Review by Ice dragon -- You, The People by Pablo Digenio

Ice dragon · Post by **Ice dragon** » 15 Dec 2018, 20:14

[Following is a volunteer review of "You, The People" by Pablo Digenio.]

4 out of 4 stars

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You, the people by Pablo Digenio

Every child has the world of fairy tales deeply ingrained in their psyche. Most Adults have many a fond memory of beautifully illustrated books; filled with tales of the celebration of innocence, the retribution against evil and underlying moral lessons. Passed down by generations for the elder to read to their young at bedtime, the vindication over evil-doers leaving powerful impressions on the hearts and minds of each generation.

Some lessons seem to be forgotten, however. Not to worry, now, as Pablo Digenio’s series of short stories will reinforce a lesson or two. So, snuggle up under the covers, grab a teddy bear, for the 21st Century competition to the Brothers’ Grimm. Only this time, you won’t want to turn off the light. In this book, there are six dark tales, of six dark characters whose paths we are to follow.

Rebecca is a ruthless CEO; used to using her employees as the carpet, she completely dehumanises all who cross her path. Until a package arrives that seems to promise just what she needs…

Alfred is waiting for his estranged family to stay for a visit. His old favourite song starts playing on his phonograph, old voices and faces seem to be coming back to haunt him. As past actions are gone but not forgotten.

Gary; a middle-aged loner is seriously struggling with his divorce, has given himself a twisted quest.

Mike; a man of many vices, gets invited to play a once in a lifetime, opportunity game. There are many paths to walk down, the shortest one will not always be easiest to tread.

Jeremy will learn that it does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.

Teresa wakes in the dark; confused and confronted with a terrifying crime that she could not possibly have committed. She plots her escape but is stalked by a man with a blank face, in an endless nightmare that will leave your insides turning.

You, the people is a deliciously dark, short story novella. The book is only sixty-seven pages long and didn’t take me more than an hour to read, this comes as a slight disappointment as I was completely entrapped by the twists and turns that the book delivered and was left wanting a lot more. This is a very dark horror/comedy and I think I should flag a readers’ discretion first, as the contents will be distressing to a lot of readers. The book contains graphic violence, gore, and sexual violence. The scene of sexual violence was so sickening; as I write this my skin is still crawling just thinking about it. This is not for the faint-hearted, you have been warned.

Despite its length, there is no doubt that you are in the hands of a master horror-writer. The author is beautifully descriptive and accomplished great pacing, to build the level of suspense you would expect from a great horror book. There is the running theme through the book, like the Brothers’ Grimm, of an underlying morality message. Each story and its characters were well defined; there was a definite switch, between the different worlds that the people lived in and the ambiance of the stories.

The author’s sense of humour was dark (everything's dark, this is for people with dark, dark hearts!) One of the stories is a black comedy and his style reminded me of Lemony Snicket, as in he follows his own rules, is random and sometimes rather silly. On the contrast, the twists that he provides to his stories tugged at my heartstrings. He made me care for a character, then he made me hate them, in a few short pages! When you read this book, you are completely at the author’s mercy; in sixty-seven pages I’d laughed, cried, been sickened, been terrified and completely fallen in love what more could you want?

Digenio has crafted something quite original and refreshing. This is the best horror I’ve read in a while. The book is well edited and is just a complete gem! I rate this 4 out of 4 stars.

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You, The People
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gen_g · Post by **gen_g** » 17 Dec 2018, 02:21

I love that the premise is really fresh and unique! It sounds like an emotional rollercoaster, and I particularly enjoy books like this. Thanks for the review.

Post by **Shrabastee Chakraborty** » 17 Dec 2018, 06:35

After reading your review, only one question comes to my mind. What was I doing, letting this book sit quietly in one corner of the books available for review? THIS IS THE BOOK! Thanks for making me want to long for this so much!

Post by **Kibet Hillary** » 18 Dec 2018, 16:08

This is a wonderful review. I like its length, especially that even after this there still remains some suspense that keeps one wanting to read the book. I would love to read it. Thanks for the review.