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    Afraid
    Afraid
    Afraid
    Audiobook9 hours

    Afraid

    Written by Jack Kilborn

    Narrated by Phil Gigante

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    WELCOME TO SAFE HAVEN, POPULATION 907...

    Nestled in the woods of Wisconsin, Safe Haven is miles from everything. With one road in and out, this is a town so peaceful it has never needed a full-time police force. Until now...

    A helicopter has crashed on the outskirts of town and something terrible has been unleashed. A classified secret weapon programmed to kill anything that stands in its way. Now it's headed for the nearest lights to do what it does best. Isolate. Terrorize. Annihilate.

    Soon all phone lines are dead and the road is blocked. Safe Haven's only chance for survival rests on the shoulders of an aging county sheriff. And as the body count rises, the sheriff realizes something even more terrifying—maybe death hasn't come to his little town by accident...

    WELCOME TO SAFE HAVEN, POPULATION 907... 906... 905...

    AFRAID by Jack Kilborn
    Are you afraid of the dark? You will be.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateApr 1, 2009
    ISBN9781423383123
    Afraid
    Author

    Jack Kilborn

    Joseph Andrew Konrath’s first novel, Whiskey Sour (2004), introduced Lt. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels. The books combine hair-raising scares and suspense with laugh out loud comedy. Under the name Jack Kilborn, Joe wrote the horror novel Afraid (2009). Joe's been nominated for several awards, including the Anthony, Macavity, Gumshoe, Dagger, and Barry, and has won the Derringer, Bob Kellog, EQMM Reader's Choice, and two Lovie awards. Joe is married, has three children and three dogs, and currently lives in a suburb of Chicago.

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    Reviews for Afraid

    4/5

    519 ratings96 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Reason for Reading: The plot intrigued me.Summary: A small town in Wisconsin which has so far only needed a sheriff and a drunk tank to keep the peace is going to find itself sorely lacking in defences. A helicopter crashes into the backwoods and unleashes a terrible horror that absolutely no one in town is safe from. It unrelentlessly attacks in the method it knows best: Isolate, terrorize, annihilate. The town is cut off from the rest of civilization but a few find out that the terror does have a purpose and they try, against all odds, to fight back.Comments: This book is all action. Right from page one to the end terror and horror continue non-stop with lots of blood, gore and page-turning excitement. This is the type of horror that uses science for its basis making the possibility of its reality not entirely beyond reason. The book also plays upon modern society's fear of terrorism, creating quite a heart thumping reading. The actions of our heroes are a bit over-the-top at times and the characters are two-dimensional with little depth or the ability to capture the reader's emotion. But in all reality this book doesn't try to be anything it isn't. It is simply a non-stop horror story which is worth the ride if you enjoy that sort of thing. This would make a good beach or plane read. I would read another book by the author.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Die Spannung ist kaum auszuhalten und man kann und will das Buch nicht aus der Hand legen!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 2/5
      It's a no from me , just seemed like a collection of grizzly murders loosely connected by a story .
    • 5/5
      Well, I just finished this book and don't know where to start LOL. It was a engrossing, fast-paced, extremely gory, sad, well-written, frightening, horrific (yet somehow plausible) read that had me laughing out loud at the end.Buy it. Read it. (Try and skim over the gore if you need) :-)
    • 5/5
      This was surprisingly good. I was staying longer than needed in my car. To listen to it
    • 5/5
      I have to say that I'm 55 so you have to figure I've read and listened to a lot of stories and this one was awesome. once you get past some cringe-worthy scenes you just can't figure who done it.
    • 1/5
      Blood, gore and utterly boring. No flow, and unsatisfying characters. Why so popular?
    • 3/5
      When a helicopter crashes in Safe Haven no has any ideal all hell is about to be unleashed on this small town. The body count rises fast. Only a small group of towns people will try their best to stop the horror. I won't say a lot about this book because I'm afraid I will give away to much of the plot. It is very fast paced. Barely gives you time to catch your breath before something worse happens. My main problem with the book was that is was a bit over the top in gross out. I think the book would have had the same impact with a lot less of the details of how the towns people died. Still I would say it was a decent read.
    • 5/5
      My first book key this author, and I think it was great. The descriptions were so vividly grisly, to almost nauseating proportions. Looking forward to reading more from this author
    • 3/5
      Was it the best book? No. Was it fun to listen to? Yeah. Whoever reviewed it and said it was like an 80s slasher horror movie was right. Thankfully, I like those and think they are fun.
    • 5/5
      What a listen this was! A gripping read from start to finish with the narrator giving it some gusto, he did very well with the characterization and the tone changed to fit with what was happening. You get to care about the characters too and the story is easy to follow. A satisfying and engaging audiobook. Worth a credit in my opinion.
    • 5/5
      Excellent book with excellent narrators. It's nice to finally find a book that's not filled with idiotic people doing weak and stupid things!
    • 4/5
      It was pretty good, action packed with gory details. It had a story and good characters which you rooted for. Good narration too! A good narrator can really make it break a good story!
    • 4/5
      Slightly predictable but that didn’t interfere with how great a listen it was. There are not a ton of horror stories that make me go WTF and this one was full of WTF moments. While it was gory, it wasn’t terribly gratuitous
    • 5/5
      This was one of the greatest books ever, lots of action and gore, kept you on your toes. Was hooked from the start.
    • 4/5
      I don't normally read military-super soldiers-science fiction-type books, but this one drew me in and I had a hard time putting it down. Afraid is action-packed from beginning to end. The tension in this book will have you jacked-up and compels you to keep turning the pages.Super soldiers, named Red-Ops, have invaded the small Wisconsin town of Safe Haven leaving it anything but safe.Afraid is violent, gruesome, graphic, and yet entertaining. I really have no complaints about the book except it ended kind of abruptly.Overall, this was a very engaging read that I highly recommend!*Book Hollow
    • 5/5
      It was my first Jack Kilborn story, and I enjoyed it. It is brutal and not for the squeamish. The torture scenes are pretty graphic, so be forewarned - I found myself squirming at times. The book starts out at a great pace but slows down a bit as the story continues. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing, as the action in some novels can be too much. It offers a solid storyline. Sure, the end could have offered better closure, especially the consequences that followed these terrible events, but it does not detract from an enjoyable read.

