The Mesmerized

by Rhiannon Frater

[inlibrisveritas]

Rhiannon Frater is fast becoming one of my favorite authors because her horror novels are on point. Most of the books I’ve read from her are more gothic in nature, and only a few were purely creepy sci-fi so when the opportunity to read this came I jumped on it. I had a taste of what was to come and I couldn’t wait to devour the whole book (which I did in about two days).

The Mesmerized puts a really interesting spin on a ‘zombie’ idea. Inside of dead walking about trying to eat whatever moves, we are treated to the eerily silent Mesmerized who walk with a purpose toward a mysterious goal that they will do anything to reach. I really love the utterly mindless nature of the mesmerized, and I actually loved the final reveal of why the people are acting the way they are. The pacing is a slow increase while the survivors work to figure out what is going on, and the amount of tension is fantastic! The Mesmerized offer some resistance and add that creep factor but true to a post-apocalyptic situation the people who are the biggest problems are the ones who are still ‘normal’. I loved that Rhiannon doesn’t make you work for the next piece of the puzzle, she gives you enough info

Minji is a true heroine in this story. She’s strong and self reliant without being overly distant, and very protective of her family. I love that her bond with her children is one of the main focuses of this story, and how when things get tough she thinks of them. The side characters are also fantastic, but Minji truly shines in this.

Rhiannon is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to horror. She’s capable of making you cringe and wince, but she’s also capable of giving you that slowly creeping feeling that is worse in some ways. The Mesmerized is one of those books that leave you stunned at the end, and it left me wanting more of Frater’s work.