Author: Kaaron Warren
Genre / Subgenre: Horror/ psychological
Publisher: Angry Robot
Copyright: July 1, 2009
Formats: paperback, electronic (Kindle Edition)
Rating: 9
Slights is a very strong debut novel by Australian writer, Kaaron Warren. It is a creepy, highly distubing and excellent horror novel which was awarded the Ditmar Award and the Shadows Award for Best Fiction.
The main character, a young girl called Stevie, has a near-death experience, and when she comes back she remembers that she was in a dark room full of people. Everyone she ever pissed off was there and these people were torturing her. Later her main goal becomes finding out if this is really the place where everyone must go one day. The girl who had a troubled childhood gradually becomes obsessed with death, becomes suicidal, then starts to kill others in order to find the answers.
The book is a very well-written piece, it really manages to draw the reader in, but it is too gloomy, too depressing to be read too quickly. This is a psychological horror piece and the author uses a sort of strange diary format to let us follow the events of Stevie's life. While trying to find out more about death and what comes after death, Stevie is also investigating family history and gets into all sorts of conflicts in a seemigly peaceful suburban neighborhood. The latter turns out to be a place where people prefer not to notice the crimes that are committed, because this is much more comfortable for them than any of the alternatives. (Scary, isn't it?)
For those fans of psychological horror who can handle disturbing reads and shocking imagery, Slights is highly recommended.
Links:
Official site (angryrobotbooks.com)
The author's blog
Kaaron Warren in Wiki