Endurance: A Novel of Terror [Paperback]

Jack Kilborn (Author), J.A. Konrath (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 16, 2010

WELCOME TO THE RUSHMORE INN

The bed and breakfast was hidden in the hills of West Virginia. Wary guests wondered how it could stay in business at such a creepy, remote location. Especially with its bizarre, presidential decor and eccentric proprietor.

ONCE YOU CHECK IN...

When the event hotel for the national Iron Woman triathlon accidentally overbooked, competitor Maria was forced to stay at the Rushmore. But after checking into her room, she quickly realized she wasn't alone. First her suitcase wasn't where she put it. Then her cell phone was moved. Finally, she heard an odd creaking under the bed. Confusion quickly turned to fear, and fear to hysteria when she discovered the front door was barred and the windows were bricked over. There was no way out.

...YOU'LL BE DYING TO LEAVE

One year later, four new female athletes have become guests of the Inn. Will they escape the horrors within its walls? Or will they join the many others who have died there, in ways too terrible to imagine?

ENDURANCE by Jack Kilborn
Are you brave enough to finish?


A Word of Warning:

Originally scheduled to be released in paperback in 2010, the publisher read the final version of the manuscript and refused to release it.

This is a disturbing, terrifying book. You may think you're brave enough to handle it. But you're probably not...

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

J.A. Konrath Interviews Jack Kilborn

JA: Thanks for taking time to answer some questions, Jack.

Jack: I've heard of you. You write those chick novels, right?

JA: I write about a female cop who chases serial killers. Some folks think they're pretty scary. Both men and women enjoy the series, but it's a bit harder-edged than the average suspense novel.

Jack: Aren't you the guy that visited 600 bookstores in one summer? Signed thousands of books?

JA: That's me.

Jack: I haven't seen your name on any bestseller lists.

JA: So, how would you describe AFRAID?

Jack: I tried to write a thriller that included every kind of fear possible. Fear of the dark, or being chased, of drowning, of authority, of burning, of losing a loved one, of pain, of disfigurement...and, of course, fear of being horribly murdered.

JA: What's the plot?

Jack: A helicopter crashes near the small town of Safe Haven, Wisconsin. It's so tiny it has a population of 904. But not for long.

JA: So the helicopter lets something loose in town?

Jack: Something horrible. The town can't defend itself either--no police force. Soon it's quarantined, and everyone is fighting for their lives.

JA: I was lucky enough to read an advanced reader copy of AFRAID. It scared the hell out of me.

Jack: Thanks. I'm predicting that at least 25% of people who start the book won't be able to finish it because it's too frightening. It gave me nightmares when I was writing it.

JA: There certainly are some memorable scares.

Jack: I didn't use any chapters in the book. My goal was to go from one high point to another without any breaks. I hope it worked.

JA: It worked for me. You call it "technohorror." What is that?

Jack: The technothriller genre is about fusing modern day science and technology with big thrills. Michael Crichton perfected the form, which has been used to great success by Dan Brown, James Rollins, Steve Berry, and many others. Technohorror views technology in a more sinister way.

JA: Do you think the scenario in AFRAID could happen?

Jack: I wouldn't be surprised if it already has.

JA: You've sort of come out of nowhere. Care to share your writing background?

Jack: It's probably similar to yours. Bitten by the writing bug at a young age, getting a lot of rejections, finally landing a two-book deal with a big publishing house.

JA: I like the Afraid Game on your website.

Jack: Thanks. It's a fun little Flash thing I did. People seem to enjoy it.

JA: So what's next for Jack Kilborn?

Jack: I wrote two other horror novels, TRAPPED and ENDURANCE, which are just as intense as AFRAID. I also wrote the novel DRACULAS with some good friends. It's a balls-to-the-wall zombie book.

JA: Zombies? Aren't draculas vampires?

Jack: Read it and see for yourself. These monsters make zombies look like your grandma.

JA: My grandma is dead.

Jack: The living dead?

JA: The dead where you don't move around or try to eat people.

Jack: Bummer.

JA: Getting back to AFRAID, I liked it so much I'd be happy to blurb it.

Jack: I'm sort of holding out for blurbs from bestselling authors, if you don't mind. No offense.

JA: No offense taken. Maybe you'd like to blurb one of my books, if you have time.

Jack: One of those chick books? Sure. But I can't promise I'll like it.

JA: CHERRY BOMB has a four page sex scene, several torture-murders, and an extended female fist fight.

Jack: I'll give you my address so you can send me a copy.

From the Inside Flap

From the Author Afterword:

The reason I wrote this book was because of an idea I had while on vacation.

We were renting a cabin in the woods in northern Wisconsin, and I was sitting on the bed when a disturbing thought hit me. What if the cabin's owners were watching us, right now?

In fact, if you were a psychotic voyeur, it would be pretty easy to rig your house with hidden passages and peep holes, and then rent it out to unsuspecting guests.

