Sci-Fi & Scary

Seed was an interesting novel. It’s the second book I’ve read by Ania Ahlborn (first one being The Devil Crept In). I didn’t really have any intentions on reading it. Just sort of grabbed it on the fly when I saw it was on Kindle Unlimited and one of the Goodreads groups I’m in was having a buddy read. When I saw that it also had the free accompanying audio as well, I gave it a shot. I ended up reading/listening about 50/50.

In regards to the narration of Seed, this was my first time listening to Eric G. Dove. He did a pretty good job. He definitely had the southern drawl going strong. He was also decent at doing female kids and adult voices without it sounding overdone or like caterwauling.

This is not a book to read if you’re easily bothered by animals dying. There are only a few scenes where it happens, but it definitely makes an impression. Probably one of the most disturbing scenes in the whole book revolves around an animal death. Still, though, I don’t blame Ahlborn for including them. When the topic of the novel is as dark as this one is, it’s to be expected. Especially when it takes place over a relatively short amount of time.

What I loved about Seed was the premise itself, and how Jack reacts to everything. Being in his head as the world is crumpling around him was neat. Understanding the disconnect between his thoughts and actions added a nice touch. I kind of wish I had read this book before our Fathers in Horror article, especially given some of the feedback we got about why it tends to present the way it does.

Seed didn’t quite hit all the right notes, though. This is one of her earlier works, and I think you can tell. The writing just isn’t as strong in it as it was in The Devil Crept In. It’s still creepy and disturbing, but in areas where the tension should have been steadily growing, it just sort of felt stunted. It feels like some of the areas could (should) have been fleshed out a little bit more.
This is a quick, creepy read that is worth reading. I know sections in it scared the pants off of one of the people I was reading it with. I would still recommend Ania Ahlborn’s The Devil Crept In as the go-to book for her, but Seed definitely has a certain twisted attraction.

I do have a question though, for people who have read the book:
Do you think it was a hereditary thing or did the demon just attach itself that family somehow?