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Brain Child

A doctor saves Alex after a car crash, but he returns eerily changed. A century-old evil in La Paloma seems to be waiting for him.

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Alex Lonsdale was one of the most popular kids in La Paloma, California. Until the horrifying car accident. Until a brilliant doctor's medical miracle brought him back from the brink of death. Now, Alex seems the same. but in his eyes there is a blankness. In his hear there is coldness. If his parents, his friends, his girlfriend could see inside his brain, inside his dreams, they would be terrified. One hundred years ago in La Paloma, a terrible deed was done. A cry for vengeance pierced the night. That evil still lives. That vengeance still waits. Waits for Alex Lonsdale. Waits for the... Brainchild .

First published: 1985
Publisher: Bantam
Pages: 384
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Book tags

Content warnings

Child Harm
Medical Trauma

Missing warnings do not mean other content is absent.

Horror profile

Scary: Not rated
Creepy: Not rated
Gore: Not rated
Disturbing: Not rated
Weird: Not rated

How we calculate this

These are editorial estimates of intensity, informed by reading and review evidence, then checked before publication. They aren't star ratings, reader-vote averages or a measure of quality.

Each dimension runs from 1 (low) to 5 (exceptionally intense). A 5 is reserved for strongly consistent evidence. People experience horror differently.

Scary: Fear, tension and immediate threat.
Creepy: Unease, dread and an uncanny atmosphere.
Gore: Graphic injury, blood and bodily detail.
Disturbing: Upsetting ideas and lingering psychological impact.
Weird: Surreal, strange and reality-bending elements.

We draw a filled profile only when all five scores have been reviewed. Unrated does not mean mild. Missing scores are not estimated from genre tags or your saved taste. This profile isn't a complete content-warning guide.