Ayer's Wordsmith is a haunting, genre-defying novel that left me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. Walt Erickson, a successful yet morally dubious writer, embarks on a twisted journey fueled by his insatiable hunger for fame and recognition. With a unique typewriter by his side, Walt's creative process takes a dark turn, delving into the depths of humanity's darkest aspects.

The writing is astoundingly imaginative, weaving a chilling narrative that blurs the lines between horror, mystery, and the supernatural. As Walt's girlfriend begins to unravel the unsettling truth behind his words, the tension and suspense intensify, leaving me questioning just how far one would go for success.

The characters are well-drawn, with complex motivations and actions that kept me guessing until the very end. The plot is gripping, with unexpected twists and turns that kept me hooked, even as I was haunted by the eerie atmosphere and the sense of impending doom.

While the supernatural element may not be everyone's cup of tea, Ayer skillfully blends it into the story, adding an element of the unknown and heightening the stakes. The detailed descriptions paint a vivid picture of the characters and settings, drawing me deeper into the story.

The Wordsmith is a thought-provoking, dark, and thrilling read that challenges the boundaries of traditional genres. Ayer's writing is masterful, and I eagerly anticipate more of his works in the future. If you're a fan of horror, mystery, and psychological suspense, this book is a must-read. But be prepared to question what you thought you knew about the human psyche, as Ayer's story unearths the darkest secrets that lurk within us all.

OMG! I had forgotten how much fun horror stories could be! Nearly as good as King's were back in the day! A possessed typewriter is just too, too much fun!Lots of interesting characters, love Walt and his main squeeze, Marie. Just a whole lot of great reading. It's really hard top put down once started. And this is the perfect month for a frightening read, too!

Thrilling. Disturbing. Entertaining. Addicting. Those are the four words that come to mind when I think about The Wordsmith by Alan Ayer. Because this book centers around an author in an ominous situation, I could not help but think of Stephen King as that is a trope he often uses in his writing. And in this one we get a possessed typewriter - how cool is that? Fans of dark fiction and disturbing thrillers will definitely enjoy this read. Ayer is a talented storyteller and I am looking forward to different books as he has a unique way about his writing style! 4 stars!

Keep away from this particular typewriter because it has a mind of its own! A gruesome tale with a gruesome main character, although none of the others were particularly likeable either. Would have really loved this story if there had been a different style of writing. Great idea though, but ultimately disappointing simply because of the clunky, stilted way it was written. Could’ve been brilliant, but turned out to be mediocre.

Love the premise, and good storytelling throughout. Plenty of twists and turns without going *too* overboard.

An author who isn’t, the typewriter that can, and an enigmatic premise – all great raw material for a good spooky horror read.

Summary:

An other-worldly typewriter generates un-put-downable books, and the possessor of the typewriter gets to enjoy a lavish lifestyle – but at what cost?

Main Characters:

Walt Erickson: The main character, an ordinary guy hustling with his brother to get a business up and running.

Marie: Walt’s eventual girlfriend, way out of his league.

Ian: Ex-military, no-nonsense character who has been there, seen it all, and killed most of it.

Minor Characters:

Mitch: Walt’s agent, road companion, who launched the author’s career.

Paul: The finder of the typewriter, he becomes its first recorded victim (as noted by Walt), and gets put into an asylum and permanent coma.

Plot:

Walt’s brother Paul had the initial idea of bidding, sight-unseen, on items in abandoned storage lockers, with a view to selling on individual items at a profit. The two brothers build up a nice little business, until they come across a typewriter.

Paul disappears off the radar shortly afterwards, and when Walt calls to his apartment, he finds his brother feverishly, maniacally typing, producing a draft of a book that Walt (not a reader himself - in fact, he despises books) cannot put down. Unfortunately, the typewriter has possessed Paul, who needs to be taken away and kept sedated, otherwise he would literally keep typing until he dies.

Walt sees the potential in this idea, and tests out ideas on how to produce a book, without himself becoming entrapped. He eventually succeeds, and ultimately attains a lifestyle befitting an internationally-renowned multiple-title best-selling author. However, there is a dark side to this life,

As the novel progresses, we see Walt descend into an amoral, self-absorbed character, with little or no empathy for anyone, even his comatose brother. Completely uninterested in books, even in those he “writes” himself, he leads a double life, and is always concerned about being exposed, and how he will get the next novel done.

We spiral downwards with Walt, and just when he seems to have found happiness, his life begins to fall apart, with a suspicious girlfriend trying the reconcile the public image with the private man, Walt's increasingly love of cognac, and rather dissolute personal life - the book has a twist or two that keeps you intrigued to the end.

