Horror Book Review: Stoneberry (Connor Glaze)

Written by Connor Glaze, Stoneberry introduces us to 17-year old Ryan Cooper. A young man jaded with life, who spends his days doing drugs and drinking with his group of similarly jaded friends. So fed up with life is he that even his passion for heavy metal music and playing guitar is falling by the wayside.

Adulthood is looming and Ryan just doesn’t see much of a future for him or the world in general.

That is until he and his friends find the ruins of Stoneberry. A decaying and abandoned mental hospital. Inside, Ryan finds a photo of an inmate holding a guitar and becomes fascinated by him. Who was this man? Ryan finds his desire to know more compelling and interesting. Suddenly his life has purpose but what starts off as a project slowly begins to turn into an obsession.

An obsession that will uncover horrifying truths and put him on track to a confrontation with an entity that he nor anyone can comprehend.

Details. Stoneberry is all about the details. Connor Glaze is an exceptionally talented writer who makes the world surrounding Stoneberry feel real. As well as giving us a selection of characters that are likeable and relatable. The world as we know it appears to be f**ked, the world that Ryan and his friends inhabit appears to be f**ked too. It’s set in England and while is mostly grounded in reality, takes some liberties in regards to events occurring. That’s not an issue though as what is described here is something that has either happened in the past or could very easily happen in the future.

The characters are excellently written, not just Ryan as the lead but his group of friends too. We follow along with their individual stories, getting snippets of their past to add meat to the bones of their stories. You’ll feel their pain and suffering, their desire to want more and the lethargic way they go about their daily lives. Each turn of the page brings more and more detail that never feels too much.

The underlying story regarding the mysterious musician from the asylum takes a backseat for other issues. Which, just like Ryan, turns an interest into an obsession. Slowly over the course of the book more and more is revealed leading to a payoff that satisfies. Some may find the finale a bit abrupt though.

It’s all about the journey here. Connor Glaze will take you on a thrilling journey so make sure you take a wander through the halls of Stoneberry too.

It is out on Amazon on June 28th 2019 and you can find out more via the authors’s website here. In addition it will be free on the Kindle store from June 29th to July 3rd – get your copy here!