David Thomas, reeling from a breakup with his girlfriend, takes a holiday in the small NSW town of Hent, staying in a rural pub being renovated. Besides having a drinking problem Dave's problems get worse when he runs across the apparently psychopathic local Monty. Seems Monty has a sideline in murdering kids in his “special” room, and after capturing Dave, Monty wants him to follow in his footsteps. Dave manages to overcome Monty and save a boy destined for Monty's knife. Instant fame follows as Dave tries to deal with further complications in his life.

Sometime later the first murders and animal mutilations start happening around Hent, with the mayhem gradually creeping outwards and infecting the rest of Australia. Dave and a number of others are placed under military protection in a Melbourne Skyscraper as an apocalypse takes place around them. Seems Monty wasn't as deranged as first thought, and it's up to Dave to continue Monty's work in order to save what is left of humanity. Can Dave get through a world suddenly fill of monsters, arrive in Hent, and do what is required?

Hamilton's follow up to his debut novel, Spare Key, shows a writer coming to terms with his art, and in the process biting off a much more ambitious concept. While apocalyptic novels are currently in vogue, more zombies than you can poke a limb at, Hamilton takes a different approach and spins a unique take on the demise of the human race. What is notable is the Author hasn't lost any of his willingness to get down and dirty in the gore trenches, comparisons to Brett McBean or U.S writer Richard Laymon being a requirement when discussing Hamilton's latest release. So yeah I'm prepared to state Hamilton is growing as a writer while still remaining firmly committed to his roots, which bodes well for future novels.

Should Have Killed The Kid (SHKTK) is broken into a logical series of chapters that either cover lead character Dave's journey back to Hent, the current situation, or what happened in the past to cause the current apocalypse. Interspersed throughout the book is a seemingly different story line that doesn't tie into the main narrative till we reach the awesomely good conclusion. From a structure viewpoint SHKTK is everything you could want from a gripping novel, I found it hard to put down kids, with Hamilton leaving no questions unanswered. Perhaps the only addition that could have been made to the novel would have been the odd vignette detailing what is happening beyond Dave's immediate point of view.

While the novel is fill of apocalyptic seriousness and the odd splash of claret, Hamilton lightens the Reader's load with some exceedingly good characterisation. Notably with SHKTK Hamilton is really improving this aspect of his writing. Besides our fall guy Dave, who stumbles from one situation to the next with zero control, we have a deranged Monty making ghostly appearances, Sally a soldier with just a touch of cynicism in her can do makeup, and my favourite Marge, a grandmother type with a sideline in manipulating people, who can out swear a dock worker. Hamilton also hits almost Stephen King levels of elevating incidental characters through highlighting simple character nuances. If you want to learn how to write character, then pretty much just grab a copy of SHKTK and try and decipher what Hamilton is doing.

Central to the narrative Hamilton sends our way is the plight Dave finds himself in and the almost unbearable decision he has to make. Is one life worth more than the entire human race? Don't even try to invoke your Vulcan logic here, the life we are talking about is, as the title of the novel would suggest, a kids'. Dave isn't a traditional square jawed hero, rather he has some major flaws in his character, which of course makes for a far more endearing lead. Hamilton asks what the reader would do in Dave's situation, and then throws situation after situation at Dave that threatens to drive the novel into almost a surreal pastiche of blood shed. Surprisingly Dave manages to stumble through the obstacles thrown at him, but ultimately the reader is left vaguely wondering if the resolution doesn't sum up the character's personality traits in a sort of you reap what you sow fashion. Not helping Dave's quest for salvation, besides the Roos starting to bound around his top paddock, are the cadre of experts he picks up along the way who really don't know what they are doing. It's a delicious bleed of the absurd meeting the meat grinder.

So some folks are clearly going to be wondering about the monsters, the claws in the darkness, and how Hamilton handles the ultimate in antagonists. Basically they are pretty much a force of nature, largely unexplained and completely vicious. Hamilton doesn't spend a lot of time covering their activities, yes you will need some imagination here, but he does give out enough details to have you fully up on what goes down when the claw meets the flesh. More time is spent with the enigmatic John in I guess an alternate reality, worlds collide and all that, read the book to get more of the good oil.

R. Frederick Hamilton pretty much defined his style of writing in his first novel, SHKTK continues the style and shows an Author who is fully confident in his abilities. The prose flows off the page and you will find yourself glued to the novel as Hamilton weaves his magic. Full recommendation, if you don't mind off beat horror then this book is exactly what the Doctor ordered, a must have volume for your Downunder collection.

Should Have Killed The Kid is available via LegumeMan Books, and comes in either print or electronic form. Yes I know the title is slightly cumbersome but it does point out the central issue facing the major character, things might have been avoided if he had of taken action. Then again it might just have postponed the apocalypse rather than stopping it, read the book to make up your own mind.