Becoming by Glenn Rolfe

Something ancient has wormed its way up from the earth....A change has come today.After Michele Cote's best friend disappears, no one believes her story about the thing responsible for his abduction. Forced to figure out the mystery for herself, Michele encounters terror she has never known, and witnesses the impossible.When other members of the community begin to change or vanish, Sheriff Shane Davis must look beyond reason in order to stop the evil seeping into this small town. With help from an unlikely source, Sheriff Davis will come face-to-face with the truth. You can't destroy what you don't understand. For the small town of Avalon, Maine, the future is about change...for better or worse.Becoming is the next horrifying novel from author, Glenn Rolfe.

Becoming by Glenn Rolfe is a fun rampant creature feature. Rolfe in my opinion is one of the very best at creatures. You can always rely on him to bring action and horror in one tightly packed nightmarish sandwich. One thing about his stories is the knowledge that you’re in it until its over, each page leads you onwards – your snacks will go uneaten, and your coffee will go cold but the story burns bright through the minutes.

Becoming can be categorised into a coming-of-age tale. I did enjoy it, but I didn’t think it was one of his strongest outings. There’s several different themes running throughout – difficult parental relationships, sexual abuse, and body horror. Descriptions akin to Lovecraftian horror and the writing was enjoyable. The small-town horror felt realistic without being dramatically over the top and the scenes and POV’s were fluid and uninterrupted.

Becoming is a story about an unearthed entity residing in Jade Lake in a small town in Maine. It begins with a teenage boy being dragged into the lake by a creature with mysterious tentacles. This is witnessed by his friend, Michele Cote. She’s instantly worried for her friend – in the time that he was pulled under, her suspicions instantly turn to acknowledgement that he would surely have drowned. She rushes home to tell her dad and is met with scepticism. I mean who wouldn’t be? A tentacle pulling a boy to his death? It sounds like the ramblings of the overactive imagination of a teenager.

Michele has a difficult relationship with her mother. She doesn’t have any respect for her – she has obvious disdain for her, the way her parents’ relationship has dwindled, her choice to smoke cigarettes, and the rules she imposes on her daughter. She believes she does it to ruin her life. Isn’t that just what all teenagers believe at some point? I know my fifteen-year-old has similar reactions to things we impose upon him but really its only because we DO care. This element brought a sense of realism to an otherwise unbelievable story.

 The creature of Jade Lake – The Green Lady pushes out her chosen one – Greg Hickey to do her bidding. The tentacles are used for ill-gotten gains. They change the host and they become one of them. From then on, these creatures aim to change all of the inhabitants of Avalon, Maine. I’d advise you to not get attached to the characters – Rolfe isn’t scared to make those hard creative decisions. Characters die. He doesn’t shy away from gore and grisly ends.

It’s a fun and quick read but I did feel like there was something missing from the story. The ending wasn’t tied up as well as I would typically like, but it was fine. Character development wasn’t as strong especially with the main protagonist, Michele. I know she was a teenager and that was what the author was going for but she felt a bit shallow, maybe a bit empty even before the action took off.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Glenn Rolfe is an author, singer, and songwriter from the haunted woods of New England. He studied Creative Writing at Southern New Hampshire University and continues his education in the world of horror by devouring the novels of Stephen King, Jack Ketchum, Richard Laymon, and many others. He has four children, Ruby, Ramona, Axl, and Rivers. He is grateful to be loved despite his weirdness.

He is the author of Nocturnal Pursuits, August’s Eyes, Until Summer Comes Around, The Window, Becoming, Blood and Rain, The Haunted Halls, Chasing Ghosts, Boom Town, Abram’s Bridge, Things We Fear, Land of Bones, and Slush.

He is hard at work on many more. Stay tuned!

Glenn Rolfe