The only bad dreams are those not worth chasing.
TheMikeReynolds.com
  • Home
  • Bookshelf
    • Fleeing from Light
    • Lake of Dragons >
      • Kill the Dragon >
        • About Kill the Dragon
      • Kallum's Fury >
        • About Kallum's Fury
      • Kill the Gods >
        • About Kill the Gods
      • The Forgotten One >
        • About The Forgotten One
      • Coeptus Awakes >
        • About Coeptus Awakes
    • Hell and the Hunger >
      • About Hell and the Hunger
      • The Players
    • Stiletto Rose >
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 1
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 2
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 3
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 4
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 5
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 6
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 7
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 8
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 9
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 10
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 11
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 12
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 13
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 14
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 15
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 16
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 17
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 18
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 19
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 20
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 21
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 22
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 23
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 24
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 25
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 26
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 27
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 28
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 29
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 30
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 31
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 32
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 33
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 34
      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 35
  • About Mike
  • Musings - Mike's Blog
  • Old News - The Archives
  • Contact Mike
  • Mike's Reviews
    • Review - The Fine Line
    • Review - Rising Tide: Dark Innocence
    • Review - The Apocalypse Begins
    • Review - Superhighway
    • Review - Morium
    • Review - Wren
    • Review - Saving Wihe
    • Review - Black Easter

Mike's Review of Morium by S.J. Hermann

Picture
Like Stephen King's Carrie on Steroids

​Bullying has always been a problem in the world. With the explosion of social media, it has escalated to near epidemic levels. Bullies no longer have to face their victims. They are free to torture with anonymity and little, or no, repercussions at all. With Morium, S.J. Hermann brings light to a topic that spends far too much time in the shade of indifference.

Lexi, Nathan, and Stacy all deal with bullying on a daily basis. They are all bullied for different reasons and in different ways, but they are all affected. Mr. Hermann does a masterful job of exploring the unique and sometimes very troubling methods each character employs to deal with the effects. The character development here is fantastic. You feel the depression, uselessness, and downright desperation each character is feeling. You truly understand how hopeless life can be for someone who deals with daily physical or mental abuse. Scars on skin heal and eventually become shadows barely seen. Emotional scars sometimes never do.

I’m not big on spoilers, so I’ll just say that two of the characters experience a serious transformation. They are no longer helpless. This is where the story takes a major 180. Both characters now have the power to defend themselves, to bully the bullies back. One uses the power, while the other recognizes the danger it represents. There is something both satisfying, yet completely horrifying, in the method which one of the characters exacts revenge. This is Carrie on steroids.

I’ve given this story four out of five stars, but this is a five-star story. The characters are fluid and real, and Mr. Hermann is an expert tour-guide through their troubling and terrifying world. The only knock I have is that I would have liked to see more empathy from the character who uses the power. Enduring the level of bullying this character goes through, I think, would make them at least take pause before unleashing their violent retaliation. That being said, I think the reason this troubled me so much was because of how completely enthralled I am with these characters. I know them. Perhaps it hurt my feelings a bit when one of them didn’t live up to the standards I had developed in my own mind for them.
​
Everyone should read this book! 
Connect with the Author

Website: http://sjhermannauthor.blogspot.com/

Facebook: ​https://www.facebook.com/SJ-Hermann-250758318466659/

Twitter: ​https://twitter.com/Writing_Novel

Amazon: ​https://www.amazon.com/S.J.-Hermann/e/B00NX8B6RM/ref=la_B00NX8B6RM_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1474166462&sr=1-1
Picture

Copyright ©2020 Mike Reynolds, All Rights Reserved