The Last Storm: #Horror and #Monsters Done Right!

 I'm on a reading roll, it seems. And I think I've found my favorite book of the year.

I hadn't read any of Tim Lebbon's books before, though I saw his book-based movie, The Silence, on Netflix. I was drawn to that because...well, weird monsters/creatures. (See trailer below and here's the book link.)

 So, when I heard about his latest book, The Last Storm, it sounded really good. You can't beat monsters, the apocalypse and a weird premise. 

About the Book:

With global warming out of control, large swathes of North America have been struck by famine and drought and are now known as the Desert. A young woman sets out across this dry, hostile landscape, gradually building an arcane apparatus she believes will bring rain to the parched earth. Her father, Jesse, once, too made rain, but stopped when his abilities caused fatalities, bringing down not just rain but scorpions, strange snakes and spiders. When his daughter Ash inherited this tainted gift, Jesse did his best to stop her. His attempt went tragically wrong, and he believes himself responsible for her death.
 
But now his estranged wife Karina brings news that Ash is still alive. And she’s rainmaking again. 

Review: This has to be one of the best horror novels I've read. A strange tale of an odd family of rainmakers, who bring the rain  - and other things - by hooking their homemade machine into their own veins. But the  parents fear their daughter Ash's "gift" will bring even worse to the earth than what the father did... and it does as she hooks into a strange other world. Her actions open a door to bring down odd, weird creatures and more. I loved Lebbon's book-based movie, The Silence, and this goes beyond that strangeness. It too, would make a great film. He definitely has a "gift" for the monstrous.