Review of Anthrumbria

[Helen Akoth]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Anthrumbria" by Sho Chirathivat.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Anthrumbria is a horror and adventure thriller written by Sho Chirathivat. It follows the predicaments that found an upstate New York high-profile escort, Jasmine, in the hands of her occultist hosts. The story begins with Jasmine going to meet her new client, Jin. This is an outcall service, and Jasmine is to meet Jin in the Anthrumbrian Mountain Inn, a secluded restaurant in upstate New York.

Upon reaching her destination, everything initially went as expected. However, shortly after, she started to notice some things were off, which weirded her off as well. Her fears were confirmed when, after a drink with the host, she went into a deep sleep, and after waking up, she found herself in a dark cell—shackled and at the mercy of the hosts. The events that followed were something she had never seen in her five-year career as a high-profile escort and were probably going to be the last she would ever experience.

There were several things I liked about this novel. First, it begins on a captivating note, and it does not take long before readers start to experience the protagonist’s doubts, something that creates heart-racing suspense and makes them anticipate the worst. The book is action-packed and full of drama. The author captures various horrific details explicitly and in ways that elicit terror and horror from the readers. I was curious how it would end for Jasmine. I also wanted to know why the hosts resorted to the occultism path, their goal for performing the ritual, and if they would achieve it. I was glad that the characters’ backstories were also sufficiently given, and the author did this through flashbacks, which were distinctively written in italics. There were also a series of plot twists, resulting in an ending I could not have predicted earlier. These enhanced my understanding of the characters and my enjoyment of the story.

What I liked the most about this book were the characters, especially the antagonists. The author came up with vile, sadistic, and wicked characters with gross moral decay. It amazed me how heartless, cold-hearted, psychopathic, and morally twisted the antagonists were. They seemed used to their despicable actions and had long detached from normal human feelings of sympathy. The fact that the author included explicit details of occultism, cannibalism, and sadistic torture, made this story more thrilling and created a bloodcurdling, brain-damaging kind of horror. All of these further enhanced my enjoyment of this well-written novel.

Overall, there was absolutely nothing I disliked about this book. However, I found some minor errors, and although they were not that distracting, their number forced me to reduce the rating by a star to give it three out of four stars. Another round of proofreading would be needed to polish this work and make it perfect.

I recommend Anthrumbria to readers who like action-packed, suspenseful horrors and thrillers. There were explicit depictions of torture, and the mechanisms used were also shown. The book also has erotic sexual content and uses strong language extensively. Therefore, I believe it is more suitable for mature readers. I have never read a book so scary, and I am looking forward to more works by the author.

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Anthrumbria
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[Precious_Nzeakor]

This sounds intriguing. I wonder if there is any other motive for Jasmine's hostage rather than her host being occults.

[Amy Luman]

It is easy to relate to Jasmine’s feelings. Who would expect something like this to happen on a regular assignment?

[wmeki510]

This sounds intriguing. I wonder if there is any other motive for Jasmine's hostage rather than her host being occults.

Exactly. It is such fine literary piece.

[Ceeco2002]

A horror and adventure thriller is just the book I need right now. I'll be checking this one out. Great review!

[Aisha Yakub]

This should be enjoyable for lovers of thrillers. Great review.

[nwankwo chibuchi]

Horror adventure novels aren't my forte, but this will sure interest a lot of lovers of the genre. Prefect review.

[Itz Savaga]

This sounds interesting, I would love to know what happened to Jasmine, was she later freed from her hosts? What happened to the host ? I would love to read this book. Thanks the review.

[ellimctreph]

I'm madly interested in this book just by your review. Good stuff.

[NetMassimo]

This seems like an intense horror with human monsters showing humanity's darkest sides, so I hope the author does another round of proofreading to make it excellent. Thank you for your great review!