'The Seed' by Ania Ahlborn is the first paranormal horror fiction I've
read in a long, long time. How long you ask? Well, the last time I
remember being so scared that I had an internal battle with myself every
time I turned a page was back some time before high school when I spent
a summer chewing through all the King I could get my hands on. As a
rule I'm more drawn to the Sci-fi end of the spectrum.But for whatever reason this one, about a family man named Jack and his realization that the demons from his past are coming back out to play, caught my eye on a Kindle ad and for only a few dollars... well I decided to give it a spin. Knowing that this isn't my genre of choice, maybe the following should be taken with an ample does of salt.
Generally the book had a slow, methodical pace, especially as the story hit about mid-stride. Understandably, if the author had hit the gas and steered a little straighter through the middle then a good chunk of the drama would have been compromised. Still, the imagery in the first third and last third of the book made the read rewarding.
However, throughout the middle third I found myself wishing for substantially more 'meatiness'. There were some awesome opportunities for showcasing really bizarre, head-spinning, demonic possession-y stuff would have made the entire novel less "bumper-cars" more "roller coaster" (if that makes any sense.) I also have a feeling that if I had children then this one would have struck a deeper nerve then it ultimately ended up doing.
My recommendation is read this if you love demonic possession stories, scare easy, or have children that fuel your nightmares. Otherwise, it may be worth the skip.
