August 30, 2012 – Zezee with Books

Breed — Available on Amazon and at your local bookstore.

I came across this book on NPR Books where they have an exclusive first read feature for it. This excerpt of the story was eerily captivating. I didn’t want to like it and I wanted to stop reading but at the end of the excerpt, I wanted to know more. The excerpt had an ominous tone to it and I wanted to know what would happen. The next day, I happened to see the book in Barnes & Noble. I was unable to leave without first knowing how the story ends so I sat and read.

It was unsettling. It’s a dark tale about a couple who so desperately want kids that they are willing to try anything. Since they are wealthy, they are able to try all possible fertility procedures but all prove unsuccessful.

After receiving a tip from an acquaintance, the Twisdens dash off to Slovenia and partake of Dr. Kis’ experiment, which is guaranteed to get them pregnant. Changes begin to take place almost immediately, but the experiment’s purpose was met and they produced beautiful twins. Ten years later, their life has changed drastically. The Twisdens have become very animalistic and predatory. In turn, the twins become convinced that their parents will kill them so they run away and seek refuge in a teacher. Unfortunately, their parents are able to find them wherever they go and escaping them seems to be impossible.

Though I was disturbed as I read (I kept thinking that it is possible that such a thing could happen), I enjoyed the story immensely. The gory descriptions of the Twisdens will stick in your mind and haunt you as you read. Breed is a great horror story. I was terrified the entire time that I read it and even now I have mental images of Alex Twisden chasing after his kids, slobbering as his taste buds ignite at the scent of them but trying to regain some control of himself at the same time.