Review | Lesath by A.M. Kherbash

Greg wakes up in an unfamiliar room in clothes that don’t belong to him after he is attacked while exploring an abandoned area. What he discovers is that he is in a prison, and he is not allowed to leave until he serves a certain purpose. As he gets to know his fellow inmates, he realises there is something else in the accursed place. Something terrible.

Like a living body, no running building is without its small, unaccountable bumps and muffled clanks; yet even if they’re mostly benign noise, at night they’re magnified by the ever-present hush, and their unfamiliarity never fails to inflame the imagination of the sleepless newcomer.

I started out really liking the concept of Lesath but was left disappointed in the execution. While I’m a huge fan of weird horror and stories that leave a lot to the imagination, I don’t think the book provide enough explanation to satisfy the various plot threads. There is a flashback to a character’s childhood that I wish had provided further enlightenment but instead it adds to more confusion. The ending is abrupt and I was left with a lot of questions.

I found Greg to be an interesting protagonist but the supporting characters don’t leave much of an impact. We aren’t given enough information so it’s hard to know who to root for. The point of views keep changing between characters but I think keeping the story with Greg would’ve made it more effective.

What I loved about the book are the outright scary scenes. The writing is suspenseful and images of specific moments are seared in my mind. I liked the way certain scenes changes without warning, making a destabilising reading experience. I enjoyed the atmospheric, intense mood in many parts of the book.

Overall, Lesath is a hallucinatory horror story that unfortunately has more style than substance. I’m hoping there’s a sequel to answer the questions left behind.

I received a copy from the publisher and Netgalley for review purposes.

About the author: A.M. Kherbash

Photo by Jon Butterworth