One Hospital Nightmare by A.P. Kasch

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Well well well...it's the day before the Big H, the Candy-holic Hay Day, the day dreaded and loved by dentists round the world...Halloween. If you're anything like me, and let's face it...you probably are in some fashion (oh come on, that's not so bad!), you're probably looking for a few last minute creep-tastic reads. I don't blame you...reading is after all one of my favorite past times too. ^_^ In any case, today I've got a story for your perusal that falls under the creepy guise of the season...but only just...and plays upon a fear that many people share. It mixes the here and now with days gone by and well...I'll let you draw your own conclusion before I throw my final two cents in. Today's novella of choice is...

One Hospital Nightmare

by

A.P. Kasch

From Amazon...

Something just isn’t right at Battlefield Memorial Hospital. Nick Moore, a sensible middle-aged man from Eastern Texas, must admit that his best friend Jared might not be losing his marbles after all. By an eerie twist of fate, both of them end up in this same out-of-the-way hospital at the same time. Nick soon learns that Jared’s irrational, terrified rants about the place don’t tell the half of it.

The year is 2010 when Nick checks in, but at this hospital, time doesn’t seem to cooperate and the line between nightmare and reality starts to become blurry. Somehow, Nick becomes involved in a famous local Comanche Indian fight from the year 1840. As the mystery unfolds, his values are tested and keeping his sanity becomes more important than his physical healing.

Sound good? Yes...and yet not all I had hoped. *sigh*

Perhaps it was a case of a mismatched read and reader as I generally do not gravitate towards historical reads; for me, any history in a work of fiction gets a free pass for creative licensing. I think my disappointment with the read came from the confusion I felt while traversing between reality, delirium, fantasy (yeah, that's what I'm labeling the portion that illicited the PG-rated moniker given to this little read), and...something else. By story's end, yes....things are straightened out for the most part and we are brought into the loop in regards to what's really transpiring but even the actual ending kinda fizzled out for me. Cie la vie...can't adore every book that comes my way I suppose.

That being said, the read wasn't a total loss despite my thus far negative tinged review...sorry about that; I'm all about getting it all out on the table. The settings chosen, both a hospital and a former battlefield, are equally creepy and if you add in the way Nick ends up there (a car accident no less!), scary to boot! You're playing off of some of the ingrained fears of society AND the fodder for many a horror film (good call!). The characters, mainly Jared and Nick, are likeable enough making you actually care whether they are simpy letting their imaginations run wild or fighting for their lives. The appearance of the mysterious figure (decked out in a New York Yankees baseball cap...interesting choice) was well timed and speaking of time, the inabilitiy of the clock to actually MOVE FORWARD when watched, TOTALLY true.

Finally, I have to give a purposeful nod to the author for his "about" me section. In it, we receive wishes of happy reading and the revelation of Mr. Kasch's love of history, but also acknowledgement of the joy reading provides. He said it quite well himself, so I quote...

"...Besides being a temporary escape, reading allows us to reap the benefits of other people's experiences. The only other way to do that is to get out there and do a lot of living, which is what I wish for you. Maybe someday I will be able to enjoy one of your books."



(right) Author A.P. Kasch

 In conclusion, I added this one to the Halloween reading rotation with the hopes of having another creep-tastic read moved from my "to read" to my "read" list...and came up a bit short. While the elements were fine individually and the author's purpose full of heart, they just didn't work cohesively for me...but that's okay! To each reader their own and perhaps out of my experience, you or someone you know may have found your next read. That is the point of a book blog after all....to read, share and discover, right? Right! If you like a little mystery mixed with some halluncination worthy experiences (...or are they? Dun dun dunnnnn...), check into Battlefield Memorial Hospital; just don't count on catching a lot of Z's.

Ebook for review courtesy of author A.P. Kasch. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, check out his author page on Amazon.

Until next time...happy reading!