I immediately became paranoid, and looked at the closet, the bathroom, the stairs, wondering if I was being spied on.

Then I heard something creak under the bed.

Could someone actually be under there?

No one actually was. But I kept thinking about awful it would be to stay in someone else's house and suddenly realize someone was under your bed.

Of course, what could be even worse than that?

Someone under your bed, and you don't have legs so you can't run away...

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (October 16, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1453885684
• ISBN-13: 978-1453885680
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (347 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #321,370 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 80 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Even MORE than AFRIAD!!! June 21, 2010

By Kimberly Y.

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Although I was greatly anticipating the next Jack Kilborn release after reading AFRAID, I really didn't expect it to reach the same level of unabashed terror that AFRAID did.

I was wrong.

ENDURANCE absolutely floored me! The story was executed so flawlessly, with an atmosphere so unsettlingly REAL, that I actually felt the horror as if I was physically there! The pace never lets up long enough for you to take a breath. The characters were so vivd that I was able to effortlessly switch between the scenes into their respective points-of-view. The terror simply NEVER lets up!

JA Konrath (the author's real name) is known primarily for his Jack Daniel's thriller novels, but that could soon change. This man writes some serious horror! His next Kilborn novel, TRAPPED, is due to be released this week.

I'm already terrified!

43 of 47 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars T-E-R-R-I-F-Y-I-N-G June 21, 2010

By Tax Accountant

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Very, very frightening and edge-of-your-pants horror. It starts right away, too--

"Did she put her suitcase on the bed?... Was that just the wind behind the curtains?"

Paranoia, Paranoia, Paranoia!

I bought this yesterday and started reading it late into the night-- I had to stop because it was so scary and I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep. My heart was actually pounding when I was reading it, and then of course, every little noise after I put the book down was terrifying. Was someone in the house trying to kill me?

Damn you, Jack Kilborn! Damn You! I won't be able to sleep without a night light for the rest of the month.

This is probably Jack Kilborn's most frightening horror novel yet.

58 of 72 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Jack Kilborn/J.A. Konrath is not for me July 1, 2010

By Jesse Conrad

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

"Endurance" is J.A. Konrath's second offering in the horror genre, written under his pseudonym Jack Kilborn. After reading "Afraid", "Serial Uncut" and this book, I have come to this conclusion: no more reading books by this author, despite I have never read any of his mystery Detective Jack Daniels books. The reasons why I have chosen not to read any more books by him will be revealed as I go over my views on the book.

"Endurance" mainly takes place at a motel, the Rushmore Inn, in a secluded, remote location out in the woods in West Virginia that no one knows about, except for certain people who has ties to the motel. Anyone that checks in at that motel are never checked out, never to be seen again. The story opens with Maria, in town for the triathon, checking in at the Rushmore Inn after finding that the event hotel was full. In her room, she quickly discovers she is not alone and vanishes. A year after Maria's disappearance, five guests - Mal, Deb, Florence, Letti, and Kelly - checks in at the Rushmore Inn. All five are in town for the triathon. Mal is a journalist, Deb is an athletic who have lost her legs to a rock-climbing accident, and Florence, Letti and Kelly are women of three generation from the same family. As soon as they checked in, they discover they are now trapped within the walls of the motel and in desperation of escaping, the secrets within the motel unfold before them. Secrets so horrible that they are kept within the walls of the motel by ensuring the guests will never see the daylight again.

I was not impressed with the book. Considering it is of the horror genre, it didn't scare me at all. I felt that the writer failed to install fear into me as a reader and instead focused on writing the most sickest, goriest scenes he could think of. Like a pig in a mud pen, the book rolled itself deeply in gratitious gory and violence. And that did nothing for me. I have nothing against authors creating stories dripping with blood, gory, and violence (and it doesn't bother me), it simply isn't my bag of tea. What would define a scary book for me is a story dealing with the unknown, alongside with gradual build-up of the mystery, and this book isn't that type. Sure, in the beginning, I was as clueless as the characters of the story were on the secrets the motel harbored and who or what was behind them, but that quickly dissolved as the story progressed. It just simply blantly showed you all the horrific things happening in the story. As for the characters, they were difficult to empathize with due to lack of character developments except for Florence, the mother of Letti and grandmother of Kelly. As for the writing, it was written with simple, straightfoward language. While there was definitely creativity with how the story unfolded, it lacked any creativity with the written words. The author, in my opinion, is just telling me what's happening instead of showing me. The only advantage in reading with this type of writing is that it certainly kept the pages turning.

I could simply stop reading any of the Jack Killborn books and instead try out the Jack Daniels mysteries, but because of the author's lack of creativity with the written words, I chose not to.

If you wanted a book that resembles to movies such as the "SAW" series, check this book out. Otherwise, I'd suggest you to give this book a pass.