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A review by the_lectorem
Doom Phage: Night Terror by Dreagen
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.5
Doom Phage is a supernatural horror fiction with a classic trope and setting, where seven friends decide to sneak out of their summer camp and explore an abandoned prison—only to unknowingly release a nightmarish creature that starts hunting them down. What begins as a carefree summer camp adventure soon turns into a killing ground, forcing the characters into a desperate survival game of hide-and-seek—and running for their lives.
It's been a while since I wanted to read horror fiction just to experience a different premise, apart from my usual thrillers and non-fiction. Doom Phage turned out to be a bullseye hit with the way the author brilliantly executed the story. The first 60% of the book takes its time setting up the main characters—Maddy, Sasami, Eva, and Marianna—along with three boys who, I was sure, were included just to meet a dreadful end.
As I mentioned, there isn’t much horror until the latter half of the book. But once it starts, the mayhem takes over with full-fledged chaos that kept me on edge, and some atmospheric details even gave me chills. The author certainly knows how to use darkness and eerie details to heighten the horror, making this a gripping and fast-paced read.
There aren’t any extreme gory descriptions that might make readers uneasy, but the sense of survival, psychological tension between the characters, and the helplessness they feel while being chased by the creature—amid the piling bodies of their friends—deliver a frightening and entertaining reading experience. It’s a short book, with less than 150 pages, but that was a bit of a downside for me. I would have liked a more elaborate buildup, exploring the characters of Maddy, Sasami, and Marianna separately—where they come from, their families—and a more detailed origin of the supernatural creature.
In conclusion, I would certainly recommend this book for its immersive premise and suspenseful supernatural horror. If you’re looking for a quick and gripping horror fiction to get your adrenaline pumping, Doom Phage is definitely a book worth trying.
It's been a while since I wanted to read horror fiction just to experience a different premise, apart from my usual thrillers and non-fiction. Doom Phage turned out to be a bullseye hit with the way the author brilliantly executed the story. The first 60% of the book takes its time setting up the main characters—Maddy, Sasami, Eva, and Marianna—along with three boys who, I was sure, were included just to meet a dreadful end.
As I mentioned, there isn’t much horror until the latter half of the book. But once it starts, the mayhem takes over with full-fledged chaos that kept me on edge, and some atmospheric details even gave me chills. The author certainly knows how to use darkness and eerie details to heighten the horror, making this a gripping and fast-paced read.
There aren’t any extreme gory descriptions that might make readers uneasy, but the sense of survival, psychological tension between the characters, and the helplessness they feel while being chased by the creature—amid the piling bodies of their friends—deliver a frightening and entertaining reading experience. It’s a short book, with less than 150 pages, but that was a bit of a downside for me. I would have liked a more elaborate buildup, exploring the characters of Maddy, Sasami, and Marianna separately—where they come from, their families—and a more detailed origin of the supernatural creature.
In conclusion, I would certainly recommend this book for its immersive premise and suspenseful supernatural horror. If you’re looking for a quick and gripping horror fiction to get your adrenaline pumping, Doom Phage is definitely a book worth trying.