Can you ever really be free if you can’t go outside?
The year is 2024, and the residents of the Tower, a virus-proof apartment building, live in a state of permanent lockdown. The building is controlled by James, who keeps the residents safe but remain prisoners.
This suits Eugene just fine. Ravaged by the traumas of his past, the agoraphobic ex-detective has no intention of ever setting foot outside again. But when he finds the Tower’s building manager brutally dismembered, his investigator’s instincts wont allow him to ignore the vicious crime.
What Eugene finds beyond the comfort of his apartment’s walls will turn his sheltered existence upside down. To unravel the Tower’s mysteries, he must confront James… and James takes his role as the Warden very, very seriously.
I’ll be honest, techno-thriller isn’t a genre I’d typically choose to read from. I’ve not read anything that falls into this category before, and these kinds of books don’t usually cross my path. However, delving into this dark, dangerous and robotically-ruled world brought to life by Jon Richter, I’ve realised I’m not against reading more fiction like this in the future, because it was electric, charged with tension and pulse-raising terror, and had me on the edge of my seat right the way through.
I was first introduced to Richter’s twisted stories years back, when I discovered one of his original books, Jon Richter’s Disturbing Works which I thoroughly enjoyed. I loved how strange and creepy these tales were, and I realised Jon’s writing was the sort that I’d certainly like to read more of. I’ve missed a fair few of his releases since then as life had other plans, but when I saw news of The Warden over on Twitter, I just knew I needed to read it, and read it I did.
In Richter’s The Warden, readers step into a world that actually isn’t too dissimilar to our own. Overrun with fear and disease, a pandemic no longer able to be controlled, it’s a worrying scenario that we, ourselves, have been face to face with. Tucked away safely in an apartment complex, Eugene and the many other inhabitants of the Tower, have everything they need delivered right to their doors by robots, meaning they never have to leave their homes again. At least not until the virus has been eradicated and the world is back to normal. And after all, why would they want to? The outside world is a deadly place, but inside the Tower, you are kept safe and fed and looked after. It’s a no-brainer, really. All of your needs as a human are met, therefore there is no reason for you to go outside.
Richter creates such a vivid, terrifying world in The Warden, and I think the fact that we’re living through a pandemic ourselves makes it feel all the more real to readers. I loved the edginess to Richter’s writing. His style has always had a uniqueness to it that I really enjoy reading, a style which intrigues me greatly. He is a very unpredictable writer, one I find exciting to read, as you never really know what he’s going to do next with his characters, or what other ghastly situation they’re going to be faced with. This is very much the case in The Warden. Ex-detective Eugene goes on quite the life-changing discovery when the place he originally thought of as a safe haven suddenly turns deadly, and I loved how sleekly this whole ‘safe place’ idea turned on its axis and went in the complete opposite direction. What at first seems like a comfortable place suddenly feels incredibly unsettling, and it isn’t long before the bricks of that perfect tower come tumbling down around its occupants. It’s gory at times, sad too, and has all of those elements that make a bloody good read, with a smidge of romance even tucked away in there too.
I found The Warden by Jon Richter to be an unsettling, thought-provoking read, one which I easily lost myself in. Richter’s writing is as enjoyable as ever, and I really do think he needs to turn his hand to some horror at some point in the future because I honestly believe he would do it so well and I would LOVE to read it. There’s a subtle terror to the words he writes, his descriptions managing to get right beneath the skin, and leave a sting. I think power, greed and deceit are important in The Warden, and also courage, because Eugene fights battles of his own within this story, as well as the much bigger battles that he faces later on.
Overall, The Warden by Jon Richter was a dark, edgy and terrifying techno-thriller with a host of vivid, bold characters and a rotten being at its core. A corrupt and dangerous entity with a disturbing goal. I raced through the pages and found myself always eager to see what would happen in the next chapter. I loved Eugene, I loved the complexities of his character, and I loved watching how he handled the madness that was thrown at him. I can’t wait to read more from Jon Richter, he is a truly fantastic author with such an exciting imagination that shines through in all of his work. But please, write us a scary story! 😉
With thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy, that of which has no reflection on me providing a fair and honest review.
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