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Reviewed by Tanja Jurkovic for Readers' Favorite
The Long Stall: Out of Phase, an intriguing science fiction story by Matt Rook, is a slow-burning narrative that offers a more mysterious take on a disturbance that is not from this world. Lucas’s family owned the Laguna Lodge near a lake, which had a particularly inviting and yet ominous feel. Since he was eleven years old, Lucas has felt that the lake hides a big secret that only the chosen ones can unravel - a secret wrapped in a luminous light coming from the center of the vast and unnaturally still surface. That hasn’t changed now, when he has grown up and is running the business. When his childhood friends decide to surprise him for his birthday, Lucas starts to wonder whether this visit has awakened the lake, or perhaps something hiding beneath the surface, that might change their lives forever in the midst of an upcoming storm.
Matt Rook’s slow buildup and the writing style that easily describes an unnatural situation transport the readers to that same shoreline of the lake, where everything began for the main character, Lucas. The depiction of uneasiness and the overwhelming feeling that something might be wrong lingers on every page of The Long Stall, leaving readers to deal with these feelings and their own imaginations. It is an exciting read that offers so much more than just a story about a lake. The pacing is deliberate and well-maintained throughout the narrative, and the atmospheric tension guides the characters and their choices in every situation they face. That makes this book an engaging read full of twists and excitement that many will enjoy and appreciate.
