I picked this book up hoping for a horror story. Instead it’s a very action heavy story about a militant group trying to take down The Woolsaw Group, one of those evil companies with their hands in everything and rich as Croesus. There’s a lot of talking, a lot of planning, a lot of talking about the Woolsaw Group, but not much actually happens for the first third of the book. There’s a moment with rain, a moment with caterpillars, but those are tiny blips in the midst of all the talking — or rather, all the book telling me that people are talking.

For example, when Adelaide decides to trust Nail, the resistance group, and to join them, Rosa — one of her kidnappers — expresses doubt. After all, what if Adeline changes her mind? Rather than answer the question, the author avoids it altogether, saying that Adeline explains her decision, tells them what her parents did, and even Rosa is convinced at the end. Great for Rosa, but as a reader, I’m not convinced. I would have liked to have seen how she won over her kidnappers, but nope. I just have to take the author’s word that it happened … just not in the book.

This is more a book talking about the evils of giant corporations than a thriller, and more a thriller than a horror. Honestly, I didn’t enjoy it and was quite bored throughout. I kept waiting for something to happen, and when it did, it was over almost before it began with none of the supposed horrific moments — a demon child using his demon powers, the demon child’s birth, the death of the evil grandmother, the visits from the great evil one — actually having more than a sentence or two on page. It felt almost as if the horror elements weren’t the focus of the book.

But the talking and the telling sure were.

That said, the writing is good, the pace is a bit uneven with a lot of time spent on talking and so little spent on anything else. And the idea of a demon infant being mostly an infant, able to use their powers instinctively rather than deliberately is clever. Just not utilized well enough for me. I’m sorry, but this is a solid pass. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the arc.

You say “Rosemary’s Baby” and I will read it and I enjoyed this iteration of the concept. I wished the idea of what happens when you chop the head off the proverbial capitalist monster was fleshed out more though.

3 out of 5 stars

The Captive is a comedic horror-thriller that hooked me early on and kept me curious with its wild premise and moments of sharp social commentary. There were definitely parts that kept me turning the pages, especially with how it tackled the idea of capitalism as the real monster.

That said, there were a few moments—mostly tied to certain characters—that gave me the ick, and overall, it didn’t always feel like the full-blown horror story I was expecting. The writing also felt a bit uneven in places, and I found myself wishing some sections were more developed.

Still, I’d recommend this one to readers who enjoy genre-bending stories with a satirical edge. If you're into books that mix dark humor, weird vibes, and social critique, this one might be worth the read.

Just a middling book. Not exceptional characters, a pretty wishy washy plot, and kinda just went along. The connection to Rosemary’s Baby seems a bit of a stretch too sadly.

I'll be honest, I will always and forever be a sucker for horror stories where the horror is pretty much capitalism. I found it thrilling and fun, and Burgoyne does a great job of setting up what appears to be a familiar premise and then taking us in a wild new direction with it.

I have to say, this was not as much horror as I thought it was going to be; there was some but it felt like a cruel tease! (of course, that is a personal preference) There were also some lines that came from one of the characters that made me feel icky.

BUT! The plot, to me, was reminiscent of the whole thing with Brian Thompson and UnitedHealthCare. The Captive extrapolates upon the real-life monsters out there gatekeeping healthcare like it's some sort of privilege. It can be a mindfuck to see how monsters from film and books can so easily overlap with the human monsters existing among us.

This was chaos, not unlike a joyride. And who isn't a sucker for a little devil bébé?

Capitalism breeds monsters. Quick and fun read for what it is, though admittedly a bit less fun compared to other Ned Beauman's novels. But then again, little is funny about the monster that capitalism is.

I DNF-ed this because the writing style had too much rambling for me. Descriptions felt like they were
dragged out. The writing is good, it just kept losing me.

Thanks to Soho Press/Hell's Hundred for this ARC of 'The Captive' by Kit Burgoyne.

Extremely enjoyable chiller wherein a very heavily pregnant woman - the daughter of an anonymous but massively influential pair of multi-billionaires - is kidnapped from outside an exclusive Harley St. clinic by a far left revolutionary group called The Nail.

And that's where everything goes berserk. It becomes clear immediately that the woman doesn't object to being kidnapped - welcomes it, actually - and that the baby she's carrying is no ordinary baby. Murderous icicle storms, mucus-y rain, and stinging caterpillar afterbirth being the key indicators of that.

The rest of the story is mainly a frantic and violent cat-and-mouse chase through London as the evil billionaires try to recover their daughter and her son - the demon spawn and future ruler of their evil dominion - but, throughout the novel, there's a very clear focus on corporate and governmental abuses and corruption and the insidious tentacular interjection of big business and profit-over-people into every aspect of our lives and how social and institutional services that we should be able to rely on have been sacrificed at the altar (see what I did there?) of green and evil profiteers.

The characters on the side of good are really likeable and relatable and there's some real humour at play here as they work their way through the battle of good v evil.

Loved it!

This was more of an action thriller than a horror and I was very bored most of the time. This book is just not for me and I should have known that from the moment we had no birthing scene, it’s just a blasphemy to skip the birth of the Antichrist. It’s not a bad book, I just didn’t enjoy the writing style, it was very basic and the ending is disappointing and predictable. Light spoilers: ******there is the usual stereotypical “satanic” insemination, off screen/of course/, the memory loss trope and the stupid understanding that the heir can only be a male. You can give it a try if you love more of an action plot, some average character development and very little horror in between.***
Thank you to NetGalley and Soho Press | Hell's Hundred for granting me the wish to read this book.

thank you to soho press for the arc!

this was good, compelling and funny from the very first page. the horror aspects of it were a little downplayed but i think the author was going for something more goofy so i don’t hold that against them. there was more a quiet horror feel with some of the things that were done to our main cast of characters and their word, it was like it built up throughout the book.

the characters were so interesting- all of them set up as a cliche (the grizzled revolution general, the pampered princess who actually hates her gilded cage, the optimistic/reluctant revolution rookie) who then turned into something more.

the plot was good, the characters were good, and i think this is a very apt time for this to be coming out.

2.5 stars

Billed as a ROSEMARY’S BABY for today’s world, (look, ROSEMARY’S BABY is a classic. ROSEMARY’S BABY is ROSEMARY’S BABY for today’s world, no updates needed. Even her outfits still look great.) a group of anti-capitalists kidnap a pregnant heiress, (they don’t know she’s pregnant) twenty-three year old Adeline Woolsaw, in order to expose the Woodsaw Group, who own pretty much everything.

However, when they take her she’s about to go into labor. Oh, and she’s really not that upset about being kidnapped. And this doesn’t seem to be an ordinary child (“He has his father’s eyes.” (“Rosemary’s Baby” joke.)). Fun and hijinks ensue.

Apparently Kit Burgoyne is a pen name for Ned Beaumont who has been “Booker-listed,” and I assume that means he’s actually been up for the award, versus just being eligible for the award, which I think just means your book was published in English and maybe you are from the UK, which means, imagine the dreck that is “Booker-listed.” Anyway, this was pretty standard caper mixed with horror, but nothing new here. Not a bad book, but not a great one, either, and got a little schlocky at the end.