Aug 27, 2013: After seeing Billy Higgins’s review, I thought I would check out The Sick Land for myself—and his comments are spot on. The first entry in researcher Alan Case’s blog is so unpromising as to be amusing, but it’s not long before the shocks are coming thick and fast as Case’s fellow scientists become overwhelmed by the biological/supernatural blight that infects the area outside their research station.

Though there are fleeting allusions to classics like Solaris, The Thing and the stories of H.P. Lovecraft (including a wry homage via a turn-of-the-century explorer named Howard Phillips), The Sick Land feels fresh, original and unpredictable.

The writing is terse and unadorned, the entries brief and briskly paced, as Case describes the horror unfolding around him (and possibly within him) as dispassionately as he can. This tension between the story’s crisp plain style and grotesquely disturbing content makes for compulsive, unsettling reading. The effect is reminiscent of the best found-footage horror, with a verisimilitude that gets under your skin and stays there. I went through all available entries (168 at this writing) within one 12-hour period, and can’t wait for more.

My very few criticisms: some of the individual blog entries could be longer, especially given Case’s relative isolation and few distractions; and more could be made of his use of the internet, either by recapping some of his research or linking to items of interest (real or fictional) that resonate with his journey. But these are minor quibbles. The Sick Land is a gripping, suspenseful read, and an excellent candidate to move off the screen and onto the printed page. I will continue reading this—but only well before bedtime.

6 of 6 members found this review helpful.
Help us improve!  Request an invite or log in to rate this review.

Oct 21, 2013: After reading a lot of fantasy and romance stories I was looking for something scary. I saw a review claiming that The Sick Land was the story to read.

Blogfics can be really great, or really dull. After the first couple of posts I read I felt like I was reading a teenage girl blog and not a thriller, I wasn’t too excited about it, but I was just so wrong . . . the posts are short and the way they are written makes [more . . .]

Aug 27, 2013: Geez, this is scary.

On a basic level, "The Sick Land" is the story of a scientist who becomes part of a research team that investigates "The Sick Land," an inexplicable area of scientific anomalies that’s been researched somewhat heavily by academia. Despite the research, no one can figure out exactly why the environment is so different and—as we very soon find out—so horrifying.

On the one hand, I’m loathe to recommend [more . . .]

Oct 16, 2015: Definitely draws inspiration from lovecraft. I’m far more disturbed by this story than I thought I would be. I feel like I’m being watched.

If you want creepy, this is really good.

[more . . .]