The Behrg's Reviews > Mass Hysteria

There are horror novels, and then there are HORROR novels. You know, the ones with blood dripping off the letters (and pages) and sinking deep into the pit of your soul, causing you to question the decency of humanity and existence itself. "Mass Hysteria", by Michael Patrick Hicks, certainly falls into this latter category.

As I started this book, I recognized a very Richard Laymon type vibe. Now I'll be the first one to say there are various degrees of horror, and I'm not typically a fan of the bloody gore for gore's sake type of tale with little character development and a whole lot of shock factor. I was expecting Hicks to go in this direction with the set up of the novel, as this would be the path of least resistance, so to speak. Thankfully, and while there is more gore and shock factor in this book than three typical horror novels combined, Hicks has the chops to create more than cardboard characters, allowing those terrors to actually have an impact.

This was a brutal read, but like watching a car accident take place in front of you, I couldn't stop myself from watching. And every time I thought I knew where Hicks was going with the story, he would turn things on its head. This is a novel where no one is safe, where the most awful depravities take place, but I couldn't help but smile at its conclusion and the dark journey through which I was brought. Masterful storytelling, but NOT for the feint of heart. You've been warned.