"Optical Delusion" is the second installment in Shea's Mail Order Massacres novella trilogy and while "Just Add Water" remains my favorite so far, this one was still very enjoyable and a strong addition to the series. Martin Blackstone is a hardworking blue-collar worker who enjoys his time at home, especially if he has a good beer in his hand. His son is given a pair of cheap x-ray glasses by a friend and when he casually tosses them aside, Martin gives them a try just for fun. Before long, Martin is addicted to the glasses. He is initially shocked when he's able to use them as a voyeur on unsuspecting town women, but soon the x-ray abilities deepen and the glasses become harder and harder to remove.

This book is definitely full of blood, gore and is a lot of fun. The main problem I had is that I despised Martin. However, I'm sure Shea intended it to be that way because he is in no way some poor misunderstood character. Throughout the book, I often felt sorry for the people Martin encountered and although I think he had a decent enough relationship with both his wife and his son, I think they deserved better.

"Optical Delusion" is a book which is hard to review without giving too much away. It's a fast read and any horror lover would be missing out if they at least didn't give this series a try. There's one more novella coming up and I already have my copy and am just waiting for the perfect night to curl up and read it.

Hunter Shea has tapped into our childhood for his latest offering of fear. Remember those ads in the backs of comic books? Muscles like Charles Atlas. Sea monkeys. Joy buzzers. Fake ice cubes with a fly in the middle. Gum that turns your mouth black. Oh, and the ever popular, X-ray glasses. I certainly remember them. More specifically, I remember wanting them and my mom saying "absolutely not". Well, what would happen if she did allow me to get those x-ray glasses and after 10 minutes of making my eyes hurt, I tossed them aside only to have my dad pick them up and put them on. And, what if, in between the fuzzy-eyed headache it produced, he saw a glimpse of a girl's panties she had on underneath her clothing? And what if, in desperate attempts to get more than a glimpse or two of what the females looked like under their winter clothing, it caused something else? Something more hideous, more macabre, and it wouldn't let you turn away?

 

Optical Delusion was a fun ride into every boy that grew up in the 1970s and 80s past and warped it with a Twilight Zone twist and an EC Comic turn. My last couple of reads from Shea have been my favorites. He's honed his chops the last few years and is churning out nothing but quality lately. So much so, that he's quickly become one of my go to writers that can't miss.

 

 

5 Victoria's Secrets out of 5

 

* This ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

 

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Optical Delusions, is the latest in Hunter Shea's Mail Order Massacre line. Although it starts out a little slow, it fully delivers the horror that you have come to expect from Mr. Shea. What could possibly go wrong with cheap X-ray vision sunglasses that actually work? I quite enjoyed this short bit of terror and can't wait for the next one.

 

I received a copy of this from Kensington Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

 

© 2017 by Andi Rawson of Andreya's Asylum

Optical Delusion is another book in the Mail Order Massacres series from Hunter Shea. The first, Just Add Water, was a bit of bloody floof that was Creepshow-reminiscent and awesome. It was also (with a gore warning) something that 10+ year olds could read.

Optical Delusion is not recommended for kids. While it still puts one in mind of the old Creepshow episodes, it's definitely for adults. (Adult seriously channels his inner randy teenager, ya know?)

Blackstone is a typical male head of household for the period. He works hard, and expects to be able to go out with the boys, have a beer, have a few more at home, etc. He's not really a likable character so it's easy to grin when things start going sideways on him.

And it all starts with a pair of x-ray specs in Optical Delusion.

Channeling his inner perv, Blackstone is all riled up when he realizes that his son's x-ray specs actually work. However, unfortunately for him, he doesn't really get to experience much of the 'good stuff' before the consequences kick in.

Hunter Shea is a talented writer. Optical Delusion is a solid follow-up to Just Add Water. There were several scenes that had me grinning, and a few that made me feel as disgusted as the character. (The skeleton wife and kid scene were awesome. I could just see that one translating into bad practical effects on-screen.) However, Optical Delusion didn't appeal to me as much as the first book did. I think I was caught off guard by the more adult themes in the book to begin with. And then, while I was definitely able to enjoy it, it just never seemed to strike quite the right chord with me.

Another entertaining book by Hunter Shea. Optical Delusion teaches readers that everything comes with a price. (And that price mostly involves lots of blood.)

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for review consideration.