Jon Bassoff – Captain Clive’s Dreamworld

‘Captain Clive’s Dreamworld’ by Jon Bassoff is a horror story of the best calibre. I have never come across this author before, so just jumped into this book with the amazing cover and enjoyed the ride, although thinking about it ‘enjoy’ may not be quite the correct word!

The story takes us to a town called Angels and Hope along with our main character Deputy Sam Hardy. A town that is in the middle of the desert and built to hold Captain Clive’s Dreamworld a big amusement park. It appears that this town is the idyllic oasis everybody wants, until you begin to scratch the surface. Sam starts to realise something is weird, there are never any customers in the amusement park and absolutely nobody in the town seems to sleep. Well, that and the odd comments from the townsfolk as well. Then comes the disappearance of Bridget Bishop and the fact that everyone is denying she even existed. He discovers she isn’t the first person to go missing and begins digging, right into the dark secrets of this oasis of calm.

A story that isn’t for those who scare easily! It is dark, twisted and oh, so terrifying at times, but what an exciting and interesting read this is. I have read a fair few horrors and I must admit, this one needs to go up at the top of the list for being all the things a horror story needs to make it successful.

Jon Bassoff has created characters that are actually vile but really interesting. The things they get up to make you want to scream at them but you need to keep reading, just to see what will be happening next.

The author’s world-building skills are second to none, I couldn’t help myself I was engrossed in this scary, dark and weird place. That is the exact aim of a writer. The knack of putting you somewhere they want you and causing you to actually feel something, well Jon, you succeeded! I finished this book and felt like I had been put the wringer a few times. Definitely a story that kept me hooked even when it was making my heart jump into my mouth!

Thanks (I think anyway) to Damp Pebbles Blog Tours and Jon Bassoff for the copy of this book and my place on the tour.