Eight Cylinders by Jason Parent

 

Sebastian “Seb” McAlister has run out of luck in Vegas. Cornered by a trigger-happy gang and shot through the stomach, he makes a desperate escape in his supercharged Hellcat. Fate guides Seb safely out of Sin City and into the desert, but as his wheels fade into the horizon, he fades into darkness.

He awakes among a tiny community in the middle of nowhere. A mountain range circles the hodgepodge of shacks like prison walls looming high. And the warden that resides in those mountains is big, ugly, and deadly—a creature straight out of a Lovecraftian nightmare.

If Seb hopes to escape that wayward way station, he’ll need enough cunning to outwit a force beyond comprehension… and a fast car. With a little luck and a ragtag group of would-be monster mashers racing alongside him, Seb just might have a shot of making it through the mountains alive. 

When our main character Seb flees for his life from a shoot out he finds himself trapped with a rag tag bunch of survivors in the blazing heat of a strange community, from which there is no escape. He can't remember how he got there but he is determined to get back out. Is this hell? Is it purgatory?

While not my usual type of read, I have previously enjoyed several titles by Jason Parent, and decided to have a go at this one. It feels like an action packed Sci-Fi thriller but there are elements of horror too. Dead people don't necessarily stay that way and a multi tentacled creature that oozes an acid like substance make for a creepy time. While Seb is not exactly a good person I was rooting for his success, with Tracy Chapman stuck in my head "You got a fast car I got a plan to get us out of here"

4 out of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy for review.

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