What I Liked:

Great premise.
A very quick and compelling read.
There is a great twist at the end, even though I thought I'd spotted the ending!
What I Didn’t Like:

Characters a little too wooden, and somehow uninvolved in their own lives, given the risks that were being run.
The style and writing did not flow as smoothly as expected, though it is a debut novel.
Overall:

This is a good read, and if you like the genre you will enjoy this. Some graphic scenes, but nothing too outlandish. You will definitely look at prolific authors in a new light! There are areas that need to be tightened up, characters could need a little filling out, but it will be a good holiday or downtime read. A 3.5 star rating.

Acknowledgements:

Thanks due to NetGalley and the author for giving me a free copy of the book, in return for an honest and objective review.

The story is interesting but this book isn't at publishable standard. It's a shame because there are decent ideas to build on here. I hope this gets a solid reworking in the future, to do the author and his book justice, but as it is, I struggled to finish it.
The style is abrupt and choppy, perhaps from being too conscientious in removing all 'unnecessary' words, but there is still a lot of excess that could have been cut completely - repetition, and scenes that did nothing to move the story forward. The characters feel flat and there are some annoying plot holes. Contractions are noticeable in their absence in places, and too many characters have names starting with M which creates some confusion.
The latter parts, written from Marie's point of view are handled better, but I came within a whisker of giving up on the book long before that.
Professional editing is needed for this book.

Walt is a successful writer with a love for cognac. Success comes at a price and for him it is a huge one. His fans would be very surprised to learn it’s years since he has written any of his own work. Walt’s life changes when he and his brother purchase the contents of a storage container including a new Wordsmith typewriter with a secret of its own.

Using the typewriter was a great base for the storyline. The title and cover are simple but effective, suggesting a good story follows. The beginning was a great buzz then seemed to lose momentum. A few sections were a little repetitive and/or stretched out eg ...... people would not stop even when they needed to go to the bathroom. Marie figured that meant she would not stop even if she needed to go to the bathroom.

I nearly gagged when Walt cleaned up the homeless man who had been using the typewriter. It’s a long time since I’ve seen a typewriter and I don’t want to after reading this!

Also I found it a bit tacky we needed to know Walt pricked his blister then pressed all the fluid out of it.

I loved the gory bits and they made up for other parts which didn’t impress me. Worth a read and make your own mind up!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free digital copy of the book in return for an honest review.

Not gonna lie, I was very close to a DNF on this one, guys. So close, you don't even know. This book needs a good editor, someone to work out the kinks (lack of spacing being the biggest issue). The sentences were choppy and short and vague from the start and things got pretty redundant after a while.

But

I went online and started reading through reviews. I was surprised so many people 5 star this book... and gave astonishing reviews (especially since this is Alan Ayer's debut novel). So you know what I did? I kept reading. I have never pulled a DNF on any novel I have ever read and promised to review. So I kept at it, and you know what?

I liked it.
I got used to the writing style, and the short sentences, and ignored the repeated details I had started to despise in the very beginning. I kept reading and found this story to be pretty outstanding actually.

The premise is great and although it has its kinks that need to be worked out, it had a pretty strange twist at the end that left me thinking "what the fuck".

After everything, I think I'd give the actual book itself 4/5 stars just due to it needing a good editing... but it has such awesome potential that reminds me a lot of Stephen King.

I can't believe I almost didn't read it.
It's definitely worth the read, guys.
And if you start to read and think you're ready to DNF it, push through... because it will definitely be worth it.

This book was well written and very fun to read. The characters were great and I enjoyed the world building. The author does a great job at introducing the characters and moving the plot along. There were a few things that I didn't like, but it wasn't enough to really sway me one way or the other. It's definitely a story that I can get lost in and both feel for the characters. It is definitely a go-to novel that I highly recommend to anyone who loves a great read. Definitely a highly recommended read that I think everyone will enjoy.

An excellent premise suffers from poor writing.

The book is about an author, and while many would be thrilled to see their works in print, our main character is not one of them. He hates his books, despises his fans, and rarely discusses his own work. The author builds tension of a sort by letting us know something is very wrong - the main character hasn’t written a single one of his books.
The theme of the author suffering and being consumed by his work is one that has been visited before, but it didn’t stop me from enjoying g the wordsmith’s dark plot. Our main character maintains a life as an author through murder. He has in his possession a typewriter, the titular wordsmith, but he quickly learns its no normal machine. Those who sit dine at it produce brilliant works, but cannot stop to eat, sleep or drink. The machine consumes those who use it, producing page after page until the user drops dead.
How does the main character avoid his fate? He is a serial killer, picking people up off the street and feeding them to the machine. Rather than fall prey to it it, the main character gets others to write, disposing of the bodies after each book.
I really was caught up by the ideas in the book but the writing cries out for an editor. The characters are flat, and despite the high stakes, seem emotionless. The characters and scenes in the book appear to just be going through the motions - as if this were a short story bulked up into becoming novel length. Dialogue and description are robotic and repetitive, characters even repeating the same thing within the same paragraph of dialogue.

