Friday 29 January 2016

REVIEW: Thomas S Flowers - Emerging (Subdue Book 2)

Genre: Horror / Thriller
Publisher: Limitless Publishing LLC
Publication Date: 15th Dec 2015
Pages: 254

MY REVIEW:

A copy of Emerging (Subdue Book 2) was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author Thomas S Flowers in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Limitless Publishing LLC.

So very late in the year last year I got sent Thomas S Flowers’ first book in this series, Dwelling, for review. In case you missed it, I absolutely loved it and you can read the review, here and you can also check out Confessions’ interview with Thomas, here.

I couldn’t wait for Emerging so when it came out a week later, it went straight to the top of the pile! This is what I thought.

**Warning** - you really need to read Dwelling (Subdue Book 1) before reading this one so this review may contain elements of Book One!

Maggie is calling together all the surviving members of the Suicide Squad. She needs them all together in her house. They have no idea why. They have no idea they may not survive.

Still battling their own personal demons, Bobby, Jonathan and Jake make their way to the house on Oak Lee, never suspecting what may happen to them.

Jonathan is still on a mission to get Maggie out of the house. Will he succeed or will they all perish?

So Book Two in this saga sees Maggie still in the house on Oak Lee and still being tormented by all things evil living in her cellar. She knows she needs to get the old squad together but doesn’t really know why.

Jonathan is still being haunted by Ricky and things are getting desperate. Ricky is warning him he may already be too late to rescue Maggie. Jake and Bobby finally get together and head to Maggie’s at her request. Bobby is still hiding his secret and Jake is still trying to get his faith back.

So does Mr Flowers continue in the same vain with Book Two? Does he keep the same amount of tension, horror, emotion and atmosphere as Book One had?

You bet he does!

If you read Book One (and you really should to follow the story) you will know how easy it is to fall into place with these characters. I mentioned in my review of Dwelling, how wonderful the character building was and how easily people would be able to relate to every single person in this group. Sometimes when a second book comes out, something can be lost in the characters. Sometimes they just don’t read the same and you feel as if some of the momentum has been lost. Not with this baby. Everything just flows seamlessly into the continuing story as if you had just put the book down for a while and picked it up an hour or two later.

It keeps the same desperation in many of the characters. They are still suffering as they did in Book One with varying degrees of PTSD. They all still have their demons that none of them want to admit to the others but if they did, then they all might understand more what is going on and how to deal with things. This is good though because this is how people would behave in real life. Sometimes when situations in books go on for a long time, I get left feeling a bit bored because I feel like they are being needlessly dragged out too long and it takes away from the story. Again, in Emerging, the writing is so wonderful, you get totally lost in the story and nothing feels drawn out. It is an absolute pleasure getting to know the characters in this story. That is what happens. You don’t just read about the people. You get to know them. You get right inside their heads and discover their strengths and weaknesses almost as if you are living their lives.

The horror element to this story is superb. It’s a bit Twilight Zone-ish. You know where the horror is. You know roughly what form it is going to take but you just can’t figure out where Mr Flowers is going to take it and ultimately end it.

There are a few flash backs to various times in the Oak Lee house over the last couple of centuries. These are fantastic for giving you a bit of background to the horrors that have gone on in the house and are going some way to explain exactly what is going on. For me, these scenes really make this book. They are all wonderfully written for the time period they are set in and give you wonderful visuals of the styles and trends in those times.

Thomas S Flowers is a fantastic writer. There is no other way of putting it. He writes a single book but has so many different writing styles within that single book that all come together beautifully to present you with a story that totally engrosses you. You just do not want to put it down. I know that is an old cliché but believe me you’re eating your dinner and you have a forkful of food on route to your mouth and when it actually reaches your mouth, it’s freezing, because you stopped half way there to keep reading, that’s when you know you need to put the book away until you are finished.

I cannot wait for the next instalment of this story. On the other hand, I don’t want to read it. The only reason for that is I’m scared it will be the finale and there will be nothing left to read.

To summarise: the continuing story of evil taking over a house and the person living in the house to the point where it makes her do things she would never normally do. This has horror in so many different forms. It has real people that anyone can relate to. It has the power to make you forget to breath. It is just simply superb!


General rating:

★★★★★ excellent again.

Horror rating:

★★★★★ creepy as hell.


If you would like to help support Confessions of a Reviewer, then please consider using the links below to buy Emerging (Subdue Book 2) or any other books from Thomas. This not only supports me but also lets me know how many people actually like to buy books after reading my reviews.

Thanks.




Book Synopsis:

Traumatized by war, friends gather for a reluctant reunion…

A historic house in Jotham, Texas harbors a malevolent force, and as her fear grows, widow Maggie Smith pleads with three lifelong friends to gather in her home. But will their presence combat the darkness…or feed it?

Minister Jake Williams fears Maggie has had a breakdown…

Feeling he has no choice, Jake locates the other intended guest, Bobby Weeks, who agrees to go with him but struggles with keeping his lycanthropic curse hidden.

Jonathan Steele, a wounded veteran battling PTSD, arrives with his disgruntled wife. After drinking too much at dinner, Jonathan insults the homeless Bobby, and Bobby is missing from the house the next morning.

The dark past of Maggie’s home awakens in the present…

Jake, whose faith is in doubt, confides in a local priest while he and Jonathan search for Bobby, and Ricky’s ghost makes another visit to Jonathan, causing him to become fixated on saving Maggie from the evil that surrounds her.

As the danger intensifies, trust is elusive, and betrayal is certain…

Maggie might be lost, Bobby confronts a terrible choice, and Jake and Jonathan fight to save them all—before they become more victims of the horror emerging beneath the deadly house in Jotham.


Thomas S Flowers was born in Walter Reed Medical Center, Maryland to a military family. He grew up in RAF Chicksands, England and then later Fort Meade, and finally Roanoke, Virginia. Thomas graduated high school in 2000 and on September 11, 2001, joined the U.S. Army. From 2001-2008, Thomas served in the military police corps, with one tour in South Korea and three tours serving in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. While stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, between deployments, Thomas met his wife and following his third and final tour to Iraq, decided to re-join the civilian ranks. Thomas was discharged honorably in February 2008 and moved to Houston, Texas where he found employment and attended night school. In 2014, Thomas graduated with a Bachelor in Arts in History from University of Houston-Clear Lake. Thomas blogs at www.machinemean.org, commenting and reviewing movies, books, shows, and historical content.

Thomas is living a rather simple and quite life with his beautiful wife and amazing daughter, just south of Houston, Texas.

And for more about Thomas, visit his site or find him on social media:

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