It is not often that I come across a book that is not only easy to read, but exciting and scary and perplexing and monstrous. Author Dylan James reached out to me with a story about a town secret — one that poses great risk to those who seek it out. Releasing today from Savage Realms Press, Cedar Mills combines that small town charm with a massive government coverup to give readers a sci-fi horror nightmare they won’t be able to put down.
Seeking to understand the recent deaths and disappearances in their small town, a disgraced homicide detective and a group of grieving high schoolers unwittingly join forces, only to find themselves in a fight to save humanity.
Cedar Mills, Dylan James
Out here, something ancient lurks. And it’ll kill anything to survive.
Welcome to Cedar Mills…
From the very beginning, we are privy to the horrors that lie ahead as a gang member witnesses an inexplainable entity tear his friends to literal pieces. James describes these scenes in such a way as to give the readers the full picture without disgusting them into putting the book down. And this continues throughout Cedar Mills; there is nonstop action and no lack of bloodshed or wide-eyed realizations to be had.
The main story lies around a group of highschoolers on a search for answers: both for their friend’s untimely death to the thing that lives by the old gristmill, and as their last hurrah as members of the school newspaper club. Our main character Jake is our stand-in as readers as we follow him through an almost R. L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour episode of teen-based scares… that is, until shit hits the fan. Kidnappings, murders, conspiracies, and monster movie madness are just a few of the things you’ll find in Cedar Mills. I was completely caught off-guard with surprise after gnarly kill scene after surprise. This isn’t your average book where you can see what’s coming next. My jaw hit the floor and I let out an audible gasp — more than once!
Cedar Mills‘ ability to keep a reader glued to its pages is enormous. Besides the incredible story and set of likeable, down-to-earth characters, this book is insanely easy to read. While it does have points of inner thought and moments of mystery placed there to make you think, Cedar Mills isn’t overrun by grandiose language that trips you up, yet doesn’t read like a young adult fanfic. It’s in that sweet spot of reader enjoyment where your eyes just can’t stop drifting into the next chapter, even after you promised yourself just one more page (trust me, I know!).
While James himself described his book to me as having “the heart of a Stephen King novel and action on par with the Alien movie franchise,” I’d like to add in a found footage feeling like Frogman, a ragtag crew of kids seen in Stranger Things, and the tense sense of danger from something lurking in the shadows like The X Files. Cedar Mills doesn’t miss when it comes to secrets and sinister surroundings.
Partake in the legends of Cedar Mills… just try not to read it all in one night!
Learn more about Dylan James, Cedar Mills, and his other works on his website. Dylan James is also on Amazon and Instagram.
