Customer Reviews

Dweller

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
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Primarily known for his deft touch in combining horror and comedy, Dweller is Jeff Strand's second 'serious' novel, following the Bram Stoker Award nominated Pressure, and with his newest offering Strand may well see another Stoker nomination headed his way.

Dweller introduces us to Toby, an 8 year old with an active imagination and difficulty making friends. Though he's been told by his parents not to, Toby enjoys playing in the woods that border the backyard of his house. Lost in fantasy while playing one summer day, Toby comes to find himself deep in the woods... much deeper, in fact, than he's ever been. Scared of the trouble he'll be in when he gets home late, Toby desperately tries to find his way out of the woods, but what he finds instead will change his life forever.

Toby, you see, finds a monster. An honest-to-goodness, hairy, yellow-eyed, razor-clawed, fanged beast. Of course Toby does what any 8 year old would do under the circumstances... runs away! Once safely back at home he's chastised by his parents for his misadventure, and as the summer passes Toby convinces himself he didn't really see a monster in the woods. He couldn't have, right? Monsters don't exist.

Flash forward seven years to a Toby who has made the woods his place of refuge from the bullies at school and tedious evenings with his family. While exploring one day after school Toby discovers a cave, which he proceeds to investigate with the notion that it may be his ticket to getting some friends, maybe even a girlfriend, if he has a cool cave-fort he can bring them to. Instead, Toby comes face to face with the same monster that he had convinced himself years ago didn't exist. The now older, (slightly) bolder Toby doesn't run away this time, but instead offers the monster food, tries to communicate with it and, ultimately, becomes friends with and names it Owen. What unfolds from there over the course of the story is a wonderful exploration of the strange, but genuine friendship that develops between Toby and Owen, one that lasts for over fifty years.

Strand does a magnificent job using brief 'glimpses' chapters to jump the story ahead over blocks of time, stopping for a more in-depth look at various milestone moments along the way in Toby's life - college, first job, marriage, children, divorce, addiction, retirement - and how each affects his friendship with Owen. On the surface just a 'monster story', Dweller also operates on a much deeper level. Strand has, in deceptively simple fashion, written a beautiful story which explores the complicated nature of relationships, loyalties, and how one decides who the most important person in their life is. The implications of the final, heart-breaking scene will stay with you long after you've finished. What Strand has accomplished with Dweller is nothing short of amazing, and you owe it to yourself to experience it.

Jeff Strand is the author of over a dozen books, including The Sinister Mr. Corpse, Benjamin's Parasite, The Severed Nose, and the Andrew Mayhem series. If you've not previously read anything by Strand you're excused for being late to the party, but it's time for you to come in and get acquainted.

Who among us horror fans--during our childhood--didn't daydream about being friends with Kong, Godzilla, Freddy, Jason, or some kind of monster who'd be our friend and watch our backs? You didn't? Liar! I have many, many times.

In Strand's second "serious" novel, a young boy named Toby wanders into the woods, led away by his active imagination. He runs out with everything he has after an encounter with a bigfoot-type creature and eventually wonders if he's losing his mind. His parents help him to see that he hasn't. Flash forward to Toby as a teenager; tired of being bullied by kids in his high school, he takes a walk into the woods and discovers a cave he'd never seen before.

Guess who he meets up with?

Toby eventually names the creature Owen, and goes to the woods to feed it. With his new, secret, clawed-buddy, Toby manages to build a confidence he didn't know he had . . . and when he manages to kill two bullies in the woods, he decides the best way to get rid of the evidence is to feed them to his new friend, who quickly develops a taste for flesh and blood.

As with his previous serious-themed novel, PRESSURE, Strand again puts younger characters into some dark circumstances and does so to believable effect (and when there's a monster involved, that's no easy feat). The focus on this unusual "friendship" goes in a few nifty directions, and in the heart-breaking finale, the author leaves it to the reader to decide who the real monster of the story is.

DWELLER is another fun to read, fast-paced thriller from Strand, and is a best bet for any monster-enthusiast. While there's small bits of Jeff's dark humor thrown here and there and plenty of grue, it's the scenes of Toby and Owen's bonding (especially their final time together) that will stick with you long after you finish the novel. Don't miss this one.

