06 October 2021

Inhuman

 

By Eric Leland
War & Military | Horror

My Review


What an unexpectedly super read this turned out to be. It had me on the edge of my seat biting my fingernails. It was atmospheric, descriptive and articulate.    

The characters are American soldiers in the Vietnam War who realise just how ill-prepared they are when they cross paths with a terrifying supernatural entity in the North Vietnam jungle. The soldiers must set aside animosity and internal squabbling to have any chance of survival. New bonds are formed and a sense of camaraderie develops.... but not everyone is getting out alive.

Inhuman is extremely unsettling and this, coupled with the horrors of war, makes for an exciting page-turner. If I had to mention anything negative it would be the length of the book (571 pages) — it takes a while for the main action to begin and not everyone will be invested enough to get there. That being said, the story was fantastic and the writing impressive. I really enjoyed it.         
 
Book Source: Review copy from the publisher
My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Paperback: 571 pages
Publisher: RTNY Publishing Inc (5th Feb 2021)
ISBN-13: ‎978-1735506302

The Blurb


A forgotten evil waits in Vietnam's dark jungle…

It is 1969. Somewhere over South Vietnam, Captain Brandon Doran sits aboard an unmarked aircraft on final approach to a Top Secret military base. A shadowy government operative is offering him a deal. Brandon is listening. Intently. In exchange for wiping away Brandon's tarnished military record, all Brandon will have to do is ensure the recon team, to which he is about to be assigned, follows orders. Easy enough. Or so Brandon thought.

Sergeant First Class John Nicholas has no time to be salty about the inexperienced officer sent to babysit him and his team; Recon Team Florida has gone missing near a remote village in the north. Now John, with Brandon and the mysterious "Smith" in tow, leads the elite Recon Team New York deep into North Vietnam on a rescue operation. At first, John expects heavy resistance. But intercepted radio traffic suggests something near that village has spooked even hardened NVA. And soon after New York's midnight insertion behind enemy lines, John finds out what.

Confronted in the night by a merciless demon, John reacts the way any soldier would: he shoots it. But John discovers, far too late, pulling the trigger is the worst mistake he can make.

Flung headlong into atrocity and supernatural chaos, New York's surviving members discover an unexpected ally in Jaran, a young novice in the old magic of her ancestors. She is the only defense New York has against this powerful evil. But to use her magic, she must pay a cruel price.

Now, with a ruthless NVA hunter-killer team on New York's trail, and an ancient evil lurking in the dark periphery, it dawns on this handful of survivors that escape has a brutal price. And to pay it, New York must become as inhuman as their demonic pursuer.

The Author



Eric is a 12-year U.S. Army veteran. Originally from Massena, NY; he currently lives quietly in the Pacific Northwest.

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