Welcome to Osprey – Charles Howard

Welcome to Osprey is about the son of a funeral home director who inadvertently brings a cosmic terror to his small town. People around him are changing, and it’s up to Josh and his maybe girlfriend, Amber, to try and save Osprey before the Voice completely takes over!

My main gripe about this book is that it’s extremely slow. It takes some time to get to the initial burst of horror, and things almost seem to peter out for a while before the next event happens. The “big bad” doesn’t really seem present or like much of a threat for most of the book. I really wanted to see more horror elements to push the pace a little and keep me engaged to the end of the book.

The characters weren’t super likable to me. They felt like they were just going through the motions for the most part and not overly invested in any one outcome. Josh never seemed to have any strong feelings and was only working to save Osprey because he lived there, not out of any genuine love or feeling for the community. Amber was just kind of there and going along with things because she had nothing better to do. I didn’t feel like I could relate to any of the characters much, despite coming from a small town myself. And what happened to Craig? There’s a big question mark surrounding him that didn’t really get answered.

This book would be a great starting point for anyone wanting to try out cosmic horror. It’s not real heavy with cosmic elements, but it provides enough to help you know if it’s a sub-genre that you want to continue to explore. The book read a little closer to a YA than I typically like, but it was an interesting story nonetheless.