Friday, May 4, 2012

Book Review: The Void by Bryan Healey

The Void


Author: Bryan Healey
Paperback: 134 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace (April 19, 2012)
Amazon Buy Link


Note: I received a review copy of this book free from the author, Bryan Healey. The review posted below is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book.


Ratings: ★ ★ ★ 


My thoughts:


As a war veteran, Max has seen so many deaths in his service, including friends like Jason and Frank.  He suffers severe depression when he gets back home to his wife and son. He wants to forget everything he went through and the only thing that can make him forget it all is to take drugs. After taking so many drugs into his system, he suddenly went into coma and it lasted for more than five years. What his wife and doctors didn't know is that Max can hear everything they say and he can feel, he just couldn't respond to them. He's fighting for his life but everyone thinks otherwise.


It is interesting at the same time frightening to read something like this. Reading the story reminds me of the movie Awake by Hayden Christensen and Jessica Alba. In that movie, Hayden's doctors are performing heart surgery on him. However, they are not aware that the anesthesia that supposed to make the patient numb to pain isn't working. He can actually hear them and feel pain. I remember watching this movie months before giving birth to my daughter. I was scheduled for CS delivery and that involved anesthesia like that in the movie. I kept asking my doctor if there is a chance the anesthesia won't work on my body and she said "Of course it will work!". Honestly, I know she just told me that because she didn't want me to worry. I did a little research and yes it could happen! Yikes!


Anyway, back to the story, I was hooked in Max's life story. There were a few times I cried with his wife. She loves him so much and she doesn't want to let go. I can totally relate to her situation and feel her pain of seeing her husband that way. The only thing that made me take out one-star is the narration of the story. I had a hard time following the story because of the flashbacks. I had to flip back the earlier pages to make sure I was reading it right. Other than that, this is a must-read book.

About the book:

She believes I am all but dead.But I can hear her...

I've been still for many years now, my eyes closed, my body sunken, my muscles wilted, a soft, seductive beep-beep-beep of life-sustaining machinery just behind my head. I don't know why they keep me here, or why they bother to keep me alive; and yet they do. And they come and go, night and day and night, men, women, children, even an occasional pet; nurses, doctors, family, friends, strangers; they talk to me rarely, sometimes to themselves, and frequently to each other, or to no one. And they have very much to say, I have found.

They don't know that I can hear them...But I can.


About the author:


Bryan Healey attended Northeastern University, studying Computer Science before entering the workforce as a software engineer. He is currently pursuing an additional degree in English. He lives in Rhode Island with his beautiful wife.

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