      The narrator, Phil Gigante, is the best I have heard. He was brilliant, and his characterisation of Bernie superb. I will certainly read more books narrated by him.
    • 4/5
      A book that reinforced my desire to never live anywhere but a big city. This was such a good book. I am really into horror and mystery and this book hit all my buttons. Best of all is that, unlike may other books in the genre, I had no idea what was going to happen in the end. It kept me reading because I wanted to know what was going to happen next and whether my guesses were true.I have never read anything by this author before but I'll definitely be looking him up to see what else he has to offer.
    • 1/5
      Not going to read. Too much violence.
    • 3/5
      For readers who enjoy horror stories this one might be enjoyable, if they like their books bloody and violent. It's not a genre I tend to read, but seeing Barry Eisler had posted this book on either facebook or Twitter, I thought I'd give it a try.

      This book was much too gory and gruesome for me. I read real fast past those sections so as to get to the end of the story hoping someone, anyone would get out alive. Much like when I'm in the movie theaters and there are snakes coiled around hissing. I know they're there, but I really don't want to look. I don't believe in spoilers so I won't say what happened at the end.

      It will probably be a long while before I read horror again. Will this review help any reader make a decision? Well, I cannot read Stephen King either. Last one I read was Cujo and that one gave me nightmares for a month.

    • 5/5
      Hands down this is 1 of the BEST horror books that I've read in years!!!
    • 4/5
      Horror? This is it. Has it all from suspense to graphic gory details to unexpected twists to mind control. Have added Jack Kilborn to my favorite authors list.
    • 3/5
      This was absolutely brutal! I have never read anything this violent before. I have read books that insinuate violence or violent activity, but never anything like this. If you are the least bit squeamish, do NOT pick up this book!

