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A review by motherhorror
Siphon by A.A. Medina
3.0
Review originally in the Sept. Oct. issue of SCREAM Mag 2018
“There is an urge inside you…”
Published almost a year ago, this novella only just made a blip on the radar of horror fans this year. The cover made some social media appearances and I was immediately drawn to the visceral artwork and monolithic title.
Almost immediately I hated the protagonist (which is better than feeling indifferent towards a lead character). Dr. Gary Phillips is a hematopathologist who is socially awkward and unable to maintain a professional attitude at work due to his creepy, stalkerish obsession with his younger co-worker. I wasn’t sure, at first, if the author knew his protagonist was coming off as pervert or if it was intended so the first few chapters were uncomfortable to the point of being distracting for me due to the masochistic red flags sounding off.
With a shift from Gary’s work life to his home life, it became more obvious that I was supposed to dislike Dr. Phillips. My feeling of repulsion was clearly the desired response.
A bizarre event happens during an accident at work which catapults our protagonist from a seemingly harmless weirdo to a full blown psycho in just a few pages.
From that incident on, this novella is no longer safe for the casual horror fan. Medina plumbs the depths of madness as he brings the reader along into the mind of sexual predator/serial killer. There is a gruesome, overarching theme of blood as Dr. Gary Phillips learns the dark secrets of his past and begins to act out strange, psychological fantasies tied to blood; think Patrick Bateman from American Psycho but in the time frame of a Dexter episode.
I enjoyed picking up the bread crumbs the author leaves behind in terms of the connections between past and present events--including an “ah-ha” moment with why the story is called, Siphon. A. A. Medina is a talented writer. The pacing of this novella is mapped out with precision detail; not a single word wasted. I’m a huge fan of short stories and novellas because the level of difficulty to build well developed characters that engage in a meaningful story takes skill. Media definitely has the chops to do so. However, the brutality here is so extra intense, I felt like a little more time between horrific scenes would have proven to be a more effective way to tell this dark tale. For me, it was a lot to digest in one sitting. But my guess is there are a lot of horror junkies out there who will be quite satisfied with it as is.
“There is an urge inside you…”
Published almost a year ago, this novella only just made a blip on the radar of horror fans this year. The cover made some social media appearances and I was immediately drawn to the visceral artwork and monolithic title.
Almost immediately I hated the protagonist (which is better than feeling indifferent towards a lead character). Dr. Gary Phillips is a hematopathologist who is socially awkward and unable to maintain a professional attitude at work due to his creepy, stalkerish obsession with his younger co-worker. I wasn’t sure, at first, if the author knew his protagonist was coming off as pervert or if it was intended so the first few chapters were uncomfortable to the point of being distracting for me due to the masochistic red flags sounding off.
With a shift from Gary’s work life to his home life, it became more obvious that I was supposed to dislike Dr. Phillips. My feeling of repulsion was clearly the desired response.
A bizarre event happens during an accident at work which catapults our protagonist from a seemingly harmless weirdo to a full blown psycho in just a few pages.
From that incident on, this novella is no longer safe for the casual horror fan. Medina plumbs the depths of madness as he brings the reader along into the mind of sexual predator/serial killer. There is a gruesome, overarching theme of blood as Dr. Gary Phillips learns the dark secrets of his past and begins to act out strange, psychological fantasies tied to blood; think Patrick Bateman from American Psycho but in the time frame of a Dexter episode.
I enjoyed picking up the bread crumbs the author leaves behind in terms of the connections between past and present events--including an “ah-ha” moment with why the story is called, Siphon. A. A. Medina is a talented writer. The pacing of this novella is mapped out with precision detail; not a single word wasted. I’m a huge fan of short stories and novellas because the level of difficulty to build well developed characters that engage in a meaningful story takes skill. Media definitely has the chops to do so. However, the brutality here is so extra intense, I felt like a little more time between horrific scenes would have proven to be a more effective way to tell this dark tale. For me, it was a lot to digest in one sitting. But my guess is there are a lot of horror junkies out there who will be quite satisfied with it as is.