Level Zero

I don't want to give anything away with this one, as most of the enjoyment comes from not knowing what you were going to into, so this will be a shorter review from me.

This was a true GEM of a book! I honestly was obsessed when I started to read Level Zero, it had this hold over me as if I was in a trance like state reading it!

As soon as I started reading this book I felt this sort of unsettling and creepy vibe come over me, not enough to frighten me but enough that you knew it was going to build up into a great story. Which I'm pleased to say that Level Zero did.

This was completely different to anything I'd read before, in a horror novel at least, and it really strived to be different, you could feel that from the way the suspense built up and how the fear factor started to creep in, but all the while it was intriguing, you needed to keep reading, it was as if you didn't have a choice.

One small irritation of mine was the sheer number of characters, it made it quite difficult for me to keep track of who was who, and I feel we didn't get to see all of their true potential as some were more focused on than others. Which did, as we got closer to the end of the book begin to make the book a little confusing.

I will admit I was disappointed with the ending, it didn't really make sense and I felt it didn't encompass the rest of the book, it wasn't fitting with the story and felt like it had been tagged on as an after thought.

𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗢𝗥 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗜𝗡 𝗡𝗘𝗫𝗧 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛!!!!!!!

My favourite part of this book though was the idea of being able to call a number and have a scary story told to you, and you could pick what theme you wanted, like someone should set that up!
On the whole, Level Zero had all the makings of a really good horror story, something to get under your skin and creep you out but also not too scary that you couldn't sleep at night! Aside from the minor irritations I had with this story, it was a truly good read and I'm really happy I read it.

It brought something new to the genre, and if you're looking for something scary but a bit different Level Zero is the one for you.
𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview Level Zero by Dan McDowell.
This is a fast paced horror novel that I read in one sitting. Quick read and at times gave me goose bumps. Atomospheric and dark - scary read.
3 stars.

Chris Wilkerson has an accident. He decides to buy the Oak Hollow Hotel. The hotel is in bad condition. It needs a lot of work to get it back to the way it was in the past. The hotel has a bad history of bad things happening. In the past and present. What did happen? When Chris decides to make it a call-center for horror stories and call it Creepy Nights, Chris meets Creepy Joe who lives in the basement where administration offices will be. Chris will live on the top floor (8th floor) and the floors below will be where the story tellers will tell their stories on the phone. On the first floor there is a receptionist fort all who come to the hotel. Meanwhile, Creepy Joe is creating chaos and causing people to be tortured and more in the tunnels. When Todd Adams finds himself in the tunnels, he knows he must fight Creepy Joe not to just save himself but the other fifty-three people who are also the prisoners of Creepy Joe. Will he survive? Will he get out?

I found this novel engrossing and disturbing. This is a story of with intense violence and distressing images throughout it. The characters are original and well written. I found the book to be dark and chilling. I liked it as I am a horror lover. Horror lovers will enjoy the chills and thrills the author has written.