{"id":19378,"date":"2024-09-12T01:00:42","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T05:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/?p=19378"},"modified":"2025-08-22T23:34:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T03:34:15","slug":"book-our-greatest-enemy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-our-greatest-enemy\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Greatest Enemy: Five Horror Stories on Fatherhood"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"book-2904\" class=\"bdb-book-info\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/book_ourgreatestenemy.png?fit=250%2C404&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Our Greatest Enemy: Five Horror Stories on Fatherhood\" class=\"alignright\"\/><strong>Title:<\/strong> Our Greatest Enemy: Five Horror Stories on Fatherhood<br \/><strong>Author:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/author\/jordan-thiery\/\">Jordan Thiery<\/a><br \/><strong>First Published:<\/strong> <span content=\"2024-06-22\">June 22, 2024<\/span><br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/publisher\/self-published\/\">Self-Published<\/a><br \/><strong>Pages:<\/strong> 173<br \/><strong>Genre:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/genre\/horror\/\">Horror<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/genre\/psychological\/\">Psychological<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/genre\/short-stories\/\">Short Stories<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/genre\/supernatural\/\">Supernatural<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/genre\/thriller\/\">Thriller<\/a><br \/><strong>Format:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/format\/ebook\/\">Ebook<\/a><br \/><strong>Source:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/source\/review-request\/\">Review Request<\/a><br \/><strong>Rating:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/rating\/4\/\"><span class=\"bdb-font-awesome-star-wrap\"><i class=\"fas fa-star\"><\/i><i class=\"fas fa-star\"><\/i><i class=\"fas fa-star\"><\/i><i class=\"fas fa-star\"><\/i><i class=\"far fa-star\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/215152340-our-greatest-enemy\" target=\"_blank\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/addtogoodreads.png?ssl=1\" align=\"left\" border=\"0\"\/><\/a><br \/><br \/><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong> <p>A father's scarred heart cuts deep the roots of the family tree. Included in this collection:<\/p>\n<p>BELT<br \/>\nWilliam's father is speeding down a gravel road late at night. William can't remember anything from earlier that day, and he's worried for his mother...<\/p>\n<p>WRAPPED IN SILK<br \/>\nErik finds a spider in his apartment. Everything is fine... until the spider begins consuming everything he loves.<\/p>\n<p>INSIDE A CONCRETE BOX<br \/>\nAt the lake with his son, Arthur finds a mysterious concrete box in the trees. There\u2019s something inside... and it's coming for them.<\/p>\n<p>THE TRANSFIGURATION<br \/>\nSam\u2019s lost everything: his family, his wife, his daughter. As he copes with his new life, he finds himself becoming... something else.<\/p>\n<p>OUR GREATEST ENEMY<br \/>\nAs the world around him comes to an end, Adam contemplates space, life, and humanity with his father one last time.<\/p>\n<strong>Get the Book:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4gMQdsC\" target=\"_blank\">Amazon<\/a>\r\n<hr \/><\/div>\t\t<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n\t\t\t{\n\t\t\t\t\"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\/\",\n\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Review\",\n\t\t\t\t\"datePublished\": \"2024-09-12T05:00:42+00:00\",\n\t\t\t\t\"description\": \"Our Greatest Enemy: Five Horror Stories on Fatherhood\",\n\t\t\t\t\"publisher\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"Radical Dreamer\"\t\t\t\t},\n\t\t\t\t\"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pastelgoth.net\\\/blog\\\/book-our-greatest-enemy\\\/\",\n\t\t\t\t\"itemReviewed\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Book\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"Our Greatest Enemy: Five Horror Stories on Fatherhood\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"author\": [\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t{\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"Jordan Thiery\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"sameAs\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pastelgoth.net\\\/blog\\\/book-database\\\/author\\\/jordan-thiery\\\/\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t],\n\t\t\t\t\t\"isbn\": \"B0CW1J8TM9\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"numberOfPages\": 173,\n\t\t\t\t\t\"publisher\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"Self-Published\"\t\t\t\t\t},\n\t\t\t\t\t\"image\": \"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/pastelgoth.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/book_ourgreatestenemy.png?fit=250%2C404&ssl=1\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"datePublished\": \"2024-06-22T00:00:00+00:00\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"sameAs\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.goodreads.com\\\/book\\\/show\\\/215152340-our-greatest-enemy\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"genre\": \"Horror\"\t\t\t\t},\n\t\t\t\t\"author\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"Jamie\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"sameAs\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pastelgoth.net\\\/blog\\\/\"\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t, \"reviewRating\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Rating\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"ratingValue\": 4,\n\t\t\t\t\t\"bestRating\": 5\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t\n<h2>Review<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Our Greatest Enemy<\/strong> is a wonderful debut short story collection and a real hidden gem. This humble little collection of stories reminds me why I love taking a chance on new authors, especially in the indie space. I really enjoyed the variety of horror subgenres in the collection, with the central theme of fatherhood and masculinity explored in each story. I felt a full range of emotions while reading, and one story in particular genuinely spooked me! It was hard to pick favorites because there was a lot to like. <strong>Inside a Concrete Box<\/strong> and <strong>The Transfiguration<\/strong> particularly are stand out stories.<\/p>\n<p>Mild editing gripe which was really not a big deal, but I found a few repeated phrases in different stories, and the d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu distracted me briefly. Beyond that Thiery has a distinct narrative voice and his prose is wonderful. I can see Thiery going far and I&#8217;d be interested to see where his writing career takes him in the future.