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Malevolent
It feeds on your fear! It watches. Listens. Learns. It feeds on your deepest fears, your basest instincts and darkest suspicions. As its grip tightens on neighbors, friends and lovers, it’s up to Tim Brentwood and Griffin Solloway – two clueless slackers who can barely take care of themselves – to confront the nameless terror. As its shadow spreads over the Cleveland neighborhood, Tim wonders whether he can even trust his new friend. Or is there a darker side to Griffin? The two can only be sure of one thing as their nemesis draws ever closer. Whatever it is, it’s malevolent.
- GenresHorror
289 pages, Paperback
First published July 3, 2012
73 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 1, 2013
In my humble opinion, Malevolent by David Searls is a throwback to the classic writing style of horror icon Ramsey Campbell. Rather than relying on buckets of blood, shock value, and vicious beasties (as is the trend these days) this novel builds a mystery, so full of suspense that the reader begs for answers as the tension mounts.
I was hesitant to proceed when I started reading this book and realized the religious elements involved. I, myself, am not the least bit Christian, but for those of you who are both Christian AND fans of the horror genre, I can imagine that the "God told me to do it" religious wingnuts are just as tired and played out on your end as they are on mine. No worries here. Searls doesn't hinge his plot on the misguided actions of scary vigilantes. Nope. He simply uses the setting of an old, creepy church as a home for the "malevolent" dark force in his story. No scripture quoting, no reenactment of scenes from the bible, no clichéd psycho-killer for god character. The church is as much a victim in this novel as the human characters, plagued by darkness and despair. A vessel for something inexplicably dangerous. And if you can't admit that churches can be creepy (especially one with a jaded past that stood abandoned for several years), then what the heck are you doing reading horror? OF COURSE it's creepy!
Zombies can be snuffed out with a shot to the melon. Vampires have too many weaknesses to list. Ghosts just need to complete their unfinished business, and demons can be exorcised. But what if you were fighting an evil that knew your inner most fears and insecurities? What if you could no longer tell what was real and what was in your head? Worse yet, what if the darkness in your own mind was capable of actually hurting you?
Malevolent was compelling and well-written, only losing a star because there were moments when I wanted to story to move quicker and quit stringing me along! I couldn't wait to unravel the mystery and see if the characters pulled through. I'll be on the lookout for more titles from David Searls. A great read for lovers of horror fiction who miss the good old days of suspense.
I was hesitant to proceed when I started reading this book and realized the religious elements involved. I, myself, am not the least bit Christian, but for those of you who are both Christian AND fans of the horror genre, I can imagine that the "God told me to do it" religious wingnuts are just as tired and played out on your end as they are on mine. No worries here. Searls doesn't hinge his plot on the misguided actions of scary vigilantes. Nope. He simply uses the setting of an old, creepy church as a home for the "malevolent" dark force in his story. No scripture quoting, no reenactment of scenes from the bible, no clichéd psycho-killer for god character. The church is as much a victim in this novel as the human characters, plagued by darkness and despair. A vessel for something inexplicably dangerous. And if you can't admit that churches can be creepy (especially one with a jaded past that stood abandoned for several years), then what the heck are you doing reading horror? OF COURSE it's creepy!
Zombies can be snuffed out with a shot to the melon. Vampires have too many weaknesses to list. Ghosts just need to complete their unfinished business, and demons can be exorcised. But what if you were fighting an evil that knew your inner most fears and insecurities? What if you could no longer tell what was real and what was in your head? Worse yet, what if the darkness in your own mind was capable of actually hurting you?
Malevolent was compelling and well-written, only losing a star because there were moments when I wanted to story to move quicker and quit stringing me along! I couldn't wait to unravel the mystery and see if the characters pulled through. I'll be on the lookout for more titles from David Searls. A great read for lovers of horror fiction who miss the good old days of suspense.
December 1, 2012
What evil lurks in the deepest, darkest shadows of your mind? What kind of evil can bring out your biggest fears? An evil that you cannot see. Would you think you were going crazy if you were accused of raping a woman but can’t remember a thing? Even though you see a video of yourself doing the crime? But when the police view the video, there is nothing about a rape on it. Griffin Solloway thinks he is losing his mind.
Luckily, a caring person, Tim Brentwood, with some prodding from the police detective Melinda Dillon, befriends Griffin. Poor Germaine Marberry, the victim of the rape, and her family are starving themselves to clear the area of those who sin, according to the minister, Vincent.
Laney, the ghost spirit, constantly prods her not dead husband he must kill again. But who is her husband?
The more Tim and Griffin talk and hang out, the more strange things become. Everyone’s biggest fears seem to be coming to light, but only in their eyes. No one else sees what they see. The more Griffin tries to prove his innocence, or others try to prove his guilt, the more evil and strange things become. Luckily Tim and detective Melinda work together to get to the bottom of the crime, and eventually the cause of all the evil.
Great mix of characters and great writing to keep you turning pages to see what happens next. You feel for each of the characters as they struggle with their fears. While I enjoyed the book, and would recommend it to others who like suspense and mystery, the transfer to a Kindle version was poor. It is very bothersome to have page numbers, author name, book title and website randomly appear during your text. It made for a slower read.
