It's 2010, and Corporal Loyette and his unit are finishing up their deployment at a new base in Kajaki, Afghanistan. Their duties are straightforward and their days are a mix of boredom and dread. The Brits they're replacing tell them the history of the old barracks just off base, a Soviet-era militia house they claim is haunted, and Loyette and his men don't need much convincing to make a trip outside the wire to explore it.
Honest, sad and disturbing ... Milas’s prose is laconic and wise, writing that gives it to you straight. At times Loyette’s voice is so frank and revealing, it sounds nearly confessional.
The terror in this novel is gothic and ominous but will nevertheless keep readers enthralled ... Milas served in Helmand Province and writes with clarity and precision about the physical and psychological realities of the war in Afghanistan.
Horror debuts don’t come much more impressive than this unsettling offering from Milas ... Milas is brilliant at making his lead’s eerie experiences and surreal hallucinations vivid, scary, and psychologically nuanced.
