The fair is typically full of fun, exciting rides.
But you've never ridden anything like this.
It sits in silence and waits - its red eyes glowing in the darkness. It waits to offer riders the chance for redemption or a fate worse than death.
The Mad Monkey King is ready to take Gary Moore on a journey. He doesn't realize that he's about to enter a realm that defies everything that's real and logical.
Because once he enters the darkness, he may never find his way out.
The Mad Monkey King is a short story filled with horror, suspense and adventure.
I love carnivals and amusement parks, especially old ones that have a history (I pretty much love anything old with a history). I love stories and films based around them, from Tod Browning's 1932 film, Freaks to the 1962 film Carnival of Souls to 1981's Fun House to 2006's Dark Ride, there is something about setting a dark fiction story at a carnival. Even one of my favorite music acts, Midnight Syndicate released an album title "Carnival Arcane", based on the music and mystery surrounding the old, traveling fairs of yesteryear. So when Sara Brooke announced that her newest story would be taking place one, I was of course looking forward to reading it.
I love Sara Brooke's stories. Some I like more than others, but I always look forward to her putting out a new work. The Mad Monkey King is a short story, therefore reading it is not a huge commitment. Also because it is a short story, I don't want to say too much about it without giving it away, but I will say that as it typically is with this author's stories, you never really know what's coming up (kind of like a dark ride, huh?). Just when you think you know what's coming, you are steered in a completely different direction.
The story is told in first person (by the main character, Gary Moore), thus giving the reader a chance to really experience what the character is going through and his emotional journey. The author does a good job of painting the characters, from the main character to the more secondary ones.
For a while, The Kransen House was my favorite Sara Brooke story, but I think The Mad Monkey King has taken its place...or at least tied with it.
Check out The Mad Monkey King at Amazon and Smashwords:
The Mad Monkey King on Smashwords
While you're at it, check out The Kransen House as well:
The Kransen House on Smashwords
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