Despite the twisted premise, the books lacks the kind of tension and characterization that would make it sing. The characters do not appear to care deeply about their own circumstances or each other, making it hard to feel anything for them. And the monotonous writing drains the readers will to read just as much as the typewriter drains its victims. I skipped ahead several times in the book to see what happened in the end, completely missing out on a character that I only learned of when reading about his death.

I can’t recommend the book in its totality, but a quick skim through gives you enough story to wonder at what might have been.

The Wordsmith was a really fast read for me. Like the readers of writer and main character, Walt Erickson, I couldn't put the book down until I finished the story.

Alan Ayer has a unique writing style that takes a little getting used to. He writes in short, straight forward sentences. He also has paragraphs where a scene can be in one setting and the very next sentence, it could be somewhere else. That can be a little jarring but it is something I got used to.

It is a little hard to say much about the story because it might spoil the plot but it was definitely creepy. I liked the idea of a typewriter having a life of its own and what it makes a person do. I also liked the twist ending.

If you like creepy books, definitely give this one a try.

4.5 Stars for Alan Ayer's debut novel The Wordsmith. I'm blown away that this is a debut novel Mr. Ayer is mad talented, this is a must for your to read list if you enjoy the likes of Stephen King. This is a well-written faced- paced strangely odd but oh so good book.

This got off to a strong start and I enjoyed it for the most part. There is a bit of lagging as the book goes on. The ending really surprised me, didn't see that one coming. An interesting read.

How has this book been published for over 3 months and there are less than a hundred ratings on Goodreads? This is one you definitely should not miss. Yes, it is a horror book and there are some graphic details in here. However, the concept and the way that concept was used was very imaginary and unlike anything I've read yet.

I raced through this book. At one point, my Kindle told me I had 4 1/2 hours left to read. The next time I looked, I had a little over an hour. It had not been three hours!

I was addicted! It was crazy! There was nothing great or outstanding about any of the characters, but the plot . . . It was just so twisted with strong Stephen King or Michael Koryta vibes.

Man, oh man, this is definitely a book I will not be forgetting about. Ever!

Some of the writing near the end was just like bullet points, but I didn't care. I was held spellbound. I wanted to read it faster - I didn't need any fluff or extra words. I wanted, needed, had to know how it ended.

An excellent read that I would recommend to any King or Koryta fans.

Huge thanks to BooksGoSocial and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Look out all of you horror writers out there. Alan Ayer just rocked this world. Wordsmith is the story of an author using a typewriter to type, not just any typewriter but a Wordsmith. Once they start writing, they don't want to stop. This book took me on a rollercoaster ride of suspense and terror. So many things I didn't see coming. What would you give to write a bestseller? I was honored to read this book. I received this book from Net Galley for an honest review and no compensation otherwise.

The wordsmith

Author Alan Ayer


Wow it had me shaking in my bare feet, I don't wear boots. It was a roller coaster ride until the very end. It reminded me of The Ignored by Bentley Little. Could this really happen? I guess it could, if you want something really badly. Do not plan on a good night's sleep. Or even a good next day.

Keep the night light on.


I was giving the story in advance, by Netgalley, with the promise to be truthfull, good or bad

Some typewriters are hungrier than others, the eponymous machine is positively starving. It’ll kill for a great story, but not without some assistance. Not all stories are created equally, some require a sacrifice, quite literally. Not all writing processes are the same, some require a murder. This book was a random find on Netgalley that sounded intriguing as stories about writers and writing tend to do and the supernatural angle was an added bonus. I liked the concept, the execution was interesting in that it was peculiarly flat. Some Scandinavian fiction can be like that, but this was extreme, like flat ironed Nordic. So basically narration went like this…short plain sentences, very descriptive, slightly repetitive, very straight forward, very matter of fact. Let’s see…like this. I read this book in just about one day. The story engaged me almost despite itself. It went by quickly. It might make a reader wary of typewriters. Analog technology can be creepy in the right light. Technology can be creepy in the right light. Fire’s Alexa emotes more animation that this. And…done. OK, so you get the idea, right? And yet still the book worked, irrespective of its style of almost uniform lack of likeable characters, although Marie is a peculiar and compelling creature. There’s a distinct possibility this book was a metaphor for the writing process, what it takes to bring a great story into the world, the toll creativity exacts and so on or maybe even a dark satire of the writing and publishing trade…but it comes across pretty literally as a spooky thriller with a high body count and serous graphic amount of body waste matter. It’s the sort of thing a genre fan would enjoy, a not too discriminate connoisseur of all things scary and murderous, because it read pretty fun and entertaining for what it was. Never heard of the author, but one sincerely hopes no vagrants were killed in the making of this book. Thanks Netgalley.

I was so looking forward to reading this novel after reading the synopsis. It held so much promise.
Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Was not a book for me, but that in no way means that others would not find it enjoyable. I just found the story developed very slowly for my liking, and I think that was one of the main points that put me off.