Lesath

Written by A. M. Kherbash

Narrated by Neil Hellegers

Locked in his dark cell, Greg lay awake in bed, fidgeting with the small cassette recorder, pressing the rewind and stop buttons to listen to the heavy click and spring-loaded clank that initiated and punctuated the faint whirring mechanics. He knew well enough no one was going to come looking for him―not while he was in between jobs, living in a four-door pickup truck, and had traveled to an undisclosed location without telling anyone.

What brought him here were rumors of an abandoned building that was said to be part of a black site―rumors that were circulated amongst truckers and drifters: some exaggerated the sinister aspect of the place, detailing with morbid relish the methods of enhanced interrogation that were being developed or deployed there, while others assumed the contrarian position and downplayed the horrors, if not downright dismissed the whole story as hyperbole.

Questionable as the lead was, the story seemed too good for an amateur journalist like Greg to pass up. All the same, he did not expect there would be some truth to those rumors, that the building is not quite derelict as he had imagined. And that, thanks to a case of mistaken identity, he was now incarcerated there as an inmate.

Greg stopped the rewinding mechanism when he detected rustling and soft thumps coming through the ceiling vent―or thought he did, since the quirky nature of unidentified noise is that it usually ceases whenever one stops to listen. Like a living body, no running building is without its small, unaccountable bumps and muffled clanks; yet even if they're mostly benign noise, at night, they're magnified by the ever-present hush, and their unfamiliarity never fails to inflame the imagination of the sleepless newcomer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: A. M. Kherbash
• Release date: Oct 9, 2019
• ISBN: 9781733885447

Reviews for Lesath

[Charles Jones · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Intriguing story for sure, I just got a bit lost in the shuffle and kept getting confused about what was going on in the story. I also couldn't tell if the story about the kid was a flashback or what because they were no distinctions in the narrator's tone while he was reading that part so I got confused sometimes who was the focus of the story/plot and if some of the details were happening int he past. The ebook would have been super helpful to have to read along with the audiobook in my opinion.

Besides that the story seemed interesting and intriguing and since I had already read Shaula, this was good back story for that novel.

[jimdr-236203 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

*Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book from Netgalley.

Lesath by A.M. Kherbash is taut, eerie, and disconcerting. It's a modern creature feature of a book, which embraces tropes of Gothic literature, psychological horror and X-files style secrets to create a surreal journey through... What? A prison? An asylum? A mad scientist's laboratory? All three? It never becomes entirely clear.


Indeed, not a whole lot does become entirely clear. The protagonist, Greg, an aimless man living from his car apparently decides to investigate a mysterious old manor in the woods for his podcast. He ends up trapped inside and the only explanation he's given, that he is identical to an escaped inmate, might actually be true... Or it might be a delusion?
Things, of course, take a dark turn very quickly. People die. "Things" come out of ducts. More people die. And so it goes...

Many times reading this book, I was reminded of the greasy, oddly quiet scenery of horror games like Psycho-break or The most recent Resident Evil. Things are clearly bad. There is books on the walls, inexplicable mild and black ichor. You know something is coming. But lots of the scenes are just walking around checking doors and drawers.

This is my first criticism of the novel. There is a lot of compelling grotesquery and tension, but far too much of the book is taken up by sudden scenes of nothing much. The nature of the story, I think, is such that the reader is supposed to be confused by unexpected scene changes, as a way to emphasize the precarious nature of the protagonist's mental state. But often times, the breaks don't actually lead anywhere, and structurally seem to lose effect after the meeting of the book.

My other, and main criticism, is that a lot of the language used in the book simply didn't mean what it's supposed to mean. The author send to be struggling for an elevated register to evoke the Gothic tradition. The problems with this are twofold: first, sure this is a modern setting, the dialog is modern, and the clash between the elevated narrative and modern dialog is so great as to be almost comical. The second is that the register becomes so high that I dear many readers, and the author as well, don't be really understand the words.

Phrases like "after observing the prevalent silence..." Or "he expressed a contented sigh" or the extremely frequent use of "discern" (13 times in 159 pages!) Feel like thesaurus abuse, and indeed incorrect usage at times.

