What an unexpectedly super read this turned out to be. It had me on the edge of my seat biting my fingernails. It was atmospheric, descriptive and articulate.

The characters are American soldiers in the Vietnam War who realise just how ill-prepared they are when they cross paths with a terrifying supernatural entity in the North Vietnam jungle. The soldiers must set aside animosity and internal squabbling to have any chance of survival. New bonds are formed and a sense of camaraderie develops.... but not everyone is getting out alive.

Inhuman is extremely unsettling and this, coupled with the horrors of war, makes for an exciting page-turner. If I had to mention anything negative, it would be the length of the book (571 pages) — it takes a while for the main action to begin and not everyone will be invested enough to get there. That being said, the story was fantastic and the writing impressive. I really enjoyed it.

4 Stars!



Sometimes a book just seems to call out for attention even if I have never heard of the book or the author. That was the case with Inhuman by Eric Leland. From the wicked cover to the synopsis of the terrifying tale within, I knew this was a book I had to read and did not hesitate to pick up a copy.



It is 1969 and the Vietnam War is in full swing. Soldiers are losing their lives in war and taking the lives of innocent people with them. The time is ripe for an ancient evil to once more be unleashed upon the Earth. Recon Team Florida went missing near a remote village in North Vietnam and no one knows what happened. When a team is put together to find the members of the team, dead or alive, Captain Brandon Doran finds himself in an unenviable position. He did not want to take the mission but it was the only chance he had to clear his record. Sargent First Class John Nicholas and the rest of Recon Team New Jersey do not want the inexperienced man sent along to babysit them. But they have a job to do and they have to get in, find Recon Team Florida or what is left of them, and get back out alive.



None of them, no matter how experienced, were prepared for what they would find. In the jungles of Vietnam, there is a demon who is hellbent on once more returning to haunt the Earth. Even the NVA largely avoids the remote section of the jungle the New Jersey finds itself in. With the help of a scared local woman, the team finds itself facing down an ancient evil that had once been barely trapped. If it is set loose once more, the entire world could feel its wrath. Caught between human atrocity and inhuman evil, Brandon and Recon Team New Jersey find themselves in a struggle for their lives and the lives of everyone in the world.



War is hell, but what if Hell really lies at the heart of the war? Leland explores this in Inhuman and does a good job of playing off the horrors of war perpetrated by humans against the pure evil of a devil trying to manipulate things to his own vision of Hell on Earth. The novel is very dark and it takes the reader deep into the deepest depths of human and demonic depravity. There is not a lot of gratuitous violence, although there is enough to satisfy fans of that ilk, but there is a lot of the blackness of the human soul that leaks through into this novel. This novel will make the reader want to cheer for the characters at time but also will make that same reader cringe at the actions and decisions that these same characters make along the way. Just as in life, there are no easy answers in this story and every decision comes with a heavy price that must be paid.



In spite of the title, what really makes Inhuman really shine is the humanity of the story. This is a novel about a band of brothers, warriors pulled together in a common mission, who must learn to accept each other for what they are and strive for the greater good. There is a lot of characterization in this story and the reader can easily relate to the characters regardless of whether they are likable or not. They are human. Leland plays this human aspect off perfectly against the demonic evil in the story to pull everything together and make the story flow. The reader may feel uneasy at times on how things are unfolding but it is easy to understand the events of the story and the motives behind them. This is not a perfect book but neither are the characters or the reader. This is a very human story of an inhuman event that puts the horror solidly in the face of the reader and forces the reader to look into his own soul and what makes him human. I was not sure what to expect when I started but I did not expect this. Inhuman is not only a very good horror novel but a very strong novel in general. I cannot recommend the book any higher for those who are not faint of heart.



I would like to thank RTNY Publishing and NetGalley for this review copy. Inhuman is available now.

About:

Sergeant First Class John Nicholas and his Recon Team New York, lead by the inexperienced Captain Brandon Doran, are sent on a rescue mission in North Vietnam to find Recon Team Florida have gone missing.

‘At first, John expects heavy resistance. But intercepted radio traffic suggests something near that village has spooked even hardened NVA. And soon after New York's midnight insertion behind enemy lines, John finds out what.’

My Thoughts:

INHUMAN is an intense Supernatural, Military Thriller that I didn’t want to end—with unexpected, cringeworthy moments and scenes that broke my heart. Author Eric Leland does an excellent job submerging the reader into the vast jungle of Vietnam alongside characters you genuinely care about as they come face to face with formidable foes.

Highly Recommend!

Thank you, Eric Leland and Publicist Shelby Kisgen, for providing me with an eBook and Paperback copy of INHUMAN in the request for an honest review.

Trigger Warnings: sexual abuse, suicide, child abuse, discrimination

Mr. Eric Leland, you have written a damn fine novel.
This is one of the most realistically written books I have ever read and it is an excruciatingly intense character study about a group of men on a mission in the jungle. It's about friendship and brotherhood and leadership, transformation and redemption, the strength of family and tradition and it made me feel darn near every emotion known to man. It is also a very scary supernatural possession story. All of those things come together and work because of the strength of the characters. I can't tell you the last time I cared more for a bunch of letters written on a page (or on my kindle) but I sooooo connected with every character, loved them or HATED them, and was absolutely riveted from beginning to end. Hard to believe this is a debut novel as it is so well written and is very mature and focused.

I also have to tip my hat to the way the demon stuff was handled. I don't want to give away too much but let me say that I'm pretty picky when it comes to dialogue with demons and monsters and the like. I have a low tolerance threshold for what I consider corny and a lot of good and otherwise solid horror has been ruined by corniness or something that takes me out of whatever it is. For example the Evil Dead remake is a pretty good horror flick IMO but in the beginning when the father is about to light his possessed daughter on fire she says something about taking his soul and oh my god it was terrible and super corny and I laughed and the rest of the people in the theater got mad at me. BUT there is none of that here. There's more of a less is more approach to dialogue and all of it fits and flows and like everything else in the book, it works.

I got this from Netgalley and I want to thank them and Eric Leland for the opportunity to read this book but I gotta say I would pay ten bucks for this book. It is better than a lot of the stuff out there and is as satisfying a reading experience as I can remember having in a very long time. Well done Mr. Leland and I'm looking forward to what comes next.