Friends in High Places by Rob Smales

Friends in High Places Reviews

• 
  Jenna Moquin

  I had the privilege of seeing Rob Smales read his work live at the Wyrd: Horror and Dark Fiction readings in Salem, MA a couple months ago, and knew I'd enjoy this. He has a wonderfully dark sense of humor that's right up my alley, and this story has a retro feel to it reminiscent of Stranger Things. It's a novella, which I'm also a fan of; some of my favorite Stephen King tales were his novellas. It's a story style that isn't used as much and makes for a quick, enjoyable read. Four stars.
• 
  Christine

  Read this in one sitting!!! It was awesome!
• 
  Curtis

  In Friends in High Places Rob Smales captures the genuine feel of childhood, the elements of a classic ghost story, and a species of paranoia that just about anyone can relate to. The prose is compulsively readable, making this one of those books you may just want to read in one sitting.
  Highly recommended.
• 
  Benjamin Langley

  I read this in a couple of days. Enjoyable. Rob nails the thoughts and feelings of the young characters well, and I think most of us can empathise with having a tagalong. If anything, I was upset that it was over so quickly. I could have spent longer with the characters dealing with this situation.
• 
  Steve Samson

  Friends in High Places is a fast paced, coming of age type tale that pulls ZERO punches. As I read, "Evil Stand By Me" was the phrase that kept creeping, but there are definite echoes of Jack Ketchum as well.
  
  The story is set in the last days of a hot, mid-seventies summer. It stars a cast of pre-teen boys—friends, for the most part. Author, Rob Smales has done a wonderful job capturing that youthful notion of invulnerability that so many of us can remember—back when the worst ramifications to bad behavior was to get your butt grounded for a few days. This books presents a far more dire result, as three boys are forced to face unthinkable, possible even supernatural consequences to a night none of them are willing to talk about.
  
  Friends in High Places is so real and so visceral, it may just leave you questioning some of your own hazy childhood memories. After all, were the good old days really all that good?
• 
  Mel Kedro

  I bought this book in Salem from a local book store called wicked good books, I picked it up as a souvenir with an actual use versus a key chain or some novelty item I'd never look at again. The town made me want to read a horror story even though it against everything about me lol.
  
  It's sad, it's funny, it's creepy and it's shocking, the classic tale of being a kid of that time with a creepy twist. It was a really fun read outside of my comfort zone but the perfect scary campfire story.
• 
  Christian Orton

  Pretty fantastic coming of age novella
  
  Hits all the right notes. Really captures the thoughts of boys that age perfectly. Starting out I was sure this was just gonna be a fun read by an ok author, but as the chapters continued Smales really showed his ability as an author. I got sucked in and couldn't put it down until the end. Looking forward to reading more of his stuff.