Soft Targets by Carson Winter is a darkly hilarious tale about two coworkers with an unusual bromance.
With a lovely content warning at the start of the book, the publisher notes gun violence and refers to the back of the book for more information.
Let’s dive in!
My Thoughts on Soft Targets by Carson Winter
Stuck in a dead-end job, these two coworkers find joy in talking about the darkest thing they could imagine happening at work; having a shooter walk through the doors.
They fantasize about what it would be like and what they would do if it happened. Then they talk about what they would do if they were the shooter.
But it’s all just talk. At least, until the day it isn’t… Turns out, they’ve discovered a loophole where anything they do on certain off days doesn’t matter. But can this really not have any repercussions?
My gosh, the dark humor here! It made me uncomfortable and yet I couldn’t help but chuckle.
These two main characters are so charismatic and charming, even when they’re describing scenes from my nightmares. I loved seeing their antics and what they would discuss next.
As soon as the action in the story really ramps up, I got a nervous feeling. That feeling only got worse as they continued to spiral.
What a perfect story of taking things too far.
My Favorite Passages from Soft Targets
I often think about what would happen if a gunman entered our building and started blasting away. I think we all do, it’s like a horror movie that way.
Ollie was a mysterious guy, but I accepted his mystery just as I accepted that snakes went somewhere during the winter and it wasn’t my business to know where.
Ollie and I sat down and I think we both gulped at the same time. Like a fucking cartoon.
My Final Thoughts on Soft Targets
This was such a fun, dark read. I personally had a blast from start to finish, and the ending was super impactful.
Horror fans that enjoy stories set in the real world with horror and comedy mixed in, this will be a hit for you! Though as the content warnings caution, this is centered around guns, so please be careful if that’s not a topic you have the capacity to handle at the moment.
The author and publisher stated that they will donate a portion of the proceeds of sales from this book to the Sandy Hook Promise.
Thanks for reading!
And shout-out to the publisher for sending me a lovely paperback copy of Soft Targets!
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