Mute
Leo has been institutionalized for quite some time when the orderlies start releasing inmates and havoc ensues. Leo takes off as he hears the screams of the men and women around him being attacked by these wild creatures. Leo's not used to the pace he's keeping, having been cooped up all these years, but he manages to make it off the grounds. Leo gets an up-close view of these beings that are called "Mutes," who the orderlies believed were demons and Leo realizes he needs to find safety and the best way to do that is to find a vehicle.
Leo's mind is not altogether there as he finds a delivery truck he calls "Kirby" with whom he converses with on his trek into the unknown.
Leo wonders where the Mutes came from and if they are just in this immediate area. Leo runs into many different characters on his journey, but will he find the answers he's searching for?
The idea behind the Mutes was a good one, I just felt the execution fell a little short. This read should have been more hard-hitting, had more edge-of-your-seat tension. I wanted, nay needed, to experience the dire situations and be drawn in, looking over my own shoulder and waiting for the Mute to jump out at me.
The main character, Leo, never really ran into any real conflict that was not easily overcome which left me feeling a little unsatisfied.
The secondary characters were not as fleshed out as needed to make you care about their future. Kristin, a girl he picked up along the way, really bugged me as Leo was dependent upon himself at first and she soon began to control him. Her reactions to the Mutes left me a little stumped as her sympathetic plight towards them really didn't fit seeing as they were super-killers who wanted to dine on her entrails.
That being said, the writing was solid. The story had a good pace. I did like Leo's quirky-ness and I would have liked to have read more about him.
This was a middle-of-the-road read for me. I see the potential in this writer and I will definitely give his other works a try.
