Today's review is The Small Town Horror by Geek_Aflame. The Small Town Horror is an enchanting story based around the main character named Dexter, who has been hiding his ability to see the dead from the rest of the magical world. (the entire world is not magical) After an incident with a demon, his secret had revealed itself to the community. The Small Town Horror is an exceptional novel. It is wonderfully written, and the story is perfectly suited for the setting.

The thing I loved the most about The Small Town Horror was the simplicity of the language used. I have read many stories in which every sentence was overly descriptive and over the top; while these sentences may have been well formulated, they de-valued the story. According to Kurt Vonnegut's rules for writers, the greatest authors in the world write sentences like, "she was tired," showing that the most impactful sentences can be simple and not overly descriptive. While the rules of writing are flexible, they are still guidelines that help people write effectively. Writing that does not have illustrations in every sentence does not mean a story is boring, it just means that the descriptions are where they can impact the novel in the best way. Having every sentence illustrate what’s happening in a story only means that the value of each description becomes lesser than they would have been if there were spaces between them. The Small Town Horror is an incredibly written novel, and it fully reflects the incredible writing of Geek_Aflame.

No matter how fantastic a story is, there will be flaws. When Geek_Aflame revealed to the audience that Dexter could see spirits, it was an awkward way to inform readers of something so vital to the story and its future. The way Dexter explained it by saying, "I can see and communicate with spirits," While it did get the message across, I had wished that his ability was shown to the audience earlier on, before he went to the deceased woman’s house. This moment would have been more impactful if the readers somewhat inferred his power. An event could have happened where he saw a ghost on the street describing it as a spirit like being, so the readers can deduce that Dexter can see spirits. Having a reader infer something from the way an author describes it is a powerful way to write a story. Otherwise, I did not see any other parts of this story that needed inference from the readers.

One of the things that stress me out the most when I am writing any story, is the character's speech and thought. When I read The Small Town Horror, Dexter's inner and outer dialogue seemed almost effortless. At one point in the story, the character thinks, “Most of my public eating involved a small nasty voice in the back of my head telling me that any second I would be kicked out for a gross display of public indecency.” This sentence, like many others in this story, unravel the character to the audience, which helps the readers understand why Dexter does what he does. I have read many stories where the thought and speech of a protagonist make them seem like a person in a storybook, lifeless, and unimportant. When an author brings their character to life through their writing, as Geek_Aflame did, it makes the reader want to immerse themselves farther into the story. 

While there are flaws in many remarkable stories, such as this one, Geek_Aflame’s writing is extraordinary. Geek consistently uses their words to help the readers understand and visualize the story. I would absolutely recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys mystery and fantasy novels.

Link to The Small Horror in the description.