I was pretty stoked when I received my copy of The Rack & Cue; over 400 pages of David Owain Hughes’ unique brand of uncensored, in-your-face, no holds barred horror. You see, I like big books, I get to spend more time in the characters’ lives. I have had a great time reading his stories, in addition to being shocked and disgusted (in a good way) by his well-crafted characters. Most of his other books have run in the 200 page range, now I had twice as much to enjoy!
The Rack & Cue started off by giving me a Canterbury Tales kind of feeling. This odd allotment of characters thrown together by circumstance, each one with their own intricate history/backstory. David Owain Hughes expertly builds these characters before exposing them to the horror that is The Rack & Cue.
If you take a look at the synopsis, you will get a good idea of where the story will go. The author takes his readers on a creative and creepy journey, there may have been a tad too much billiards play by play, but it worked. My real shock came at about the sixty percent mark. The Rack & Cue, as presented, was over; the characters I had come to know and care for were gone. A new, second story began, one with a tenuous connection to the first. David Owain Hughes maintained his excellent writing throughout, but the transition just threw me for a loop. I wanted more with Riggs and Iain, not the characters I was left with.
The Rack & Cue is a well-written, creative story. David Owain Hughes has kept true to his limit pushing modus operandi. Unfortunately, my expectations were at one place compared to what was delivered.