Wesley Thomas ‘Gore Zone’ Review

Written by: Myra Gabor

The title is apt, but gore for the sake of gore is not horrifying. It’s stultifying.

“Coaster to Hell” is Trevor’s story. At the Paradise Island theme park, while on a ride when he was seven-years-old, his parents disappeared. He still loves the theme park and tries to go every Halloween when the spooky decorations are up and the goose bumps are manageable. The title of the story lets you know what poor Trevor is in for.

“Icy Predator” takes place in the worst snowstorm in Michigan’s history. Only people who can’t get out of going to work are still leaving their homes. Since the snow started people have been disappearing. We see that indeed it’s the “icy predator” that has killed people and now, with lots of gore, is going after the story’s heroine.

“Be Brave”. I was under the impression that flying north or east is done at odd numbers of feet and flying west or south is done at even numbers of feet. Yet our boy has reached cruising altitude at 30,000 feet, is traveling internationally going west, so it’s clear  he’s not going to Europe or Mexico. Don’t know where he’s going and can’t figure that one out. Since I couldn’t stop thinking about this, that will let you know how scary this story is.

In “Medicine” Tanya awakens in a hospital room in what seems to be an empty hospital. As in the previous stories, the lights go out and the gore begins.

In “Sady” Buck drives a big rig. He’s fat and dirty and hasn’t been with a woman in over ten years. One night he sees a naked woman, Sady, lying on the road. He stops and hauls her into the back of the rig where he is sure she is dead. Being Buck, he gets out a condom and forces himself on her. To his astonishment, Sady opens her eyes and invites him to do it again. Until she decides that Buck is not her true love and must pay the ultimate price for betraying her.

Matt is “Working Nine Until Death” and feels that his life is mundane, even hopeless. He can barely afford his rent at his dead-end job, let alone all the fees associated with becoming an actor, which was his goal. When he realizes that everyone has already left the office for the day, he starts to leave too until he sees a note signed “the Boss” telling him that he can have a major raise if he can just make it through the carnage to the ground floor. You guessed it, lots of gore and blood to be gotten through.

There’s really no point in detailing all the stories. They either take place at night or the lights go out or both. No one escapes. The book needs an editor, someone who can proofread grammar. It’s ok if you’re looking for easy-to-read escapist short stories.

Order it here.

Rating: 3/5