Sour Candy Paperback – November 6, 2017

The cover and title of this novella caught my attention right away -- the searing red, the deer-skulled being, and the title almost ridiculously at odds with the apparent horror content within. And this being October, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to read something on the frightening side. "Sour Candy" is a short read, but it's definitely menacing, showing how one person's life can go so catastrophically wrong and giving us a taste of Lovecraftian horror alongside one of the creepiest children I've ever met in literature.An ordinary trip to the grocery store turns Phil's life into a nightmare after he encounters a disturbing child... and said child latches onto him in the worst way. Now everyone on Phil's life is convinced that the child is his, despite the fact that he's never met the child before today. The boy dominates Phil's life, demanding all his attention, even dictating his diet of sour candy... and giving him glimpses of a terrifying world beyond our own. If Phil is to stop this nightmare world from touching ours -- and the boy from destroying his life -- he may have to do the unthinkable...Kealan writes well, maintaining a clean and uncluttered writing style that focuses on crafting a plot and characters rather than flowery description and wordplay. I love beautiful description and wordplay, but in a story like this it would just interfere with the story and the buildup of tension. Some of the events feel a little clunky and forced, but for the most part the story flows well and builds up to a chilling climax.It helps that Phil, the main character, is a well-done character, an everyman of sorts who isn't perfect but is still a decent enough human being that we can empathize with him. Adam, the child character, is pretty much every creepy child cliche wrapped up in one and no personality beyond that, but given that he's more of a plot device than a character, that's understandable."Sour Candy" is a short read, but a chilling one, and Keanan Burke is shaping up to be a strong name in the horror genre. If you love your horror with a splash of cosmic influence and creepy children, give this a read.

This is the story of how Phil Pendleton and his son Adam came to be. To the outside world they look like any other father and son duo. Phil and Adam spend their days visiting museums, checking out animals at the zoo, heading to the park, and any other normal activity you can imagine. Perhaps Phil is slightly disheveled looking, but what single parent doesn’t feel a bit exhausted sometimes? It’s clear that Adam is a bit of a handful, as he is prone to sudden screaming outbursts in public that leave bystanders judging Phil’s parenting abilities. Then of course there’s the fact that Adam’s diet seems to be solely made up of sour candy. Let’s also not forget that Adam in the decision makers on his daily activities and his bedtime. Phil could clearly stand to be a bit of a stricter parent.What happens behind closed doors that the outside world doesn’t see? Well for starters, Phil didn’t know Adam even existed until a couple of weeks ago when they met under bizarre circumstances at the local Walmart. Now everyone in Phil’s life is convinced that Adam has always been around and Phil has to pretend that things in his life have not gone severely crazy. Phil is now Adam’s prisoner, but how has this happened? How is this boy able to do what he has done?One of my goals for 2018 was to read more horror literature and if you’ve been on #bookstagram anytime recently you’ve certainly seen the positive buzz surrounding Kealan Patrick Burke’s work. I decided to buy myself a few books for my birthday and instantly tossed this novella in my cart. Well ladies and gentleman, I can tell you that the hype is real. SOUR CANDY was an exciting, unnerving, and entertaining read! If you’re worried that 74 pages isn’t enough to tell an amazing story, worry no further. Burke is able to quickly construct fully developed characters in this limited page count on the same scale as a full sized book. SOUR CANDY brings a creep factor reminiscent of a episode of The Twilight Zone, where the story is just believable enough that you start to wonder if you could end up in Phil’s shoes the next time you encounter a screaming child in a store.

Fast read, that draws you in. Thoroughly enjoyable.

From outward appearances, Phil and his son Adam are like any ordinary family doing ordinary things. But Phil is a prisoner and up until a couple of weeks ago, he didn’t have a son. A chance encounter at a Walmart has left Phil questioning his sanity. Who or what exactly is Adam?At under 100 pages, this was such a fun and creepy read. I loved the concept and lets face it, creepy kids add that extra bit of terror. I can still eat sour candy but I will certainly run the other direction from a screaming kid in a candy isle!

Eu não conhecia a obra de Kealan Patrick Burke e confesso que foi uma ótima surpresa. Neste livro ele traz um suspense bastante inspirado no horror cósmico de Lovecraft. O principal ponto positivo é como o autor consegue nos passar uma sensação angustiante por meio do uso competente do aspecto subjetivo do personagem.Nesta obra o personagem principal tem sua vida mudada quando encontra uma criança sinistra em um mercado. A partir dali a criança se insere em sua vida e começa a alterar a realidade ao redor... das piores maneiras possíveis. Recomendo.

This short story threw me through a wringer, and made me feel so incredibly anxious throughout, I LOVED it - perfect short horror!

I saw Sour Candy on Amazon and was honestly truly drawn to the cover (which Patrick designed himself as he is also a talented cover designer) then the synopsis. I had to have it. This was a really great novella that I whizzed through at 2am from start to finish, eager for more. This is the first of Patrick's books I have read but am eager next to move on to his novel Kin after hearing so much rave about it. I really got a taste for Patrick's writing from this novella and it's made me hungry for more...At first glance, Phil Pendelton and his son Adam are just an ordinary father and son, no different from any other. They take walks in the park together, visit county fairs, museums, and zoos, and eat together overlooking the lake. Some might say the father is a little too accommodating given the lack of discipline when the child loses his temper in public. Some might say he spoils his son by allowing him to eat candy whenever he wants and set his own bedtimes. Some might say that such leniency is starting to take its toll on the father, given how his health has declined.What no one knows is that Phil is a prisoner, and that up until a few weeks ago and a chance encounter at a grocery store, he had never seen the child before in his life.The book has a really interesting plot theme that kind of slaps you in the face once it reveals itself fully to you. The book was creepy but it's not gory or graphic or terrifying as some horror can be, so I would recommend pretty much any type of reader would enjoy this. Not just horror or dark fiction fans. It's got wider appeal.The child...the father (not)...why?That's the big question of the book, who is this strange child and why the hell is he in Phil's life now and what does he want of Phil? It's not a great situation to be in let me tell you! It's hard to review this without spoilers so I will keep it pretty general for you. The writing is good, it's a quick and easy read, the plot holds your interest and I can't really fault it, my only wish was that I was a bit more chilled, a bit more creeped out - that would have pushed my rating to 5 stars.I will be back for more of Kealan Patrick Burke for sure...watch this space (well not this one exactly, but it will be a review on another space on Goodreads in the future). Yes, I am going now. Enjoy the novella should you read it too!