Review: Feast

Feast by Thomas S. Flowers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review of FEAST
by Thomas S. Flowers

Whenever I open a story by Thomas S. Flowers, I don't know what theme, character, or plot to expect (the man's imagination is wide-ranging), but I do expect that the story, whatever it is, will be deep—and wide; rather like a river than a tiny crick. I also know that, like a river, deep within will be soil and grit and mud; personal and family secrets; and horrors unexpected. So too is FEAST, Mr. Flowers' latest, which commences with a bang (quite literally), unexpected and unplanned violence, and then delves really deep into the river of human unconsciousness. These individuals and families might be from a tiny patch in rural Texas, but their currents run very, very deep.

FEAST is subtitled “an extreme horror story,” which is factual; but I don't think it goes far enough. FEAST is dark, dark, dark. Just when you think, “can this situation turn any worse? Can these folks do anything more evil than what has already been accomplished?”, you learn that yes, it can be worse, and yes, it can be more evil. Oh, my; what folks won't do in the service of greed, not just for money, not just for flesh, but for fear of the unknown and fear of the “different,” out of misguided empathy, shame, guilt, and vengeance. There is much reflection here of classical Greek drama. Those Greek playwrights really understood how to reveal twisted human psyches. So does Thomas S. Flowers.

I expect I will have nightmares for quite some time. What a story!

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