Boom Town
Glenn Rolfe
Samhain Publishing
April 7, 2015
Reviewed by Tim Potter
Boom Town by Glenn Rolfe is a terrifically entertaining novella with a great one-two punch of fun story and characters. This is Rolfe’s first book-length work that isn’t a ghost story, a topic he’s proven he can handle well. Here, he tackles science-fiction with a decidedly old school drive-in feeling and it’s nothing but fun. And once the sci-fi has kicked in the horror is close behind, body horror in this case, reading like some sort of iteration on THE BLOB. I imagine most reviews will note the similarities, because they are clear and present, but not doing so would be leaving something out.
I found myself feeling like the story was taking place in the 1980s, some of the cultural references and the dialogue of the kids stand out as examples, but only those of us who grew up then will see those as the story is set firmly in the present. The plot centers on a close encounter of some thirty years past and the effects it had, allegedly, on a small town. The midwestern town experiences unexplainable seismic activity, the locals refer to them as “booms”, that seems to come from where a good old fashion flying saucer blasted the Earth all those years before.
The ideas aren’t new, but very familiar and handled lovingly with an eye towards telling a good, fun story. As horror connoisseurs, we thrive on this kinds of story, one we think we have seen before but that is nonetheless entertaining, comfortable and feels like home. The scene where the seismic “boom” rocks the town as Alan, our flawed junk dealer, watches the Hulkster slam the Giant on a VHS copy of Wrestlemania 3. The characters are loveable and well fleshed out for novel, let alone a novella where words are at a premium, and the reader is invested in their outcomes.
If you’re looking for a new take on a story that feels like an old friend Boom Town is highly recommended. And just as a matter of full disclosure, I still have my own bootleg VHS copy of Wrestlemania 3.
- Midian Unmade – Book Review - September 30, 2015
- Wolf Land – Book Review - September 16, 2015
- Convalescence – Book Review - September 7, 2015
- Rage Master – Book Review - September 3, 2015
- The Art of Horrible People – Book Review - August 28, 2015
- Greasepaint – Book Review - August 26, 2015
- Bonesy – Book Review - August 17, 2015
- Dark Screams: Volume Four – Book Review - August 13, 2015
- Trust No One – Book Review - August 10, 2015
- The Monstruous – Book Review - August 3, 2015
