Deadstream by Mar Romasco-Moore
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
**3.5-stars**
Deadstream is a new YA Horror release told mainly through mixed media format, but also through the perspective of a teenage recluse, Teresa.
Teresa had a bit of a complex backstory, as she’d recently survived a car accident that took the life of her best friend. Because of that, she was battling a lot of guilt and fear, as she struggled to move past the traumatic event.
Teresa has been unable to leave her home since. As a matter of fact, she never really leaves the safety of her bedroom, interacting with the world mostly through various streaming channels, including her own.
She’s been able to find distraction and comfort within the online community. That safety is threatened though, when one night while watching one of her favorite streamers, a shadowy figure appears in the background.
Though everyone in his chat is warning him of the danger, he doesn’t seem to see it, or sense it, except through his video feed. After the strange interaction with the shadow entity, his behavior rapidly changes, until he finally dies a few days later in front of thousands of viewers.
The community is in an uproar, confused, but also weirdly excited. Is this real, or was it some sort of a stunt?
Teresa knows in her heart it was real, and quickly finds herself immersed in a life-or-death investigation. Whatever that entity was, it’s spreading, infecting other people’s streams and compelling them to open the door.
Deadstream was an entertaining story. I listened to it on audio and I’m really glad that I did. I feel like the content and the heavy use of mixed media, focusing a lot of the various stream chats, played quite well to that format.
I’m actually not sure if I would have enjoyed it as much if I would have just read a hard copy. Nevertheless, I thought the premise and the set-up were both very well done.
At times, it started to lose me towards the end, but for the most part, I was fully engaged with it. I listened to the entire thing this afternoon while doing housework, and it definitely made all those tasks more bearable.
I would agree with the publisher’s synposis that it is a mix of Rear Window and The Ring. I do feel like that’s a great way to think of this one if you’re picking it up.
It is super-modern as well, and I think it will really appeal to the age range for which it is intended. For me, as a more advanced Horror Reader, I can’t say that it will be particularly memorable, but I do believe the author achieved what they set out to do, and I’m glad I read it.
I would also love to read more from this author. As mentioned above, I enjoyed the MC, Teresa, a lot. I feel like a lot of thought went into making her believable.
I’m looking forward to see what creative concepts Mar Romasco-Moore brings in their next release!