Tuesday 13 May 2014

Review ~ Try Not To Burn by Michael Matula.

Title: Try Not To Burn.
Author: Michael David Matula.
Publisher: Post Mortem Press.
Genre: Paranormal Thriller.
Release Date: September 13, 2012.
Source: Review copy.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Purchase: Amazon UK | Amazon

Shot to death in the line of duty, rookie cop Brandon Morales awakens in a much darker world than the one he left. Trying to make sense of it all, Brand stumbles across Sam and Jane, two women simply struggling to survive. With their souls hanging in the balance, and eternal damnation never more than one wrong turn away, these three strangers will need to put their trust in one another in order to stay one step ahead of the flames of Hell.

But when enemies pose as trusted friends, when lost loves crumble the will to continue, and when hidden desires threaten to tear allegiances apart, it will take more than faith and determination to pass God's final test.

It will take a miracle.





Straight away I loved the concept for Try Not to Burn. Brand, Sam and Jane are all dead and yet find themselves in Hell City, where with no way out, the only thing to do is try not to Burn. It was a great, original concept and one that worked really well.

The world-building in this book was fantastic. This was definitely the best aspect of Michael Matula’s writing for me as he transported me in to this world – one where once the bell rings and the day ends, you get up the next morning with everything back to how it was the day before. So, you’re hungry and eat the sandwich and lasagne from Jane’s bag? It’ll be back the next day… There were so many great things about the world the author built up in this book that it was so captivating to read.

The suspense was at a high in Try Not to Burn. It had me rooting for the three main characters, Brand, Sam and Jane throughout, who despite their personal flaws, were characters you want to see survive. The pacing switched a lot in this book. The first and last third of the book seemed fast-paced whereas the middle seemed to be a lot slower and more drawn-out. I was mostly engaged with this book but there were a couple of moments where it didn’t have my full attention because some parts seemed to go on for a bit too long.

However, once I got towards the end, this wasn’t really an issue and my full attention was regained. I loved the ending. I’d spent a lot of time throughout Try Not to Burn predicting how things were going to turn out but I didn’t expect what actually did happen. It was a brave ending by Matula in what was a really strong thriller.


Review also posted on Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon

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