Brother

By: Ania Ahlborn

Narrated by: Paul Boehmer

Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Deep in the heart of Appalachia stands a crooked farmhouse miles from any road. The Morrows keep to themselves, and it's served them well so far. When girls go missing off the side of the highway, the cops don't knock on their door. Which is a good thing, seeing what's buried in the Morrows' backyard.

But 19-year-old Michael Morrow isn't like the rest of his family. He doesn't take pleasure in the screams that echo through the trees. Michael pines for normalcy, and he's sure that someday he'll see the world beyond West Virginia. When he meets Alice, a pretty girl working at a record shop in the small nearby town of Dahlia, he's immediately smitten. For a moment he nearly forgets about the monster he's become. But his brother, Rebel, is all too eager to remind Michael of his place....

©2015 Ania Ahlborn (P)2015 Tantor

Critic reviews

"This relentlessly grim tale is most definitely not for the squeamish, but it's nearly impossible to put down." ( Publishers Weekly)

ATE IT RIGHT UP

Another great Ania Alhborn title. With finely realized characters and a hefty dose of place and time, Brother is suspensful and subtle (but not too boringly subtle), and will certainly appeal to fans of horror and dark suspense. The novel may not appeal to those who need a solid line between the bad and the good, but I think most will find this novel well worth the price of admission.

Amazing storytelling, very intense.

Not for the faint of heart! I really enjoy horror, but even I had to take some breaks from this story. At times it was so disturbing, I didn't think I wanted to finish it. But, after a break I would come back and listen. I guessed the ending very early, but that hardly matters for the story.Best character development that I have read in a long time, narration was awesome, and the story.....disturbing and scary as hell. Highly recommend if you can handle the themes. The humans are the monsters in this book.

Great story

This was a horrific story that I thoroughly enjoyed. Ania Ahlborn is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I enjoyed how it was a tragic end versus a happy ending.

Well..

Felt like Rebel wrote the whole book himself. You keep waiting for more but it never happens. The ride is good but crashes in the end. Great character depth and a great story. However, a different ending could of made this book gold. Instead of just going, well.. that's it!?.. I'd love to know if there were different ideas for an ending, and what those were.
On another the the comments saying the narrator was bad.... How? His voice acting was excellent. His tone was perfect for this type of book. I don't get the dislike. I'd listen to more narrated by him for sure.

Great story but...

The story is interesting... If poorly explained (and all the explanation come from very unreliable witnesses). Characterization for everyone outside of Michael, Reb and Misty all but nonexistent. But somehow that works.

The reader, though...the man reads everything in the "announcer voice" for horror movie trailers. But run that through a William Shatner filter.

Wow....

Wonderfully written. Perfect narration. Bleek, depressing, & horrific. This story crept under my skin.

Not for everyone

This book is well thought out and craftily written. Not a single word is wasted. It’s wild, horrifying and devastating. Not for the faint of heart….I loved it!

Shocking but great!

This story had a true life horror many people fear in people. The lack of emotions but with a façade to make people believe they are normal. This story is what people stay up at night to think about if this is really happening right now. The ending left me in shock as I didn’t know Alice Fate but yet was told in a way for my imagination to run wild. The family’s dynamic was horrifying. It was a great listen!

Why is this not a movie yet!?

This book was so good I listened twice. The twists and turns had me on the edge of my seat.
This is a BRILLIANT story and the performer kept me engaged with his voice and his way of making each character in this story come to life.

Terror, love, fear and sadness.
This book should be a movie already.
It’s better than any scary movie I have seen in a good long while.

Felt like a B Horror Movie

I enjoy the book and the story. I understand people say it's predictable but I was more involved with the character development rather then the outcome of the story. I would recommend the story if you want look for conflict along characters, a slight coming of age style story, and avoid it if you are looking for a scare or a deep, unique story.