Wilthaven By Oli Jacobs| Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Welcome to Wilthaven!

A quiet English town that thrives on local produce, old fashioned values, and survival against the rule of an Eldritch Abomination. Here, you will enjoy endless walks, soothing sounds, forceful avatars, and the kind of joys that only an English township can bring!

(Please note: this dossier has been compiled by the BPD based on materials found relating to P1983 - or Wilthaven as you know it. Treat every sentence, word, image, and syllable with the utmost paranoia. Be safe.)

Wilthaven is a horror comedy by Oli Jacobs, who previously mined scares & chuckles from the likes of The Children of Little Thwopping, Filmic Cuts, and Bad Sandwich. As always, he hopes you enjoy.

Wilthaven, what a fucking ride you were!  This book encapsulates everything that indie published can offer.  Would I have heard of it if I weren’t approached to review? No.  Did I enjoy the tale told, absofuckinglutely?  The title of the book gives nothing away – a world with rolling hills, luscious green grass, stunning lakes and an evil that rules over them all.  Not exactly a utopia but you can’t deny that you aren’t intrigued.  A deep and compelling story with writing as sharp as a tack.  With a synopsis that pulls you in like a long-awaited fish, my kindle was gripped beyond an inch of its life.

“The World is a treacherous one.  A man who walks into the unknown without considering all aspects is a man set on preparing for his own funeral.”

This was most definitely a book within a book.  Wilthaven felt like something entirely new.  It was fresh and unique and the horror purveyor within me was awakened with a renewed sense of vigour – I lapped it up, well inhaled is probably a more accurate description.  Oli Jacobs knew the ingredients to make a horror cocktail but somewhere along the way he discovered a secret ingredient and blew it clean out of the park. 

The opening gave us the necessary introduction to the BPD investigation into Wilthaven given the designation P1983.  It is based within a P-Class dimension.  The investigation spans from 1960 – present day and has been led by three agents and they present various documents of evidence, from posters, police reports to radio transmissions.  The effect was outstandingly good.  I loved the spooks feel I got from immersing myself into the book’s pages.  It was a genius idea, but I was fearful that from such a powerful start that we would find out too much too quickly.  Have no fear you are in incredibly safe hands with Oli Jacobs. 

The incredible plot instantly starts messing with you.  Its an intricate idea that just brings Goosebumps to my skin just thinking about it.  Take the disappearances.  The logical brain wants to find a reasonable explanation but what happens when there just isn’t one?  Forget rules of physics and relativity in Wilthaven because nothing is as it seems.  Jacobs has crafted a world that can possibly only exist in the craziest of imaginations (in a good way).  Absorbing it all is an out of body experience.  What lies beneath the story, the themes, and the narration?  He tells a deeper tale of how humanity and evil can exist in parallel until a lure beckon from within. 

Wierd? Well, that’s why I say come to Wilthaven, my friend! Have some proper local ale, some proper local food, and try not to be killed or worse by Hq’tar.”

Wilthaven is diabolical, intelligent, and unnerving.  I read it cover to cover in just over six hours, it was utterly unputdownable.  So propulsive and original.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Oli Jacobs is a writer of words. Sometimes they are very short, sometimes they are very long. Overall, though, they are worth the power of your eyeballs. These words take on the form of twisted tales about manic decadents, adventurous spacemen, and terrifying horrors in the darkness.

Either way, he hopes you enjoy these words, and will join him on his journey down the crazy paving of creativity.

Oli can be found on Twitter as @olijacobsauthor, or located on Facebook at Facebook.com/OJBooks