      With that being said, the book was good and I will read more in this series and by this author. I can't say anything about the story w/o giving it away so I will just leave the review as is.
    • 4/5
      First of all, I think this book is mis-categorized as horror. In my opinion, it's not a horror novel. It's a suspense thriller novel. A lot of people say this book deeply scared them, but I didn't find this book scary at all. It relies on a lot of blood and gore to scare you, but that sort of stuff isn't scary to me. It's more like a cop out for true horror. So that's why I think it's just a thriller with lots of gore. However, that's not to say I didn't enjoy this novel. I did. I think it's a finely written work, and I felt very invested in the characters. They all seemed really real to me, and I cared about what happened to them. The only character I felt fell a bit flat was Josh. And the story was very interesting. I haven't read anything quite like it before. All in all this is a great read, but if you're expecting something truly terrifying, not just gross, you might want to try something else.
    • 5/5
      This is a real Suicide Squad -- not some namby-pamby rogues gallery. A half-dozen sociopaths are given CIA mental conditioning and drug therapy. Then they crash land in sleepy-town, USA. Chaos ensues.I've never read anything as fast-paced as this. Chapters are short, sentences are short, scenes are short. Although the characterization is light, the action is visceral enough and quick enough that you want to see more. You might think it's a Stephen King-style thriller from the cover and blurb -- slow burn, supernatural junk, psychic powers for no reason -- but it's a far cry.It reminds me of a high-budget B-movie where they went heavy on script and light on special effects. The horror comes from how realistic (as in the killer is a criminal trained to be a soldier, not Pennywise the clown).
    • 3/5
      Okay, okay, it wasn't great book. It was . . . okay and contained all the literary and intellectual content that one would expect with a title like "Afraid". Certainly not the finest piece of literature that I've ever read. Perhaps, not exactly what I was expecting. But, it did move along and I didn't have to spend 20 minutes in each chapter looking up words that were used during 19th century New Zealand. Fun and fast moving. What more can you ask for in a horror/thriller?

      The book didn't exactly meet my definition of horror. It fit more closely in the thriller category for me. I kept thinking throughout that it had the makings of a pretty good movie plot (By today's standards anyway).


    • 5/5
      This is a roller-coaster ride into terror! I loved every page as I cringed at the scenes in my head. Awesome read!
    • 4/5
      The book description of "Afraid" was enough to put a hook into me. I downloaded it to my Kindle and immediately began reading - jumping right to the top of my list of 65 to be read "free" Kindle books. I hadn't looked at any of the reviews and was envisioning a Steven King type story with extraterrestrial influence; that's kinda how it started, but soon turned into a masochistic bloodfest, disguised as a rogue military special operation. However, these soldiers appear to be superhuman, mindless robots who are skilled in interrogation, torture and striving for success at all costs. Their mission is to locate one special person, a former Vietnam Veteran, who has been hiding in seclusion within their community for the last forty years. Many of the townspeople know of him, but hadn't seen him for decades and don't have a clue of his whereabouts. Unfortunately, their ignorance results in a slow, painful, grotesque death.The sheriff, also a former Vietnam War Veteran, takes it upon himself to save the town and dispose of the men that are seeking out this special person - his long-lost brother. Other locals join in the fight, but the odds are against them. The phone lines and cell phone towers are disconnected, the only road in and out of the rural town is blocked by military personnel, their job to let nobody in or out. There is no help available! They must do it themselves! Who will win?Jack Kilborn keeps readers on a high level alert, making it difficult to "relax" while reading his thrilling story. Twists and turns show up without warning - keeping readers up way too late in the night to see what happens next. This book is filled with very descriptive scenes and gore...if you are able to read through zombie or serial killer novels, then you shouldn't have any trouble with "Afraid". Buyer beware: once you start - it will be difficult to put down. Great job Mr. Kilborn! I look forward to reading more of your work!John Podlaski, authorCherries - A Vietnam War Novel
    • 2/5
      If you're like me, then you grew up reading comic books. One of my favorite comic book heroes is Captain America: Steve Rogers, a 4F-type who volunteers for a secret government program, is transformed into the perfect physical specimen and kicks butt (typically Nazi) for Uncle Sam.

      But only in a sentimental, 1950s sorta way.

      This book gives one an idea of what would happen if DARPA really did try something like that.

    • 5/5
      I have read several of Kilborn's books. Some are good and some are not.. This was a well written book of terror that was never ending and was literally a book I could not put down until it was finished. That is extremely rare for me. This is a story of red ops...government enhanced and controlled psychopathic killers. When a team is unleashed on a small isolated town, how can anyone survive?