Which is not to say that the writing is poor, it isn't. It's often well phrased and interesting. The dialog can be snappy and fun, too. But it can also be a bit messy and overwrought. I think a bit of time with a developmental editor could make the creepy story at the core of this novel shine.

I burned though it because I did want to see what happened, and the ending was fittingly unsettling and slightly confusing. I did enjoy the book, and appreciate the chance to read it given by the author, A.M. Kherbash.

[irenecole · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This was a convoluted story that was not really what I was expecting or hoping for from the description. It felt like less of a horror and more of a sci-fi thriller which is really not my thing. It started out well enough and there is lots of action but the longer it went on the less I enjoyed it. The ending left me with more questions than answers. As a horror lover I certainly don't need every little detail to make sense but I do at least need to know what is going on and why. It also helps if I care what is going on or why.

I received a complimentary copy for review

[over.the.edge · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lesathby A. M. Kherbashdue 9-30-2019self-published4.0/5.0#netgalley. #LesathWhat a wild ride! This was really creepy, some parts were gory, building atmosphere was really well done. This is a psychological thriller that worked for me, overall.Greg, a loner living in his car, has heard of an old abandoned building in the forest. Its surrounded by hot wire and broken glass. Curiosity gets the best of him, and he wants to see what's inside the building.He wakes up inside the building, with gauze on his forehead, in a white room with linoleum floors and a nurse that will not speak.Eventually Dr. Carver appears to explain to Greh that he was found outside the facility, dressed in a uniform they wear in the building. He resembles a guy that escaped the facility, and to keep everyone peaceful, they tell Greg they want him to stand in as the escaped person until they are found. Greg is given no choice.Once inside, he learns that this is a facility to house felons you are awaiting parole. They live in a monastery-type environment and are fed red capsules to make lethargic and forgetful. when inmates start disappearing, Greg believes they are being used for an experiment.....This is just the beginning of Greg's nightmare....This book will make you think again about what exactly freedom means.Thanks to netgalley for sending this e-book ARC for review.

[pardamustang · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lesath by AM Kherbash is an X-Files-esque read tinged with elements of Shutter Island, Inception, and the Agent Pendergast series by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child. We mostly follow Greg, an unreliable narrator if ever there was one. A drifter who lives in his truck, and hopes to create a career in free-lance writing, Greg follows hints to a secret facility in Duncastor (or does he?), where he ends up a captive of the place. The facility director, Dr Carver, tells Greg that he must stay in place of an inmate who escaped, and who happens to look exactly like Greg. There are flashbacks to Greg's childhood that alludes to a twin named Ory, and some nameless abuse. Though most of the story focuses on Greg, there are asides following the enigmatic Dr Carver, as well as Holden, a former staff member turned inmate. Greg agrees, albeit reluctantly, but as the days pass, he discovers this is something more than a special correctional facility. Something sinister stalks the shadowed halls. Something hungry. It reads like a paralysis dream, that foggy liminal state when the brain wakes, but the subconscious still controls body functions, aware and unable to move. A state that can lead to vivid dreams as real as the waking world. Greg, whose twin 'Ory'- Greg/Ory- makes me think that Greg suffers from DIDS, and 'Ory' is a dominant, yet secondary personality manifested to deal with the childhood trauma. A protector figure that resurfaces as 'Grim'. This mysterious doppelganger makes an appearance (or does he?), interacting with others, but never Greg, except one 'shroom worthy encounter that seems to support the DID. Much of the story is disjointed, which suits its tone and substance. Every page will leave you questioning what is true and what shapes reality, what hides in the dark and what hides in our own inner depths. The ending, too, suits the book, but it left me going AAAHHHH! I wanted to know if my guesses and suspicions were correct, but like Inception, the ending leaves it open for the reader to continue to ponder the possibilities. Are you brave enough to face Lesath? Are you brave enough to face yourself? Enter the shadowed halls of Duncastor, where dreams are reality, and reality tis but a dream. Overall, a great read. Recommended for those who like psychological thrillers, especially with hints of X-Files, Inception, and Shutter Island, or those who enjoy Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child's works.***Many thanks to Netgalley and the author for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.