3 out of 4 stars
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Drelliks by Bruce Bradley is a novel filled with horror, magic, and suspense. Dani Sorle and her six-year-old daughter Megan break down along the Mendocino coast. They are forced to abandon their car and seek the closest town for help. Along the way, they discover something is stalking them, and are compelled to run for their lives. Little do they know that their world is about to be turned upside down. People have slowly been disappearing along this part of the California coast, and they are at risk of joining them. Detective Sam Bass of Napa Valley is hired to attend a case in the area following the disappearance of two children. Determined to find the missing kids, Sam becomes immersed in the chaos surrounding the small town of Orvana.
Several items I liked about this particular novel are the development of the characters, the plot, and the picturesque setting. The author did a fantastic job with the characters. Most of the characters had a detailed backstory which allowed me to see what brought them into the chaos happening within the story. Dani and her daughter brought everyone together and gave a sense of love and family to the storyline. There were several other characters introduced that did not quite fit into the story. These characters confused me, but I enjoyed the story too much to ponder their importance. Sam's character was interesting. He gave the appearance of a knight in shining armor arriving on the scene to save the world from the evil creatures.
Also, the description of the Drellik creatures was interesting. Each one was different from the other. The author even went into what type of tissue they were made up of and related them to the shark. Their backstory was given in detail, and it was explained how they were able to survive over the years. They also contained their unique magic, which they used to maintain themselves during this novel and wreak havoc on the surrounding area.
The storyline itself was excellent. The author set up the problem of what was happening with the disappearances in Orvana, gave a back story, produced an impressive climax with several twists, and finally a solution where all loose ends were tied up. The author did leave something of a carryover for the main character for another book.
Something I did not like about the book is that it took over half of the book to introduce Sam Bass who is one of the main characters. Once he was presented the story also seemed to speed up from its leisurely pace. I enjoyed the pace but found myself becoming distracted at times until Sam entered the picture.
Another thing is that there were a few grammatical errors including misspelled words and missing words. The errors became fewer toward the end of the book, which helped the storyline to flow easier. The format, however, was perfect and there were no issues observed regarding quotation marks, commas, spaces, or periods.
I rate this novel a 3 out of 4 stars based on its grammatical errors, pacing, and additional characters. The extra characters seemed like space fillers and did not promote the story. The storyline was great, and I enjoyed reading it. There are several scenes filled with death, blood, fighting, and other gruesome things, which may turn several away from this novel. There is magic, some romance, hope, and suspense also in this book. I do feel that this book would be best for anyone who is capable of handling horror, suspense, and grotesque scenes.
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Drelliks
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