Starers

by Nathan Robinson

Starers

by Nathan Robinson

Review by Jack Bantry

It all starts for Dylan Keene after a night out at the pub with his brother, Lennon. The   next morning while Dylan’s wife is cooking breakfast, Dylan opens the living room curtains to find an old man standing at the bus stop across the road staring at the house. The man had been there the night before, in the pouring rain, when they returned from the pub. He’d stood out all night! Then, to the family’s astonishment, they find their neighbor, Mrs. Loughery, standing in their back garden. Mrs. Loughery is naked and also staring at the house. As the day progresses, more and more people converge on the Keene’s home to stand and stare.

I was immediately hooked. What was going on? What did all the people want? And ultimately, what were they (the Starers) going to do?

The Keene’s were like a real family. They had problems, but they also loved each other unconditionally. They argued and made up. Author Nathan Robinson has created a family I could relate to, so I instantly found myself liking them. They were working class, and they lived in a house in a normal street which you could find in any town in the country.

They also had a teenage daughter, Katy. She was a typical teen, we all know what a pain they can be, but she was also a young girl.

So what were the Keene’s going to do? If they ventured outside, would the Starers attack them? The odds were stacked against the Keene’s: 200 Starers to each member of the family. Should they stay inside and barricade themselves in?

I just kept thinking: what is going to happen?

STARERS has the feel of a zombie novel. It’s apocalyptic. I had images of Stephen King’s THE STAND along with the film MAD MAX. The family were cut off, isolated. They didn’t know if the whole world was affected. They quickly lost power and their water was cut off. But unlike the zombies, the Starers didn’t try to break into the house and consume them.

Humorous and thought-provoking, STARERS is a great start from a promising new writer. I’m already looking forward to more!

You can buy Starers HERE.

About the author

Nathan Robinson

Nathan Robinson was born and still lives in Scunthorpe, England with his wife/editor and adoring twin two year old boys.

So far he’s had eight monthly short story winners on www.spinetinglers.co.uk and several short stories published in many anthologies including releases by Panic Press, Rainstorm Press, Thadd Presley Presents, Static Movement, Black Hound, Cruentus Libri Press and many more. His gangster tale ‘Top of the Heap’ was adapted into a podcast by www.pseudopod.org and received rave reviews. Starers is his first novel. His next release will be short story collection entitled ‘Devil Let Me Go.’

As well as writing, he also reviews independent horror novels and films for Snakebithorror HERE

Find him HERE
Or on twitter @natthewriter

About the reviewer

Jack Bantry

Jack Bantry is the editor of Splatterpunk Zine. He works as a postman and resides in a small town at the edge of the North York Moors.