a world of uncertainty. Again, fine with me because the story stayed with me as I wrestled with the outcome.
I enjoy the work of Gary Fry, and while this is not one his best (those honors in my opinion go to Lurker and Menace), Savage casts an eerie spell. The developing story is unusual, and I was driven by a constant sense of “what the heck is going on here”. Just when I thought I had a sense of the plot, the author pulled the rug out from under me.
This is not a dialog-rich novella. The third person point of view is from Daryl, and he thinks and makes observations like a smug university faculty. There are themes of social conformity, rigidity, human flexibility, and openness to new experiences. You don’t have to access these underlying messages to enjoy the plot, although I found them clever additions. I noticed some reviewers did not like the “heady” narrative, but to me this made perfect sense given the character. Similarly, the narrative is ambiguous relative to the explanation of events. Fry leaves you suspended in a world of uncertainty. Again, fine with me because the story stayed with me as I wrestled with the outcome.
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