OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Human Condition" by Mark Taylor.]

I am not one to be generous with my reviews. In fact, I am often considered harsh and nit-picky. With that being said, I can confidently give The Human Condition, by Mark Taylor 4 out of 4 stars. This collection of psychological thriller shorts was very much to my liking. Being a fan of stories from authors like Stephen King and Chuck Palahniuk, I was quite pleased with the majority of the tales in this book. The few that weren’t as stellar to me, were simply so because of my irritating ability to figure out the mystery in a tale a bit early on.

The Human Condition is a compilation of 17 short stories written by Mark Taylor. The majority of the tales are written in a style that immediately put you into the protagonist’s situation. Some use flashbacks, some begin at the end and then start over, and some just sit you in the situation right before everything begins to get weird or fall apart. Many of the stories end as abruptly as they have begun, but rarely are you left feeling like you are missing anything or that the writing is incomplete.

The underlying premise of these stories is human nature. Each story takes the perspective of a person that ends up in an abnormal situation. These scenarios are ones in which we all believe we will never end up in, but are now posed with the question of what if? What would you do if you had to watch your loved ones attacked? What would happen if you got locked in at work when everyone was gone for a seasonal shut down? What if the people around you are not who you think they are? What if you or the ones close to you finally snapped? Each question is met with an eerie scenario that is highly plausible and deftly immersive. Very rarely did I scoff at a character’s reaction or plight and even less often did I shake my head in absurdity.

My only dislikes were rooted in either the predictability of one of the stories, or the authors understanding of time. In a few situations the author uses time that has gone by as a reason for a character's dehydration or weakness without being realistic in how much longer it would have to be for these symptoms to occur. This, though, is due to my medical background and part of my pickiness in such areas.

This story collection is engaging, provocative, and leaves you thinking about how you would handle such situations. If you have read any of Stephen King’s collections (such as Nightmares and Dreamscapes) or Chuck Palahniuk (Diary, Fight Club) or other books such as I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, American Psycho, Fahrenheit 451, or Lord of the Flies, this book should feed your craving. I would consider this book a psychological thriller. There were very little super natural or paranormal situations, and the ones that were there could actually be seen as a mental illness or the protagonist’s perception. Each story is short, but still fulfilling. None of the stories connect in anyway or feel like there is a larger portion missing. In all, I could barely wait to start the next tale as I finished one. I haven’t been this engaged in a book in a while and was pleasantly sucked in to this one. Thank you, Mark Taylor, for a much needed and very satisfying read!

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The Human Condition
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I have read a few books by Stephen King and they scared me a lot. The stories sound very interesting but stories that I would not like to happen to me. Great job on the review! Congratulations to Mark Taylor for such a well-written book.