Well, my title pretty much gives the gist of the book. I like the way this Author writes. Good storyline and execution was flawless. However, when you say "Monster", I am looking for a good horror novel. What I got was a story about a boy and his friend/pet/monster. Even when the so called "monster" did something bad it failed to register as horror. I was disappointed but Strand can write and that kept me reading until the end. Do not, I repeat, do not pick this up thinking you are going to get some hard core horror. If you purchase it, it will be because you want a good read.

Jeff Strand's latest mass market release, Dweller, follows the life of a boy named Toby as he matures and ages. At the start, Toby is an eight year old boy who likes to explore the woods. One day he walks a bit deeper into the woods than his parents allow him, stumbles into a "monster", and runs! Seven years later, at age fifteen, Toby is dealing with the trauma of being tormented by the bullies at school and with being an outcast, and he still spends much of his time in the woods when not at school. One day he happens upon a cave and discovers the "monster" that he thought was created by his childhood imagination once again. Instead of running this time, Toby tries talking to him. The "monster" doesn't attack and Toby starts to visit him regularly, bringing him food, telling him stories, naming him Owen, and ultimately becoming best friends with him. Of course, can being friends with a creature such as Owen truly end well?

Dweller is noted as being Jeff Strand's second "serious" novel. However, I was pleasantly surprised that this release featured much more of Strand's humor than his previous release, Pressure, did. As stated above, the book is written over the course of numerous years, but is written in a format where certain years are focused upon. The other years are covered by chapters titled "glimpses" which feature snapshots from the years in between. This is a unique technique that I hadn't seen before, as most books just jump forward ten or twenty years, leaving the reader guessing at what occurred in the middle. Strand allows us to experience Toby's life as it progresses with these special chapters, and we watch Toby graduate, move out from home, get married, and so on. At the same time, we watch the continued friendship between Toby and Owen progress. So far this isn't sounding too much of a horror novel, now is it? Think again! There is a very dark storyline mixed within that will leave readers shocked. I would say more, but doing so may spoil the surprise. Let's just say that Owen doesn't JUST like ice cream for a treat! For readers who have yet to enjoy the works of Jeff Strand, Dweller is a great first book to read as it explores many elements of Strand's writing style. Many of his books are extremely humorous. In contrast, Pressure is dark and serious. Dweller, on the other hand, mixes these styles up and Strand churns out a story that is unforgettable. Highly recommended!

Contains: Adult Language, Adult Situations, Mild Violence, Mild Gore

Review also posted at monsterlibrarian dot com

Jeff Strand does an amazing job with this book.

Young Toby encounters a monster in the woods, but when he tells his family no one will believe him.

So begins a lifelong relationship between Toby and the monster.

The reason I say Jeff Strand did an amazing job is twofold. First, you really care for Toby, even though his relationship with the monster takes some nasty turns (and when I say nasty, I mean VERY nasty). You can't help but feel sorry for him. Second, you really care for the monster although he does some horrific things. Mr. Strand brings an humanity to the monster that I didn't expect, but it worked.

In my opinion, this story isn't really scary in the usual way. What's scary about it is how far these two will go to maintain their friendship, above ALL else. I know people say this all the time, but I couldn't put this book down. It is fast paced and well written and best of all, it is a fascinating story that will keep you engaged.

Dweller is one of the more unusual monster stories, more than once I felt my heart squeeze itself in my body because the story makes you feel for both the human and the creature for different reasons. After reading many crazy horror books through the years it was nice to finally enjoyed liking the monster this time, Owen reminded me of a big yeti but unlike most yetis he had a great sense of humor, at least what we could see of it. I instantly liked him even though he did some very bad things I was constantly worried about his own well being, humans are delicate with their easily to pull off limbs and soft flesh to slash but they can also be cruel and destructive before anything else. I wouldn't call this horror even though there are some intense scenes and there is blood shed but Strand manages to make it about relationships and how we choose to live our life and our dynamics with others. For Toby that other was Owen, a tall, hairy, sharp clawed and toothed monster that he found in a forest that one time when he went further than he was allowed. Toby got chased by some bullies plenty of times and there were kids who didn't like him. But there was way to make them go away, a way that would haunt Toby for the rest of his life

