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Skinner (2015)
DarkFuse
Author: David Bernstein
Since starting this site, I have been fortunate in receiving some tremendous horror novels to review. One of which was Jackpot written by David Bernstein , Kristopher Rufty , Shane McKenzie , and Adam Cesare . It is easily one of my all-time favorite horror novels. It packs a punch of humor, shock and horror that I haven’t seen in a while . Needless to say, I was dying to review more from these authors.
I recently received a copy of Skinner , an upcoming novel by David Bernstein , one of the co-authors of Jackpot . I quickly bumped it up on my list with heated anticipation. With a lot of hope riding on this book, it is easy for it to fail given my high expectations.
Skinner has a mundane horror plot; six friends pile into a car and head to the mountains for a relaxing get away. On the surface, this is a very drab plot that has been done time and time again. This is not one of those stories. What starts out as an average story quickly builds into a unique dark fiction that contains one of the most intriguing villains I have ever had the pleasure of reading.
While traveling to their destination, the six friends, consisting of three couples, stop at a gas station. This is your typical horror story dilapidated gas station where things are going to go south for the characters. Other than being strange and broken down, little happens here to my surprise. The creepy old man running the gas station warns some of the characters about the upcoming storm. With clear winter skies, the characters do not heed this warning.
Soon after leaving, a winter storm hits hard from nowhere. The group make their way up the side of a mountain only to suffer an accident during their ascent. After careening off the side of the mountain, the story transfers from a Texas Chainsaw Massacre style horror story into a struggle for survival. This flirtation with horror, survival horror, supernatural, and slasher makes this one hell of a read. This intermingling of horror subgenres and classic tropes keeps you guessing with every page turn. Even though this is a fairly short novel, the mystery and suspense will have you whipping through this book in no time.
As stated earlier, Skinner has a surprisingly fascinating villain. This isn’t your typical slasher that stalks people in the woods. There is a mythology that is given to the villain, The Old One, as the readers will come to know him. Bernstein does an exemplary job of teasing you with just enough backstory and world building for The Old One that you will be satisfied with his motivations. I won’t spoil much as he is my favorite part of this novel. Think Ed Gein with a dash of Predator …and that’s not even the tip of the iceberg with The Old One. You will want to know more about him. Again, plenty is given regarding him, but there is such a rich backstory that you will beg to read more.
Throughout this book, David Bernstein never settles or gets lazy with his writing. He easily could have phoned in parts of this story given the classic setup he has given us. Luckily, he does not. Skinner is a brutal horror story that will keep surprising you over and over. The mythology laid out in this novel is worth the price of admission. There are buckets of gore and plenty survival horror moments. The characters are fleshed out in a way that compliments the actions that take place in the second and third acts of this story. Much like Jackpot , Skinner is a new favorite of mine that will be reread each year. I can’t wait to read this during a winter storm.
An advance review was given to me courtesy of DarkFuse and Netgalley . Skinner releases July 21 st and can be purchased directly from DarkFuse .
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