Tar
by Taylor
Hohulin
GENRE: Post-apocalypse/Science Fiction/Horror
BLURB:
Brendan Cobb calls it tar, but there might be as many names for
it as cities left standing.
To some, it’s known as filth, or blight. Others call it the Black God in reverential whispers. Whatever name it takes, the effects are the same. Cities left in ruins. People turned into monsters. Living infections with no known cure. The best anyone can do is avoid it, but even that gets harder the more it spreads.
Brendan survives this waking nightmare by trading salvage for shelter and for repairs to his cybernetic arm, until a newcomer arrives, convinced Brendan is the key to ridding the world of tar once and for all. Reluctantly, Brendan and his mechanic join the newcomer on a journey across the desolate highways of a ruined world, where he learns the true history of the tar…and of the dark power inside him, which grows stronger every day.
To some, it’s known as filth, or blight. Others call it the Black God in reverential whispers. Whatever name it takes, the effects are the same. Cities left in ruins. People turned into monsters. Living infections with no known cure. The best anyone can do is avoid it, but even that gets harder the more it spreads.
Brendan survives this waking nightmare by trading salvage for shelter and for repairs to his cybernetic arm, until a newcomer arrives, convinced Brendan is the key to ridding the world of tar once and for all. Reluctantly, Brendan and his mechanic join the newcomer on a journey across the desolate highways of a ruined world, where he learns the true history of the tar…and of the dark power inside him, which grows stronger every day.
Excerpt:
The
driver of the black car twisted his wheel hard, and the weaponized tires rolled
toward Brendan’s head at ninety-five miles per hour. Samson slammed on the
brakes, and the seatbelt bit Brendan’s collarbone. Tires squealed, and Samson’s
car fell back a split second before the black ones collided. The spiked tires
sparked and shredded each other. The vehicles tangled, swerving about the
highway in tandem. Samson hung back to avoid danger, but he couldn’t do it for
long. Another car loomed behind them.
And
so Samson lifted one hand off the wheel.
As
he did, the road lifted off the ground.
Samson
punched the gas, and Brendan’s body pressed into the seat. They raced up the
rising pavement, came to the place where the road ran out, and then they were
airborne.
Brendan
held his breath. He braced his arm against the window. The hum of the road
faded away. The small vibrations of the highway’s uneven surface ceased. They
were flying, the car carrying them over the carnage of the entangled black
vehicles.
As
suddenly as they’d left it, they hit the ground again. Brendan’s spine compressed
with the impact. The car fishtailed a moment, the wheels bit the asphalt, and
they took off like an arrow.
When
he’d regained his bearings, Brendan looked out the rear window. The black cars
had flipped, now lying on either end of the road with shredded tires spinning
uselessly. No evidence remained of the ramp Samson had created except crumbled
pavement.
Interview with Taylor Hohulin
Can you tell us a
little bit about the characters in Tar?
Sure! The main character is Brendan. He’s a salvager in a
post-apocalyptic city called Newhaven. He’s had a tough life, and it shows in
how he views the world. He believes that to trust anyone is to open himself to
betrayal, so he keeps everyone at arm’s length.
Brendan has one friend who he still trusts—much to his
chagrin. Her name is Krystal, and she’s the best mechanic in Newhaven. She
created a cybernetic arm for Brendan with a special alloy she developed
herself. She is the moral compass Brendan wishes he didn’t have, and works to
see the best in everyone.
While salvaging, Brendan meets Tiger Stripe. He’s young,
reckless, and in spite of his tough exterior, he still believes the world can
change for the better. He leads a group of similarly young and reckless
salvagers whose carelessness gets them into serious trouble with the living
infection simply known to the residents of Newhaven as “tar.”
And then there’s the group of men who could be described as
wizards—they possess strange powers that Brendan never thought possible…until
he discovers that he himself possesses a similar power.
Can you tell us a
little bit about your next books or what you have planned for the future?
I’m working on another book about the end of the world, only
this one will trend much closer to humor than horror. Everything I’ve written
over the last few years has gotten progressively darker, so this will be a fun
challenge and a nice change of pace. I’m hoping readers will feel the same way!
How long would you
say it takes you to write a book?