The story progresses though a few decades, we first meet Toby when he's just a kid and continue on his journey as his life changes through new jobs, relationships, marriage, children, deaths... as his life continues so does his strange relationship with Owen, I'm gong to keep this review brief and spoiler free if I can, the less I knew about this story the better it felt as I read it, some things shocked me while others made me sad with worry. Be prepared to care for the flesh eater, keep a tissue nearby as you might need it, it's an intense story with a heart that spellbinds the reader from page one. Little boy and his monster are real in this book and not all of their adventures are fun, some turn into tragic events that change their lives forever.

- Kasia S.

* book from 2011

This could have been a simple, pulp horror tale of an ape-man creature living in the woods and attacking humans. It does have its odd moments of horror, but, in the end, and in an odd fashion, it was really a simple tale of friendship. When he was eight, Toby, met a monster in the woods - and over the years the loner human, who finds it increasingly difficult to get along in human society, and the long-orphaned creature, share their lives together in an unlikely bond. The witty tone throughout helps lift this above the usual horror fare. Very engaging.

The first time Toby Floren sees the monster in the woods, he is only 8-years-old and he flees in terror. Seven years later, at age 15, Toby is an outcast. When he encounters the monster this time, his loneliness leads him to befriend it. Toby names him Owen and ventures into the woods frequently to vent his problems to him and to feed him treats (his favourite is ice cream). To Toby, being best friends with a real-life monster is great, except for Owen's occasional cravings for more substantial, bloodier, treats...

The plot is like a gory version of Harry and the Hendersons, because this is also a tale of a friendship with a Bigfoot-type creature - albeit a Bigfoot with huge fangs and claws. But there are only a few gory scenes; the focus is on the bond between Toby and Owen. And Strand interchanges the dark, intense scenes with humorous ones. He had me laughing several times while reading.

Instead of the novel taking place over the course of a day, week or month, like most novels, Dweller spans Toby's entire lifetime. But since it isn't an epic length (only 292 pages), Strand uses a unique method of writing, where he provides "glimpses" of what happens over the years. Usually just a few paragraphs of a funny or important event and sometimes only a line or snippet of dialogue, making Toby's life seem like it's flying by and the pace move quickly.

Any horror fan can relate to the main character, Toby, for his desire to have a monster as a best friend. And although Owen is a monster, and the cause of most of the bloodshed in the novel, he is portrayed as a lovable pet. Strand makes the existence of this creature - and even his friendship with a human - plausible. I became attached to both of these characters throughout the course of the novel and was touched by the bond they share.

Dweller is one of the best novels I've read. It manages to be funny, scary, gory, sad, happy and touching at the same time. All horror fans, animal lovers or Harry and the Hendersons fans must read this book - actually I think everyone should read this, regardless of literary preference. But beware: it's a tearjerker.

This book was very engrossing. It was definitely not a horror book, even though it is classified as such. It was a very sad story; I found it hard to read at times because I could tell the main character was making a mistake and I just wanted to scream at him not to do it! I couldn't put the book down - I had to know how it ended! This book actually made me almost start crying on the train ride home from work (that's how involved in it I was).

After reading about Jeff Strand's work and his dark brand of humor, I decided to start with Dweller. Although I wasn't too keen on the cover, the story was masterful. Mr. Strand has a dark humor that works. It is a natural, unforced humor that cascades from the protagonist. As other reviewers have written, there are quite a few layers for such a fast-paced read. The protagonist develops nicely, from an introverted, picked-on loner in the beginning to a responsible adult. Well...temper that. He is also "responsible" for an incident early in the book (that "first door") and several more interesting developments later on. As a result, his friendship with Owen ("who else in the world can claim to be best friends with a monster?") gets tighter, and his other relationships get a bit messier. Throughout the book there didn't seem to be a deliberate ratcheting up of the tension, but there didn't really need to be. The premise itself provides the tension, and the character development was wonderful. I thought the timeline and significant dates throughout the book were nice touches, the grace notes, if you will.

Finally, Mr. Strand's first book Pressure has become available on Kindle, and I am looking forward to reading more from him in the future.