The Chroma by Jake Farrow
Published By: Infinity Publishing
Release Date: January 6, 2012
Format: Paperback - 207 pages
ISBN: 0741435620
Genre: Psychological Horror Thriller
About The Author:
A native of new York City now residing in Brooklyn, Jake Farrow earned an associate degree in liberal arts from Kingsborough Community College and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Brooklyn College. A train operator for the Metropolitan Transit Authority, Farrow is a movie and science fiction enthusiast with a passion for combat aircraft and military history. The Chroma is his first novel.
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Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author's publicist in exchange for my honest review and hosting a virtual book event on my book review blog site.
Virtual Book Event: On Monday, June 4, 2012, author Jake Farrow participated in a virtual book event with an Author Guest Post on Jersey Girl Book Reviews.
http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2012/06/author-guest-post-jake-farrow-author-of.html
The Chroma Book Trailer
Book Description:
The Chroma is a psychological horror story involving a Chroma, which inhabits trees and casts bloodshadows that create unpredictable and unthinkable horror for two brothers and their friends trying to survive in the Canadian wilderness. This novel centers on the adventures and misadventures of John who, haunted by the guilt of abandoning his younger brother Michael, embarks on a getaway in the Canadian outdoors in an attempt to reconcile with him. En route, John encounters the Chroma, in the form of a tree with a bloodshadow. The Chroma latches onto John's guilt like a parasite.
The Chroma cannot be seen while its bloodshadow is visible and, conversely, the bloodshadow cannot be seen while the Chroma is visible. Characterized by such contradictions, the Chroma generates reactive panic.
The Chroma capitalizes on everything from the habitant predators to the traitorous member of the group to achieve its unprecedented purpose - to sever the bond between brothers with the use of deception but without the use of coercion, to patiently acquire the demise of the senior brother.
Book Excerpt:
Chroma: “More specifically, chromatics is the science of colors. Color intensity. Amusing. But that earthly definition bears only one trivial resemblance to me. I’m neither black, white nor gay.” John raises his brows and smirks: “Don’t you mean gray?” “Surprised I have a sense of humor, John? Trying to reason with you, after all, is just as laughable as a man talking to a tree.”
“I am not truly talking to you, although you would swear that I am. Also, I can only talk to you in this manner while we’re both unconscious. Furthermore, as I am the channel and you are the conductor, I retain partial authority over your consciousness. You do not.”
The Chroma has accomplished its transition. It seeped into Jason as it did the tree, thereby “synchromating” the defenseless victim. Thus the hellish entity derives its unholy name, an abbreviation of Synchroma, translated as synchromater. Synchromation, or synchronic mating, is the domination of a life form through its bloodstream, an intricate ability unique to the Chroma.
A few yards away from Jason, the silver Magnum answers with an unequivocal gleam. John’s relief is quickly replaced by unsettlement as he realizes that Jason isn’t bleeding at all, despite his gaping wounds. There’s an abundance of distinctly visible blood surfacing on his injuries, but somehow none of it is spilling out, as though fake blood.
A mother helplessly incarcerated in an isolated tomb of darkness – haunted by the selfless worry for her only child – can create for herself an unspeakably agonizing hell without equal, without order, and worst of all, without end, until the unrelenting torment is finally overthrown by death.
Fire normally lives on oxygen and a combustible source, but bloodfire only feeds on one thing, blood.
“I am not truly talking to you, although you would swear that I am. Also, I can only talk to you in this manner while we’re both unconscious. Furthermore, as I am the channel and you are the conductor, I retain partial authority over your consciousness. You do not.”
The Chroma has accomplished its transition. It seeped into Jason as it did the tree, thereby “synchromating” the defenseless victim. Thus the hellish entity derives its unholy name, an abbreviation of Synchroma, translated as synchromater. Synchromation, or synchronic mating, is the domination of a life form through its bloodstream, an intricate ability unique to the Chroma.
A few yards away from Jason, the silver Magnum answers with an unequivocal gleam. John’s relief is quickly replaced by unsettlement as he realizes that Jason isn’t bleeding at all, despite his gaping wounds. There’s an abundance of distinctly visible blood surfacing on his injuries, but somehow none of it is spilling out, as though fake blood.
A mother helplessly incarcerated in an isolated tomb of darkness – haunted by the selfless worry for her only child – can create for herself an unspeakably agonizing hell without equal, without order, and worst of all, without end, until the unrelenting torment is finally overthrown by death.
Fire normally lives on oxygen and a combustible source, but bloodfire only feeds on one thing, blood.
My Book Review:
An adventurous summer camping trip in the Canadian wilderness turns into the trip from hell for five friends. Brothers John and Michael along with friends Edwin, Jason and Andrew have no idea that their campsite is the home of the Chroma, an entity that takes on a form of a tree with a red bloodshadow. The Chroma has an overpowering desire and drive to systematically overcome its human victims, turning them against each other in order to destroy them by any means available. Can they survive this life-or-death threat, or will the Chroma succeed in destroying them to satisfy its demonic need?
The Chroma is a bone chilling, blood curdling psychological horror thriller with a touch of sci-fi mixed in. The author weaves a horrifying tale with a lot of twists and turns and suspense that will keep the reader sitting on the edge of their seat. The characters are realistic yet complex, each has their own individual issues, and the author masterfully weaves their interesting stories as a subplot to the terror that befalls them when they meet up with the Chroma. As a fan of horror thrillers, this story was a little bit beyond my liking as it has some sci-fi influences, which is not one of my favorite genres to read. But with that being said, the author does provide a story that completely creeped me out, and that my friends is what a true horror thriller is supposed to do. I was really intrigued by the Chroma's use of psychological warfare in its attempt to destroy the boys, it made me think of how damaging the use of psychological intimidation is used between people, in a sense it is used to destroy a person's spirit. The boys' utilization of their instinctive survival skills to combat the Chroma left me holding my breath and wondering what would happen next. I couldn't help but wonder how the author came up with this story, he certainly has a wicked imagination!
The Chroma is a story that will grab you from the very beginning and won't let you out of its grasp until the final battle to survive is over. If you are a fan of terror and gore with a psychological twist, this novel is the one for you!
RATING: 3 STARS *** (My Rating) / 4 STARS **** (Amazon Rating)
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