Mx3 Review: Brood by Chase Novak

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Mulholland Books (October 7, 2014)
• ISBN: 9780316228008
• Source: Publisher

Twins Adam and Alice are reaching their teenage years.  Normal children would be joyful of this monumental change in life, but not Adam and Alice. With the start of puberty also comes the likelihood that they will become victims of the very fertility treatment that created them, turning them into feral savages.  In foster care since their parents untimely and brutal deaths, their aunt Cynthia takes them into her custody, returning them to the nightmarish home that was the scene of such brutality. While the home has been renovated, it still carries memories of its nightmarish past.

With promises to inundate her niece and nephew with unconditional love in an attempt to rectify and repair the horror they were dealt, Cynthia struggles to give Adam and Alice a normal life. Meanwhile, the twins starve themselves, hoping that the malnutrition will prevent the onset of puberty. They are aware of their fate, simultaneously drawn to and terrified by their future.

Meanwhile, a group of children who were also the result of this terrifying fertility treatment have already become feral. They sell their blood, a veritable fountain of youth, to the highest bidder. Unfortunately,  users become some enamored by the effect that they ingest it in increasing volumes. Along with the increased libido comes uncontrollable rage, inciting incidents of rage and murder.

The feral children will stop at nothing to bring Alice and Adam back into the pack. Love can’t stop their wrath; nothing is stronger than the blood that rages through them.

In this long-awaited sequel to Chase Nowak’s  Breed, I was hoping for more of the classic horror that I so appreciated in the previous novel. While there is certainly terror, unfortunately it doesn’t live up to its predecessor.  Perhaps this is intentional, perhaps Nowak wanted us to get inside the minds of Alice and Adam, this novel serving as a character-builder that will culminate in a third book that will exceed each and any hope and expectation of terror I may  have. I certainly hope so.

There is so much potential in this storyline, so many routes to potential greatness. So, while this wasn’t a jaw-dropping, chill inducing read, it was still enjoyable simply because of its ingenuity. Recommended.