The Community by Finn Eccleston: A Novel Review

📖 Book Information

Title: The Community

Author: Finn Eccleston

Year: 2023

Publisher: 5 AM Publishing

ISBN: 9781738939633

Pages: 247

Version: E-book

📚 View on Goodreads

The Community would be a dark, mysterious sci-fi story, but it slightly breaks the fourth wall for comedic effect.

67/100

Synopsis

When Jay Stevens starts blacking out and living out a stranger's life, he begins to question his reality, and whether this idyllic community, isolated from the rest of the world, is all they've been told it is.

The Community is all its inhabitants have ever known. Here they're safe, happy, and taken care of...except for the ones that disappear suddenly, never to be heard from again. Or the ones that go crazy, seemingly out of nowhere.

As Jay and his friends search for the truth of their world, they’ll find more than they ever bargained for as the keepers of the truth counter them at every turn.

Will they find it? And what's really going on here? Is something keeping them out?

Or is someone keeping them in?

Review

A Potential Young Author

Firstly, shoutout to Finn Eccleston, who completed The Community in his teenage years—a feat far beyond what I, a mere daydreamer, could achieve.

The theme of The Community stays close to sci-fi, which naturally feels different from local fiction even though its elements are fairly common nowadays. The use of an artificial world is also widespread in animanga and Western action films.

But Still Not Perfect Yet ...

Jay Steven, the MC, naturally has something more special than his friends: he is one of the predecessors and a supervisor within the Community. Jay’s memories play a big role in uncovering various mysteries in the Community, beginning with the flood and the “leaking sky.” While it sounds thrilling—especially with the mystery-horror aspect—Finn Eccleston’s fourth-wall-breaking writing style constantly reminds the reader that this is just fiction, softening the tension, especially toward the end. I even thought Madison would receive more spotlight since she is Jay’s partner. But the most notable characters are Chuck, who is somewhat psychopathic and immediately brings to mind that killer doll, and Destiny, who appears near the end. The involvement of the government in the Community also adds excitement through their dark side and dirty work in realizing their vision—something that inevitably reminds me of America and its allies’ ambition to dominate the world.

However, it’s a bit unfortunate that their escape ends on a cliffhanger, leaving us waiting for a continuation.

One thing that feels distracting is the way the dialogue lines are written without proper separation, which can occasionally be annoying and cause confusion about who is speaking and who is responding.

Conclusion

As usual, reading The Community sends my imagination running wild with all its action scenes and makes me want to watch a film with a similar theme plus the next parts as soon as possible since I am not satisfied yet. The Community is suitable for anyone who enjoys sci-fi and virtual-reality mysteries.