Luckily, a caring person, Tim Brentwood, with some prodding from the police detective Melinda Dillon, befriends Griffin. Poor Germaine Marberry, the victim of the rape, and her family are starving themselves to clear the area of those who sin, according to the minister, Vincent.
Laney, the ghost spirit, constantly prods her not dead husband he must kill again. But who is her husband?
The more Tim and Griffin talk and hang out, the more strange things become. Everyone’s biggest fears seem to be coming to light, but only in their eyes. No one else sees what they see. The more Griffin tries to prove his innocence, or others try to prove his guilt, the more evil and strange things become. Luckily Tim and detective Melinda work together to get to the bottom of the crime, and eventually the cause of all the evil.
Great mix of characters and great writing to keep you turning pages to see what happens next. You feel for each of the characters as they struggle with their fears. While I enjoyed the book, and would recommend it to others who like suspense and mystery, the transfer to a Kindle version was poor. It is very bothersome to have page numbers, author name, book title and website randomly appear during your text. It made for a slower read.
December 3, 2012
This story is interesting and has a good plot when you get into the book. I had a hard time getting into the book. There are a lot of characters, and the point of view changes between the characters frequently. This made it very difficult to comprehend what was happening. I was about half way through the book before I had any idea what was going on. The ever changing perspective allowed the author to provide great insight into the characters and the setting.
There are several interesting characters in this book. A young woman from the neighborhood, who has been raped, is a character that I would call a crazy cat lady. Germaine, her mother, and her sister all live in a house together and due to some of the circumstances o the story they are all fasting which causes them all to act strange; even the cats are fasting.
Griffin Solloway, a video rental store owner, and Tim Brentwood, a private party DJ get drawn into the drama. These two characters are not ambitious, but they are determined to uncover the truth about Germaine, and the Church of Redemption she attends with her family. This church seems to be a quite small neighborhood church, but those who enter the church awaken a dark force.
Based on the second half of this book I would definitely recommend this book.
There are several interesting characters in this book. A young woman from the neighborhood, who has been raped, is a character that I would call a crazy cat lady. Germaine, her mother, and her sister all live in a house together and due to some of the circumstances o the story they are all fasting which causes them all to act strange; even the cats are fasting.
Griffin Solloway, a video rental store owner, and Tim Brentwood, a private party DJ get drawn into the drama. These two characters are not ambitious, but they are determined to uncover the truth about Germaine, and the Church of Redemption she attends with her family. This church seems to be a quite small neighborhood church, but those who enter the church awaken a dark force.
Based on the second half of this book I would definitely recommend this book.
April 19, 2014
Like a good horror story yes! liked the characters of the book also, no buff macho hollywood types here.
December 1, 2012
Malevolent by David Sears is a psychological thriller that takes place in Cleveland, Ohio. This multi-character tale starts off with the main character of Tim Brentwood's chance encounter with a local area business owner, Griffin Solloway, at the scene of a rape. Griffin is later accused of the rape and this just starts the cascading events that take place in Cleveland. Something is feeding on the fears and spreading suspicion among the residents but is it real? The author takes us into the deepest, darkest places of fear including rape, murder, and other evils that effect the residents of Cleveland.
In this fast paced story of supernatural and evil Tim and Griffin realize that something unnatural is happening to people in town. No one is spared, not even the minister of the Utica Lane Church of Redemption. In fact, they discover that the only thing in common of those who are experiencing these 'evil happenings' are those that have been to this church. They set out to solve the mystery of this evil demon's grasp on Cleveland once and for all.
The quick pace of the story starts at the beginning and continues throughout the story. Even though there are multi-characters (after all we are dealing with a city) and the story switches among them, it does so in the way that is not confusing. Each of these characters are developed nicely with Tim Brentwood and even Griffin Solloway being the lead characters and most developed. The story surprisingly even comes off being believable in that the characters are realistic as well as the town, rape and murders do happen. The jury is still out on ghosts and demons but even today many claim to have seen them so that can be believable in the sense that they claim they are real. The story doesn't drag on and has a steady pace with the events being varied and plentiful throughout. It kept me glued to the book to see what will happen next.
Because of the sexual subjects and cursing I would recommend Malevolent to adults who enjoy thrillers/horror stories.
In this fast paced story of supernatural and evil Tim and Griffin realize that something unnatural is happening to people in town. No one is spared, not even the minister of the Utica Lane Church of Redemption. In fact, they discover that the only thing in common of those who are experiencing these 'evil happenings' are those that have been to this church. They set out to solve the mystery of this evil demon's grasp on Cleveland once and for all.
The quick pace of the story starts at the beginning and continues throughout the story. Even though there are multi-characters (after all we are dealing with a city) and the story switches among them, it does so in the way that is not confusing. Each of these characters are developed nicely with Tim Brentwood and even Griffin Solloway being the lead characters and most developed. The story surprisingly even comes off being believable in that the characters are realistic as well as the town, rape and murders do happen. The jury is still out on ghosts and demons but even today many claim to have seen them so that can be believable in the sense that they claim they are real. The story doesn't drag on and has a steady pace with the events being varied and plentiful throughout. It kept me glued to the book to see what will happen next.
Because of the sexual subjects and cursing I would recommend Malevolent to adults who enjoy thrillers/horror stories.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews