The Roo by Alan Baxter

The Roo by Alan Baxter
Review by Kylie Thompson

Rating: 5 stars
Genre: Horror
Publisher: Self published

In this time of doom, gloom, and all-round wtfery, sometimes you just need a ridiculous, hilarious, gloriously gory romp through rural Australia to get you through. It’s okay, we’ve all been there. So if the creature feature section of your book hoard is looking a little dire, or you just need some whimsical violence in your day, you are in for a treat.

Let me acknowledge a bias before kicking this off: horror is typically not my thing. Saw ‘It’ too early as a kid, tried reading the book but gave up after the fish eating the dick bit like 5 pages in. Me getting excited about horror is rare. But guys, I’m excited. Post read, I’m still excited. Hell, I want the movie immediately. Or the audio book. Or any other variant I can purchase because this book is hilarious in the way that makes me pretty sure I’m going to hell.

People are going missing in the small town of Morgan Creek. At first, it’s easy to shrug it off as the typical larrikin spirit in action, but as the missing persons list grows, the residents will be faced with an unexpected, and horrifying, enemy.

Not gonna lie, the only thing worse than being a resident of Morgan Creek would be being the poor sod who has to clean up the mess.

The Roo is gripping from the first page, with characters you can’t help but feel sympathy for. Baxter is masterful in balancing the gore and tension with Aussie humour and just a few of the cheesier horror tropes, creating a delightfully dark and blood-spattered vision of small town life turned upside down.

This isn’t a book for the squeamish, and if you prefer the horror to happen out of sight, you’re going to want to give this book a hard miss. But this is the perfect book for anyone who has ever leaned forward in their seat during the goriest bits of the horror flick, bursting into laughter while those around them squealed in fright. If you love cinematic, pulp fiction horror filled with blood, action, and more Aussie-isms than an RSL on January 26, you need to add The Roo to your TBR immediately.

The Roo is available in paper and digital versions, and you can pick your preferred seller here.

A random point to note: it’s been brought to my attention that it’s also a fantastic read for anyone having to deal with aggressive and abusive customers, as it’s somewhat therapeutic to imagine those rude and aggressive sorts in the gorier roles in the story. Do with that knowledge what you will (I suggest buying a copy for each of your family and friends in retail, but you do you).

And for those who prefer their reviews more visual, RoO is proud to present Kylie’s live reading of The Roo, in gifs.