Sour Candy

SOUR CANDY [2015] By Kealan Patrick Burke My Review Four Stars**** This short story was the author’s first published work. I read this novella with never flagging interest. It was for me reminiscent of an episode of The Twilight Zone, only far, far scarier. Perhaps a more contemporary comparison may be to the Masters of Horror Anthology. The very notion of the existence of an evil or supernatural entity that could warp time is terrifying on its face. That is analogous to a person stepping through an invisible barrier into another dimension, another reality. In the case of our protagonist Phil in this imaginative and horrifying tale it is an outlandish hellscape. “Sour Candy” was well written and the escalation of Phil’s fear and apprehension was palpable. The existence of “The Elders” from the other dimension, and the answers to all of the questions are ultimately revealed at the end, when the cycle of conception, the role of the child, the birth, and what follows is all explained. This is an excellent piece of horror fiction, albeit I do not necessarily prefer the more fantastical as in this instance. I was truly impressed with the interview that was included with the story on kindle. This creepy, skin crawling piece of nightmare fiction was spawned during a trip to Wal-Mart. Burke’s imagination is to be lauded. Frankly, I bought “Sour Candy” because I love to read the first works of a new, interesting author that has popped into my orbit. I am chomping at the bit to read “Kin” [2012]. I have already purchased it. I am just trying to get through a few of the 2023 selections that piqued my interest before I light into it.

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.

"Sour Candy" has a fantastic premise and, overall, is an engaging read. The problem is that it's flimsy. You're left wishing that the story had been more fleshed-out. The author took a lot of short cuts in what feels like a rush to get to the finish. Interesting conceits are left largely and regrettably unexplored. Complexities/big picture questions are answered too quickly; the truth will just *dawn* on the protagonist, in too obvious a fashion. You're expecting, since the author is in such a rush to get you there, that the ending will be worth the price of admission. For me at least, it was disappointingly anti-climatic. The blow was softened by the fact that it took maybe 2.5 hours to read, so it's not like I devoted too much time to it; but you can't escape the feeling that the author didn't, either. The first sentence of the book is deliciously tantalizing, and draws you right in. Unfortunately, the rest of the writing just doesn't live up to it. It's clunky, at times to the point of distraction. Let me give you an example that's a few pages in. (I promise it won't give anything away.) The protagonist, Phil, is talking on his cell phone, and just dropped something else he was holding: "Only his quick reflexes kept his cell phone from joining it." OK, got it, Phil's got quick reflexes. "This last was a relief. As Lori was so fond of reminding him, he'd had to replace the phone twice this year already due to natural clumsiness." So Phil is clumsy .. with quick reflexes? "The phone had slipped down his cheek. Only luck had kept it pinned there." So Clumsy Phil's quick reflexes ... kept the phone stuck to his face ... through luck alone? MAKE UP YOUR MIND, NARRATOR. Despite its shortcomings, I'd hesitantly recommend this book to someone who was looking for a quick, fun read. I'm clearly in the minority in being unhappy with the ending, considering the other reviews, so you might as well roll the dice on it. There are some good bits in there; you're just left hungry afterwards. Fittingly, I would liken the experience of reading to this book to eating sour candy: it's an enjoyable treat in small doses, but will not sustain you.

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.

Fast read, that draws you in. Thoroughly enjoyable.

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!

This was a serious read and has a lot of the what-the-hell moments. This story made me question my own mind at one point as we follow Phil Pendleton and what feels like his descent into madness. Honestly, this story had me gripped from beginning to end. I have never felt more unsettled or creeped out, especially with Adam. Kealen shows that even if you don't want kids, there is now a new fear unlocked. Waking up and finding a random kid has now entered your life in cuckoo bird style. Phil loses the life of his dreams when this little parasite decides to invade his and crap all over it. Plus Kealen does a mean portrayal of innocence meets terrifying. This short story packs a punch as Phil ends up being an unwilling father to a very much unwanted child. The supernatural elements in this story scream Twilight Zone meets Changeling. Considering how well thought out this physiological horror is in less than 80 pages, you can tell that Kealen is not afraid to drag the reader into the dark with him. Easily one of the most creative stories I've read and has a great shock value with the twisted ending. Bravo my friend, you have successfully changed my mind on adoption, because DAMN this book was haunting.