Siphon by A.A.Medina

So I've just finished this little beauty of a book and it's little tales like these that make me love novellas! And it seems I'm not the only one, recently the horror novella has been turning into quite a trend. Novellas offer something you can really be immersed in and read from start to finish in one sitting.

The reason why I love horror novellas is that they don't mess about they get straight into the action and continue in a fast pace, it's like the author has realised they only have one last night on earth and need to create something magnificent as their legacy. In novellas you won't find endless paragraphs of info dumping or boring back story and Siphon from Hindered Souls Press is no exception.

This is the tale that explores a man's journey after deciding enough is enough. He's going to be the man he's been repressing all these years. It poses the question of are we as cultured and civilised as we think we are or are we all just a few steps away from being depraved animals,void of a moral code?

Dr Gary Phillips appears to be just like us, he's the type of person who is invisible and overlooked except by your boss who will be a massive dick to you. He's got to a stage in his life where he realises he's played it wrong, all he's done is study and work. He's in his mid thirties and has only slept with three women, says it all really, and only remembers one of those encounters. Why? Because he's spent his whole life trying to please his grandfather, a Vietnam veteran who raised him. He just wants to make him proud but nothing he achieves is good enough.

But that's where the similarities end.His life transforms dramatically during an unusual work place accident. He finds his true calling in life and follows it, daring to do all the things he's dreamed of, except they're not normal things like going travelling or getting a puppy, Gary Phillips is definitely one of a kind.

What's really clever about Siphon is that you can't help but like Gary in a weird way. He's a deplorable degenerate who spends way too much time with drug addled prostitutes and stalking his beautiful unobtainable co-worker but somehow you find yourself reluctantly rooting for him.

 As I was reading this I just needed to know what was going to happen next and how this crazy roller coaster of a tale was going to end.( Spoiler, it won't disappoint.)

I loved this unusual tale and can't wait to read more from A.A.Medina. I can't believe this is his first foray into horror novellas and I hope it won't be his last.

About the Author

As a child, Adrian Alexander Medina found solace in storytelling, and every day he had a new one to tell. He would go into great detail about his adventures at school, the time he helped Johnny Rico defeat the bugs on Klendathu, or that time he visited Moscow as a spy. As he grew up, he dialed back the grandiose tales of his adventures, but never lost his overactive imagination.

A. A. Medina believes stories can help the reader understand the strangeness of life and, at the same time, break up the day-to-day monotony by injecting a sense of mystery, wonder, joy, and even fear. When he isn’t melting in the Arizona sun with his wife, Samantha, or being pestered by his fat cats and obnoxious puppy, he is writing his fantasy-horror comic book series Void & Valor, co-running the fiction magazine Aphotic Realm, or designing and developing tabletop games for MoonMarketGames.

A. A. Medina graduated with his B.F.A. in Creative Writing in March of 2017. In addition to writing, A. A. Medina enjoys funneling his creativity into music and graphic design.

He's also the co-owner of Aphotic Realm, do check them out! 

About Hindered Souls Press

Hindered Souls was created in 2016. It’s original aim was to provide up and coming writers with a place to display their work without all of the fancy requests that comes with bigger publishers. The dream has exploded into an independent press where we aim to showcase the perfectly weird, deranged, satirical, disturbing and realm bending fiction of today and leave the souls of the readers hindered.

M.R. Tapia is the editor-in-chief/owner, and dutifully supports/utilizes high-quality freelance editors and graphic designers.