Book review: Deathcrawl – Rich Hawkins

Nobody does bleak horror quite like Rich Hawkins. If you’re looking for some light reading to cheer yourself up on a lazy weekend afternoon, then you have come to the wrong place. However, if you are looking to wallow in a fictitious town where the locals are busy butchering each other and themselves for no apparent reason then ‘Deathcrawl’ will be right up your street.

Hawkins wastes not time at all in grabbing the reader by the scruff of the neck and the start of the story serves an ominous warning as to the death and depravity that will soon follow. That opening passage is great, really setting the scene for what is a violent, extreme read that certainly pulls no punches. Hawkins trademark descriptions are rife throughout the novella, painting a grim picture of a community in ruins.

Jed, a widower, is the main character who finds himself in a battle for survival, relentlessly pursued by neighbors and friends. He soon befriends Charlie, a young boy and together they try to escape Beacon Fell to see if the disease has spread further.

It’s gore filled scene after gore filled scene, with the town dinner party being particularly unpleasant, one that i’m sure will test your gag reflex.

Being a novella, ‘Deathcrawl’ is a fast and furious read. Things are wrapped up fairly quickly, and despite a slightly rushed ending this is another fine entry into the Hawkins catalog.

Pick up a copy of ‘Deathcrawl’ from here.