Book Title: The Afterlife Experiment: The Altered Planes Book One
Author: Sam Weiss
My Rating: 5*
Publisher: Wise Cat Press
Genre: Dark Science Fantasy
Format Read: E-book
Blurb: Atra Hart has spent the last seven years locked away in Vanishing Plains Psychiatric Hospital. In that time, her shadow has transformed into its own entity and is growing stronger by the day, threatening to devour her mind. She calls that shadow Dread, and only her missing father knows what it is.
When a fire breaks out at the asylum, Atra makes her way to freedom just in time to see an electric-purple rift under the sky. Like Dread, the rift is only visible to her.
Atra’s already loose grip on reality unravels when she learns the rift is a gateway to the world of the dead. And the Queen, an ancient evil lurking on its fringes, wants Dread for her own.
Even worse, Atra can’t tell if any of this is really happening. She might have escaped one asylum, but the closer she gets to unearthing answers about Dread, why her father knows it’s there, and its role in the Queen’s plans, the more she risks getting trapped inside her own mind forever.
Maybe some truths are meant to stay buried.
Trigger warning: The content of this book includes violence, death, gore, mental health, abandonment, and abuse.
My Review
I had no idea what to expect when I first sat down to read The Afterlife Experiment but it immediately sucked me in and I loved it! From the very first page to the last, I was fully absorbed in the story and I did not want to put it down.
I absolutely loved Atra, the main character, who has been locked away in a psychiatric facility for the majority of her childhood. From the very first chapter I felt a connection with Atra and wanted her to be okay while she figured out the craziness of the different planes.
The embodiment of Dread was really intriguing and his presence really brought a sense of fear and isolation into the novel. Ophelia and Tom were also important side characters who had their own chapters and it was really interesting to see their point of view and how they all connected with Atra.
The setting and the world building of the book was also crazy and it had me constantly questioning reality and feeling like everything was upside down. I was forever wondering what could possibly happen next with Atra and the different planes felt like being on a sci-fi roller coaster!
Throughout the novel I was wondering how it would all connect in the end but I needn't have worried. It is fast paced with lots of plane jumping that completely subverted reality and I loved every second when reading.
This is not your typical horror or sci-fi novel. The Afterlife Experiment provides a psychological spin on horror that kept me captivated throughout and I really loved the sci-fi elements that brought it all together to create a thrilling novel.
The best part is that this is only book one in a trilogy! I can't wait to read the next installment and see what else is in store for Atra.
The Afterlife Experiment by Sam Weiss can be found here on Amazon.
About the Author
Sam was named after a dog, a fact her mother disputes to this day.
While she’s terrible at writing “About Me”s about her, she’s been told she’s great at writing about what fictional people do. The more miserable she can make them, the better.
Her love of horror films from the 80s, sci-fi shows from the 90s, and alternative music from the 00s have inspired her to write what she’s calling “Dark Science Fantasy” although she’s kind of making that up as she goes along.
When she’s not ready to pull her hair out after discovering another plot hole she’s created, she goes camping with her husband as far away from society as possible. So far, this tactic has been mostly successful and she’s only had to physically converse with a grand total of nine people this year. Next year, she hopes to get that number down to six.
Sounds like a great read! I'll have to check it out.
ReplyDeleteYou really should!
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