<\/p>\n<h4>Individual Story Notes:<\/h4>\n<p>&hearts; <strong>Belt:<\/strong> Wow, this story really kicks the collection off with a heavy story about the cyclical nature of abuse and a broken marriage. My heart absolutely bled for the main character, William, and the intense situation he finds himself in. I found the final pages of this story utterly heartbreaking. My only gripe is that it is a little heavy handed with the messaging.<\/p>\n<p>&hearts; <strong>Wrapped in Silk:<\/strong> This one is a great allegory for the monstrous effects of depression. I thought I knew what I was in for with this story, but it far exceeded my expectations. As with the first story, this one also centers on a strong message about abuse, and I appreciated the underlying theme that parenthood is not for everyone.<\/p>\n<p>&hearts; <strong>Inside a Concrete Box:<\/strong> A father and son go camping in the lonely woods, too lonely, too isolated. This one really, truly scared me! I really enjoy camping stories and encountering a loving father in this story was heartwarming and totally refreshing compared to the previous two stories. I read this story in bed in the dark and I was so creeped out and focused on the story, one of my children turned on a hall light outside of my door and it made me leap out of bed!<\/p>\n<p>&hearts; <strong>The Transfiguration:<\/strong> This story was a strong contender for favorite. Sam is a broken man that loses his family despite trying to do everything right, and I rooted for him to the very end. The story was thrilling even when I knew what was coming, and it left me with an image that I won&#8217;t forget for a <em>very<\/em> long time.<\/p>\n<p>&hearts; <strong>Our Greatest Enemy:<\/strong> Unfortunately my least favorite of the collection. I liked the conversation about the universe and man&#8217;s insignificance within the greater cosmos, which is a kind of horror on it&#8217;s own. It just didn&#8217;t land quite right for me. I did really appreciate that this story made references to what happened in two earlier stories, Belt and Wrapped in Silk, that added nicely to those endings.<\/p>\n<h2>Rating Breakdown<\/h2>\n<table align=\"center\" width=\"100%\">\n<tr>\n<td width=\"34%\">Belt: \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606<br \/>\nWrapped in Silk: \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606<\/p>\n<td width=\"33%\">Inside a Concrete Box: \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<br \/>\nThe Transfiguration: \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/td>\n<td width=\"33%\">Our Greatest Enemy: \u2605\u2605\u2606\u2606\u2606<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<table align=\"center\" width=\"100%\">\n<tr>\n<td width=\"100%\"><center><strong>Favorite Story:<\/strong> Inside a Concrete Box<\/center><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<h2>Quote<\/h2>\n<p><center><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;There\u2019s <em>no going back<\/em> from that. That\u2019s the <strong>end of the road<\/strong>. For <em>me<\/em>, for <strong>us<\/strong>. I can\u2019t <strong>fix<\/strong> that.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center><\/p>\n<h2>Content Warnings<\/h2>\n<span class=\"ubb-spoiler\"><a class=\"ubb-view-spoil\">View Spoiler &raquo;<\/a><span style=\"display: none;\" class=\"ubb-thespoil\">Child Abuse, Child Death, Death, Domestic Violence, Gore, Infidelity, Physical Abuse, Psychological Abuse, Suicide, Trauma, Verbal Abuse, Violence <a class=\"ubb-hide-spoil\" style=\"cursor: hand; cursor: pointer;\">&laquo; Hide Spoiler<\/a><\/span><\/span>\n<h2>About the Author<\/h2>\n<div class=\"ubb-about-author\">\n<h3>About Jordan Thiery<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/author_jordanthiery.png?fit=200%2C200&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignleft ubb-about-author-photo\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/author_jordanthiery.png?w=200&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/author_jordanthiery.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Jordan Thiery lives in North Dakota with his wife and four children. Despite what the stories in Our Greatest Enemy might suggest, he loves being a father. He is a new part-time author and works at Amazon.com full time. Our Greatest Enemy is his first published work. His next publication will be a second collection of short stories: Flesh Party: Five Monstrous Horror Stories.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ubb-author-links\"><a href=\"https:\/\/jordanthiery.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Website<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=61560770174971\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Facebook<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/50652089.Jordan_Thiery\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Goodreads<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3XRrZVL\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Amazon<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jordanthieryofficial\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Review Our Greatest Enemy is a wonderful debut short story collection and a real hidden gem. This humble little collection of stories reminds me why I love taking a chance&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19375,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9],"tags":[70,4243,5179,3522,1074,4242,4241,4386,4237],"book-author":[4158],"book-illustrator":[],"book-series":[],"book-publisher":[],"book-genre":[],"book-source":[],"book-format":[],"class_list":["post-19378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-review","tag-american-literature","tag-child-eater","tag-delusions-of-doghood","tag-does-the-dog-die","tag-father-and-daughter","tag-father-and-son","tag-ogres","tag-set-in-minnesota","tag-spiders","book-author-jordan-thiery"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/book_ourgreatestenemy-header.png?fit=1080%2C540&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19378"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19378\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20704,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19378\/revisions\/20704"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19378"},{"taxonomy":"book-author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-author?post=19378"},{"taxonomy":"book-illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-illustrator?post=19378"},{"taxonomy":"book-series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-series?post=19378"},{"taxonomy":"book-publisher","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-publisher?post=19378"},{"taxonomy":"book-genre","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-genre?post=19378"},{"taxonomy":"book-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-source?post=19378"},{"taxonomy":"book-format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-format?post=19378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}