Snarl
Lorne Dixon
Coscom Entertainment
ISBN: 978-1897217870
2009

After being a fan of Lorne Dixon’s short stories for several years, I was anxious to see where he could take his characters when given more space to move around, to really flex those writing muscles. He got the opportunity in his debut novella, Snarl, and the result was nothing short of impressive.

I'm reluctant to classify the book as simply a werewolf novella. Snarl picks up were every good classic horror novel leaves off, when you've ever wondered what would happen when you take any of these horror figures far from the path of predictability.  Dixon breathes new life into an old idea, and makes it—as is his usual style—entirely his own.

The story follows Chev Worke, an old-fashioned American dad dedicated to his family, driving back and forth across the country to put food on the table.  During one particular haul his truck hits an animal near the town of Easter Glen.  It's not long before he realizes what it is of course. The beast's friends show up—pissed, hungry, and anxious to toy with Chev, sending him running down the highway as the toughest fight of his life begins to unfold.

While trying to outrun the pack, Chev meets up with Ross Eloyan and his grandson, both of whom are suffering from their own fresh wounds from a recent tragedy that has left them with no other family but each other. They, too, get tossed into the mix as they follow Chev in his escape from Easter Glen, a town that has clearly fallen under the control of this gang of motorcycle-riding, blood-thirsty half-humans. Ross's story in particular is especially brutal, and here Dixon shows his skill at giving you a deeply layered character that gets sucked into a series of choices that can only lead to more pain and misery.

Chev and just about everyone else in this story face their own similar choices, and they all reach the gut-punching realization that the world has been changing around them for the worse. All of this just adds to the tension as things spiral out of control. Even the town itself is forced into an appalling agreement with these monsters in order to avoid the bloodbath that would ensue if they didn’t. Everyone is held hostage in one way or another.

At all times during this book you get a feeling that things could explode at any moment. Dixon keeps you enthralled, reminds you that everything is teetering on the edge, whether it’s a fragile pact made between men and beasts or a twitching finger hovering over a trigger. And when it all comes crashing down, when the dust settles and you see who's left standing, you'll realize you never saw it coming. It's an ending that will leave you numb yet hungry for more.

Snarl is a rollercoaster of a ride.  It’ll raise your adrenaline, get your blood pumping, maybe even leave you queasy, but you’ll be thoroughly entertained and won’t soon forget the experience.

Dixon delivers here.  Give Snarl a read.

-- Michael De Kler