Book Review: THE MAGGOTS UNDERNEATH THE PORCH by Patrick James Ryan
Jimmy is your average kid growing up in the 1970’s. He loves to play baseball with his friends, he’s obsessed with the movie Jaws, and is on a mission to collect rare beer cans. However, Jimmy has lived with his grandmother ever since his father was convicted of killing his mother. But after the death of her husband, Jimmy’s grandmother sunk into a deep depression which resulted in her binge eating until she became too big to move from her chair. The abusive home health care service who comes to her house to care for her, treats her by literally feeding her addiction and creating a makeshift toilet by cutting a hole in the floor beneath her chair that leads underneath her front porch. The smell attracts a swarm of flies. But these aren’t your average, ordinary flies. These flies, once they find the right human host, can transform into a deadly creature that is out for human flesh. It’s up to Jimmy, his friends, and his hero, Uncle Pete, to stop the creature before it comes for them.
The Maggots Underneath The Porch is an imaginatively gory tale that reads as a love letter to classic 70’s horror. Jimmy and his friends play the group of young heroes who run into danger instead of running from it. Uncle Pete is the revered hero even before he faces the creature that terrorizes his mother’s house. And the villain is the mindless predator that arises from a series of unfortunate events.
The story is fast-paced yet well developed. The dialogue is a little generic, but the voices are strong and distinct from each other. The narration is thick with description, lucid with strong images of blood, pus, and vomit that tug at your gag reflex. If you like traditional tales of man vs. beast, this story is for you.
Review by Laura Smith