Sparrow Rock [Mass Market Paperback]

Nate Kenyon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2010

Six high school students have survived nuclear war in a high-tech bomb shelter, but they’re not alone. Mutated insects are hungry and the human survivors are the only prey.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Stoker-winner Kenyon shambles through postapocalyptic horror in this awkward mélange of teen angst drama and implausible post–nuclear war ecological terror. Pete, whose troubled past is revealed in a series of clichéd anecdotes, narrates the story of a small group of high school students who survive a sudden and largely unexplained catastrophic nuclear war thanks to what at first seems to be pure luck but later proves to be something darker. The teens soon realize that survival involves not just waiting out the radioactive fallout but overcoming the profound, possibly deliberate ecological changes it incurs, including undead rats and man-eating ants. Kenyon invokes science gone horribly wrong without stooping to mere plausibility, spicing his tale with a secret all-powerful crypto-fascist conspiracy spanning generations. The result is a serviceable game of Last Man Standing, played out with a cast of forgettable stock characters. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 322 pages
• Publisher: Leisure Books; Original edition (May 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0843963778
• ISBN-13: 978-0843963779
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #871,999 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nate Kenyon grew up in a small town in Maine, an avid reader and writer from a very early age. Kenyon's first novel, Bloodstone, was published by Five Star to critical acclaim, named a Bram Stoker Award finalist in hardcover, winning the P&E Horror Novel of the Year, and becoming one of the publisher's all time bestselling speculative fiction titles. His second novel, The Reach, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and raves from Booklist, Pop Syndicate, Dark Scribe and many more. The Reach, also a Stoker Award Finalist, was optioned for film. His third novel, The Bone Factory, was called "masterful" by Booklist. His fourth novel Sparrow Rock, was released in May 2010 to critical acclaim, and also optioned for film.

Kenyon's trade paperback science fiction novella, Prime, was released in July 2009 from Apex Books. He has recently had stories published in Shroud Magazine, Permuted Press's Monstrous anthology, Horror World, Dead Lines, The Harrow, and Legends of the Mountain State 2, and has many others forthcoming, including a story in The Monster's Corner, edited by Christopher Golden. Four of his stories were featured in the Dart Arts anthology When the Night Comes Down.

Kenyon's novel StarCraft Ghost: Spectres, based on the bestselling video game by Blizzard Entertainment, will be released by Pocket Books in September 2011. He is currently working on a Diablo novel for Blizzard and Pocket. He is a member of the Horror Writers Association and International Thriller Writers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kenyon remains one of the top horror/thriller novelists working today., June 29, 2010

By 

Ray J. Palen Jr. "Ray" (Long Island, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sparrow Rock (Mass Market Paperback)

In a short period of time, Nate Kenyon has quickly become one of the most respected writers in the field of horror fiction today. What makes Kenyon's novels stand out from the horror fiction pack is his writing style. His characters are always well developed, plot lines are tight and his books are written in the style of classic fiction. Most importantly, his stories are never predictable.

With SPARROW ROCK, his latest effort for the popular Leisure Horror series, Nate Kenyon has produced another well-written tale packed with suspense and surprises. Preying upon the modern fears of terrorism and end-of-the-world scenarios, this novel takes place within a modern-day bomb shelter. A group of High School friends enter the bomb shelter that one of their grand-father's had built on their property. Their search for a place to hang out and kill some time ironically turns into the only safe haven in their world as a nuclear holocaust apparently has wiped out all living beings while they are sheltered beneath the ground.

The High School friends represent the standard stereotypes of modern-day teens: Dan - the unofficial leader and typical jock; Sue - the outspoken, `tough' girl; Pete - the average guy trying too hard to fit in; Tessa - Pete's sister; Jimmie - the slacker and Jay - the smart kid who is full of conspiracy theories. The entire group begins to pay more attention to Jay as some of his wild conspiracy theories about terrorism and plans for global domination appear to have come true. What is even more horrifying is what comes next.

Even though they are stuck down in the bomb shelter and afraid to go outside for fear of contamination from nuclear fallout, this does not prevent everything from getting in. Jimmie begins acting strangely after injuring himself and starts to hear voices in his head and random noises. Upon examination of his wounds, the group realizes the infection he is suffering from is not just a result of his injuries. It turns out that very small, ant-like creatures have entered into the wounds on his body and have begun colonizing his body. One of Jay's theories centered on the creation of intelligent, foreign life-forms that could infiltrate any enemy. Could Jimmie be the victim of just such a scheme and does this have anything to do with the nuclear devastation that has occurred?

Nate Kenyon deftly builds the tension as these `smart' bugs slowly pick off the members of the bomb shelter group one by one. There are many other works that come to mind when reading SPARROW ROCK, most prominent are THE RUINS by Scott Smith and INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS by Jack Finney. The end-of-the-world bomb shelter bit also called to mind the classic Twilight Zone episode --- "Time Enough At Last" by Rod Serling.

What sets this novel apart from other post-apocalyptic work is the clever ending that includes a twist I guarantee most readers will not see coming (and may even result in causing the reader to flip back and re-read prior sections of the novel). Kenyon has another winner with SPARROW ROCK --- an intelligent and highly suspenseful horror novel that never lets up and will give the reader something to think about along the way.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A pleasant surprise!, May 24, 2010

By 

D. Cook "Addlepated" (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sparrow Rock (Mass Market Paperback)

I am really picky about books, especially horror novels. If they're not compelling, or if the characters act stupidly or inconsistently, I get highly frustrated. Therefore, I started reading Sparrow Rock with a high degree of trepidation, not expecting much out of it. Boy was I mistaken!

As other reviews have mentioned, the initial premise does suffer from a lack of credibility. That's okay. Once the story gets going, it moves like a freight train and takes you along for the ride. I had a really hard time setting it down and had to ration it out to myself in order to make sure that I didn't ignore daily chores in favor of reading the book.

I enjoyed the characters quite a bit and wished they had been fleshed out even more. The narrator's back story was compelling and raw, and the circumstances the group faced were dreadful. Overall, the tone reminded me a bit of Scott Smith's The Ruins, which I similarly enjoyed. I'm quite glad to have run across this gem and even gladder to recommend it to others.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I thoroughly enjoyed this story, May 13, 2010

By 

John Burke "Cyinyde" (Scranton, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sparrow Rock (Mass Market Paperback)

Having the electronic version of this story was maddening. I am usually a read-in-bed kind of guy and am only now getting into reading stories on my iPhone via Kindle. I'm still not to the point where I'm ready to take my iPhone to bed with me as I still have a TON of books sitting on my nightstand. Anyway, I read this on my PC and by midway through the book, I was mad that I didn't have a paper copy to take to bed so I could see what happened next. This story definitely approaches the "end of the world" scenario from a much different perspective than I'm used to seeing.

For me, the mark of a good story is whether or not it stays with you in some way long after you've put it down; Maybe a scene here or there, maybe the whole thing from beginning to end. This story has quite a few of those scenes that I'll remember for a long time to come. Also, having really enjoyed this book by an author I'm reading for the first time, I'm anxious to pick up some of his other works to read in the future. Now, I just have to start reading off my iPhone in bed.....