I’ve managed to publish something every year since 2013,
though I will be coming just under the wire for 2018. Usually, from that first
outline to the final round of edits, it takes me a little over a year.
What is your favorite
childhood book?
Childhood? Gotta be Where
The Wild Things Are. I wanted Max’s pajamas so bad.
If you could spend
the day with one of the characters from Tar
who would it be? Please tell us why you chose this particular character, where
you would go and what you would do.
Man, there aren’t a lot of people in Tar I’d like to spend an extended period of time with, but
fortunately, Krystal is in this one. She’s kind and selfless and lights up
whenever she’s given the opportunity to make someone else feel valuable. I’d
probably just go get a cup of coffee with her, because that’s how I prefer to
socialize.
What was the hardest
scene from Tar to write?
There’s a stretch toward the end where things get really
trippy and disorienting. It was hard enough to write, simply because I was
trying to get my head around what was happening and how best to communicate it
so the reader feels just the right amount and kind of confusion. But on top of
that, I’d just had shoulder surgery and was on pretty strong pain killers
through a good portion of that sequence. The easy joke there is that the pain
killers helped me write something even trippier, but I found the medication did
more to cloud my thinking than to enable me to tap into some sort of
previously-inaccessible knowledge and expertise.
What made you want to
become a writer?
I don’t know if there was any one thing. I just love
stories. I was the kid who dug through the instruction book for all my video
games because I wanted to know what story they were trying to tell. Mario?
Contra? Bubble Bobble? It didn’t matter how simplistic the game was, I just
wanted to know who the characters were and why they were doing what they were
doing. From there, it’s the motivation that feeds a lot of artists—I wanted to
make other people feel the same way I do when reading a good book.
Just
for fun
(a
Favorite song: Geez, lead with
the hard one! Current fave…In Absentia by My Epic
(b
Favorite book: It by Stephen King
(c
Favorite movie: Depending on my mood, Scott
Pilgrim vs The World or Cloud Atlas
(d
Favorite tv show: Does The Haunting
of Hill House count? If not, 30 Rock
(e
Favorite Food: Give me a good burger any day.
(f
Favorite drink: Good, single-origin, properly brewed coffee
(g
Favorite website: Wow. Don’t know if I have one of those. How about a shout
out to NaNoWriMo.Org, since it is National Novel Writing Month. Can’t say
enough about the NaNo community here in Des Moines and what the month does to
encourage people—especially young people—to get into such a rewarding hobby.
Thanks
so much for visiting with us today!
My Review:
Something other worldly has taken over the world and
infecting anyone it comes in contact with. If you want to live then don’t go
out at night. Why? Well that is when the Tar comes out to play and destroys
anything and everything it touches. During
the day humans go out in search of food or whatever they can find so that they
can trade it for a place to sleep at night.
Brendon Cobb just may be the key to the whole thing. Brendon
just may be the one to stop the Tar or so that is what this new guy who just
showed up out of nowhere has informed him.
Samuel tells Brendon that he has these special powers and
that he can save the world from the Tar. Samuel wants Brendan to go with him so
he can help him to learn to use his powers and stop the Tar but Brendon is not
sure he can trust him or not. When his friend Krystal hears what Samuel has to
say she decides that she wants to go along as well. Brendon figures he doesn’t
have much choice but to tag along now.
Tar was unlike any book I have read before. The world
building was phenomenal. Tar was a very intense read that kept me turning the
pages. It has action from beginning to end. I kept waiting to see how the Tar
would appear next and what damage it would create. Brendon kept me on my toes
as well wanting to know what he was going to do next.
If you are looking for something a little different in the horror
or post-apocalyptic world then Tar is the book for you. Give it a try. I
recommend it.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Taylor
Hohulin is a radio personality by morning, a science fiction author by
afternoon, and asleep by 9:30. He is the author of The Marian Trilogy, Tar, and
other genre-blending works. He lives in West Des Moines, Iowa, with his wife,
where they are owned by a dog and a cat.
The book will be on sale for $0.99.
Giveaway:
$20 Amazon/BN GC
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3 comments:
Thanks for hosting me! I'm so glad you enjoyed Tar!
Thanks for sharing!
Grats on tour,cheers
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