Rabid Reader's Reviews

Publication Date: March 24, 2015

In the indistinct future people have their expiration dates displayed on their chests. A mysterious killer is stalking people whose Timers are about to run out. D.I. Stewart is on the case but can he track a killer no one remembers? Can he find a shadowy character that may not be of this world?

The author, Marc Horn, originally gave me this novel in exchange for my review. It is currently free on Amazon.

Marc Horn is a writer that always brings something unique to the table. His writing may have the flavor of another author, but for this reader, it comes as something completely new. What Horn gifts readers in Timer is a story that stays in the mind. What would you do if you knew exactly how long you have left to live? What would a society of people with expiry dates displayed on their chests look like? What choices would they make if there was a chance that your Timer could suddenly plunge from ten years to one day? Horn’s commentary on the culture of Timers is insightful and interesting and easily relatable to a non-Timer life.

Horn has set the stage so that the story is serialized which adds a natural layer to the suspense. Each episode must be written to ensure a reader will come back for more and Horn has mastered that technique. Each episode promotes the next and the flow of Horn’s story is magnificent in its tense majesty. Horn’s treatment of his serial killer character is mysterious to the reader. We feel the stress of D.I. Stewart his adversary evades him.

D.I. Stewart is a wonderfully crafted character. Horn has a talent for well-rounded and introspective leads. Stewart is introduced as a character with a heart and a sense of a soul infused with fond nostalgia. As the character develops, he is a no-nonsense and believable member of law enforcement. Stewart is in no way a superhero. He is real with warts and fallibility. Stewart seems up against an impossible situation in that his killer is supernaturally elusive.

The story goes in some quite unexpected directions and this reader does not mind admitting that there were some scientific elements that were beyond me. While not a physicist, I could certainly appreciate the importance of the information in Timer. For this reader, the technical nature of the work mixed with its science amped up the tension and led me to the doubt that Horn would take his story where expected and, of course, he did not.

While personal issues kept me from reading this work in a timely manner, I was drawn to the story, the presentation and the characters. I love everything Horn has written but Timer is a horse of another color from The Mortal Religion and Cuffed and Persona but each work is a moment of magic in its own way. Marc Horn is a wonderfully talented author who gives the reader polished and concise stories that leave us wanting more. I have previously likened this author to American Psycho author Bret Easton Ellis. I have no author to whom I could liken Timer. Horn’s latest masterpiece is something I have not seen before and I loved it.

If you like thought-provoking suspense, pick up Timer: The Complete First Season by Marc Horn. Read an excerpt and buy on

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