For those of you that don’t know, Adam Millard is one of the most prolific writers working in the genre today. The man is simply a machine. Not a month goes by it seems without a new release from the man. I got wind of this release quite early on when I stumbled across it whilst surfing through Amazon’s pre-releases. The first thing that got me was the cover art – brilliant, isn’t it? The rest of the book is vintage Millard, which means it’s great!
As a child of the 80s, I remember fondly those trips into town to play the arcades. Back in the day £10.00 would get you endless hours stood playing ‘House of the Dead’, ‘Wrestlemania’ and the like. Millard’s ‘The Bad Game’ is a homage to this wonderful era; a book that builds slowly into a fight for survival for residents of the small seaside town of Hemsby.
Jamie Garrett and arcade owner Scottie are the main characters. Jamie being the typical youngster, tired of Hemsby life, excited only by the prospect of one day working the video arcade with his friend. Scottie is the proprietor and is a hard drinker with a past he’d much rather forget. This is explored more as the narrative progresses and you will find yourself becoming very fond of these two characters.
A mysterious new arcade machine arrives and is an instant hit, but not all is as it seems. ‘The Bad Game’ sets the scene well by portraying the seaside town of Hemsby in rich detail. The characters are excellent; lifelike and entertaining. Millard is known as a writer with a great sense of humour and although the jokes don’t appear as often in this story, there are still some incredibly amusing moments. The concept of ‘The Bad Game’ is excellent. Adam’s smooth writing style doesn’t get bogged down with endless description and every character has a purpose. It is what I would describe as a very smooth and easy read, whereas the first half of the book helps to set the scene, the second half of the book is where things really begin to take flight with some gruesome scenes as Hemsby begins to unravel; this is where Millard puts the peddle to the metal and like a Pleasure Beach roller-coatster things begin to get out of control.
I really enjoyed this book. It had a sort of old school horror feel to it that I liked and the original setting and plot worked brilliantly.
Released by the Sinister Horror Company, ‘The Bad Game’ is the perfect summer read for horror fans. It’s fun, gory and well-written, just the sort of thing I was looking for. Highly recommended.
Pick up a copy of ‘The Bad Game’ from here.
Check out books from Adam Millard’s Crowded Quarantine Publications.
Check out books from The Sinister Horror Company.
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