Title: Monsterland

Author: Sal Mance

Genre: Thriller

 

Claire Rutherford’s nerves are on edge with the approach of the 25th anniversary of Fowler Day. Fowler Day is a 24-hour period where selected individuals are the target of an organized hunt. The day of bloodletting was the brainchild of a former President who believed that this judicious culling would placate the general public and satisfy their bloodlust. Claire desires stability in her life with her daughter Ellie, mother and daughter having relocated from Maine to Tennessee after enduring a personal tragedy. Claire wants to protect Ellie from the evils of the world, but is even more protective when she learns that Ellie has been selected to be hunted in this year’s Fowler Day. Claire will need weapons and resolve to hold off heavily armed assassins intent on claiming their kill.

Author Sal Mance paints a grim yet fascinating picture of a dystopian future where the United States enables executions of its citizenry for a day. The novel crackles with suspense and paranoia from its outset and is usually experienced through the fragile mindset of its protagonist, Claire Rutherford. While the masses accept and revel in Fowler Day, Claire and her daughter are a minority in the absurdist world they inhabit. Mance is adept at building the drama to a nail-biting crescendo, which makes the payoff rewarding when the bullets begin to fly.

Claire Rutherford is a widowed mother who fled the pain of her husband’s tragic death and is starting over in Nashville. Claire’s unease is perceptible as she attempts to make a living in a new location. Claire’s apprehension about jumping into a new relationship is relayed genuinely, along with her desire not to have loved ones dictate how she lives her life. The story begins with Claire being emotionally overwhelmed, but as the narrative progresses, she becomes more assertive and formidable. Mance’s development of Claire’s story arc is exemplary.

The emotional crux of this fine story resides in the fraught relationship between Claire and Ellie. Ellie is a moody teenager who prefers spending her free time as the star of her own livestream as opposed to spending time with Claire. Claire wants to protect Ellie, but her concern often leads to Ellie feeling confined. The fight for survival during Fowler Day alters the dynamic to a certain extent, with Claire allowing Ellie certain liberties, such as handling a firearm. Mance keeps the mother-daughter relationship on an even keel throughout the story, which provides this part of the story line with realism.

The spectacle that is “Fowler Day” is a reflection of bloodsport as entertainment and that unfortunate aspect of the culture in the book. Mance plays up this element well with news reports that factor in the story where the day’s targets are either named or are pronounced dead after a successful hunt. The endorsement of the violence by the government and the media’s coverage of it is discerning in the current world and Mance opines on it without being overbearing.

Monsterland revolves around a hellacious 24 hours where vigilante justice has run amok. The plot is transfixing, yet the overall effect would be enhanced with additional background as to how Fowler Day started and how it has endured over the years.

Monsterland is an unforgettable and often harrowing tale about survival and the lengths one will endure to keep their loved ones safe in an unstable world. Sal Mance has written an intensely thrilling book.

 

 

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