Harvesting the Nightmare Fields, by Ross Jeffery
3 Oct 2024The Book
Synopsis:
xxxx awakes to the nightmare of a broken mind and body, at the mercy of a local farmer with a dark, abominable secret, who pulls him from the twisted wreck of his car.As he recovers, clawing his way back through tortured memories and twisted nightmares, xxxx realizes the person he fights to remember should have been best left forgotten, buried alongside the truth of his own personal demons.
And those demons are breaking through into reality...
Harvesting the Nightmare Fields is the latest novel from Bram Stoker-nominated author Ross Jeffery.
My Review
Harvesting the Nightmare Fields is a psychological horror novel written by Ross Jeffery, and published by Cemetery Gates Media. A story that plays with the loss of memory and with grief elements, exploring the mind of a character (Pip) that is living a nightmare, both mentally and physically, playing with the prose to create an oppressive sensation while exploring what's left of Pip.
After a car accident, our main character is "rescued" by a sort of farmer, Abe, that holds him prisoner in his home, and puts him the name Pip; a rescue that soon turns into a kidnap, pretty much in the style of Misery, but adding into the mix how Pip's memory is broken. While his body is healing, Abe puts him to work, hinting at many points what might be Pip's end, starting a cat-mouse game in which Pip will need to understand Abe's mind while he recovers and tries to survive his own nightmare.
As the story is told through Pip's POV, Jeffery takes the opportunity to share the panic and the fear he's experiencing. In a situation where he's the prey, he's not only suffering due to Abe, but also because of the nightmares he's experiencing during the nights. With a particular writing style, we share the fixations and how there are few things that can calm Pip. Abe is an excellent antagonist, sadistic but with a human side that makes you have empathy for him.
Greatly paced, Jeffery puts a great effort into creating an oppressive atmosphere, mixing those human fears with the supernatural elements. If you are looking for a great psychological horror proposal, Harvesting the Nightmare Fields is a perfect choice!
The Author/s
Ross Jeffery
Ross Jeffery is the Bram Stoker Award-nominated and 3x Splatterpunk Award-nominated author of The Devil’s Pocketbook, I Died Too, But They Haven’t Buried Me Yet, Tome, Juniper, Scorched, Only The Stains Remain, Milk Kisses & Other stories, Beautiful Atrocities & Tethered.
He has been published in print with a number of anthologies and his short fiction has also appeared in various online journals.
Ross’ work has also been translated into other languages