{"id":11370,"date":"2018-04-19T08:00:28","date_gmt":"2018-04-19T12:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/?p=11370"},"modified":"2018-04-17T13:22:57","modified_gmt":"2018-04-17T17:22:57","slug":"review-roam-erik-therme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-roam-erik-therme\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Roam by Erik Therme"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"11372\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-roam-erik-therme\/roam\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/roam.jpg?fit=333%2C500&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"333,500\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"roam\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/roam.jpg?fit=333%2C500&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-11372\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/roam.jpg?resize=233%2C350&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"233\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/roam.jpg?resize=233%2C350&amp;ssl=1 233w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/roam.jpg?w=333&amp;ssl=1 333w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 233px) 85vw, 233px\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Roam-Erik-Therme\/dp\/0692797076\/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1518975349&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><em>Roam\u00a0<\/em>by Erik Therme<\/strong><\/a><br \/>\n<strong>Self-Published (January 2017)<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>244 pages; $9.99\u00a0paperback; $2.99 e-book<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Reviewed by Josh Black<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Roam<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Erik Therme&#8217;s third novel, begins in deceptively typical fashion. A broken down car, and a couple of kids with no cell reception. <\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It&#8217;s Sarah Cate&#8217;s 21<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> birthday. Unfortunately for her, she&#8217;s spending the nightfall stuck with her boyfriend Matt, miles from any sort of civilization. It&#8217;s unfortunate because Matt&#8217;s not just a bit of a jerk, he seems to be a full-blown narcissist, and the potentially violent kind at that. When it seems like things are about to get out of hand, Sarah takes her chances on a long walk down a dark road. She&#8217;s picked up by a recent high school grad named Kevin, and from there the story goes down a road of its own, each twist and turn subverting expectations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Needing solace from the fallout of her not-so-great birthday, Sarah goes to visit her old friend Scotty. Along the way we learn more about the pasts of the four main players. As these pasts are revealed and ultimately converge, Therme broaches subjects like abuse, writing and publishing, strained family ties, guilt, redemption, hope, and paying it forward. There&#8217;s a hint of the supernatural in there somewhere, but it&#8217;s downplayed. At its heart, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Roam<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a story about broken people struggling to persevere against their personal demons.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite shifting perspectives throughout, Sarah is essentially the main protagonist. She&#8217;s the weakest personality of the bunch, but there&#8217;s so much going on around her that the reader can join in her angsty uncertainty and just enjoy the ride. Each character gets some time in the spotlight, and they&#8217;re all well-developed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The way Therme weaves in so much character detail without losing momentum is impressive, particularly considering the fact that he tends to do this in flashbacks. Some of these, narrated in a loose and conversational tone, are like stories told between friends after a few drinks. Dialogue can be tricky to write but Therme nails it. The simplicity of the prose works to <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Roam<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8216;s benefit. Its lack of flourish leaves the the story to speak for itself.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Roam<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was a nice surprise. It&#8217;s cleverly constructed, filled with characters you&#8217;ll easily root for or despise, has that <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">just-one-more chapter<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> feeling the whole way through, and still provides plenty of food for thought well after the last page is turned. Very much recommended.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Roam\u00a0by Erik Therme Self-Published (January 2017) 244 pages; $9.99\u00a0paperback; $2.99 e-book Reviewed by Josh Black Roam, Erik Therme&#8217;s third novel, begins in deceptively typical fashion. A broken down car, and a couple of kids with no cell reception.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_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},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[80],"tags":[1408,85,79,1407],"class_list":["post-11370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-erik-therme","tag-josh-black","tag-reviews","tag-roam"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Review: Roam by Erik Therme - Cemetery Dance Online<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Josh Black reviews Erik Therme&#039;s Roam for Cemetery Dance Online.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-roam-erik-therme\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Cemetery Dance Online\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/review-roam-erik-therme\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/review-roam-erik-therme\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Cemetery Dance Online\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/30439c850dbb0e44ac4d2ddd09fb2d61\"},\"headline\":\"Review: Roam by Erik Therme\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-04-19T12:00:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/review-roam-erik-therme\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":416,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/review-roam-erik-therme\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/roam-233x350.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Erik Therme\",\"Josh Black\",\"Reviews\",\"Roam\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Reviews\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/review-roam-erik-therme\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/review-roam-erik-therme\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/review-roam-erik-therme\\\/\",\"name\":\"Review: Roam by Erik Therme - Cemetery Dance Online\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/review-roam-erik-therme\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/review-roam-erik-therme\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/roam-233x350.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-04-19T12:00:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/30439c850dbb0e44ac4d2ddd09fb2d61\"},\"description\":\"Josh Black reviews Erik Therme's Roam for Cemetery Dance Online.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/review-roam-erik-therme\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/review-roam-erik-therme\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/review-roam-erik-therme\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/roam.jpg?fit=333%2C500&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/roam.jpg?fit=333%2C500&ssl=1\",\"width\":333,\"height\":500},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/review-roam-erik-therme\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Reviews\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/reviews\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Review: Roam by Erik Therme\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/\",\"name\":\"Cemetery Dance Online\",\"description\":\"Free Horror Reads, News, Interviews, Comics, and More!\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/30439c850dbb0e44ac4d2ddd09fb2d61\",\"name\":\"Cemetery Dance Online\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/18103e6727693901d2722149c60f9ba733e3aed66126d844f9b43b26a6496345?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/18103e6727693901d2722149c60f9ba733e3aed66126d844f9b43b26a6496345?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/18103e6727693901d2722149c60f9ba733e3aed66126d844f9b43b26a6496345?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Cemetery Dance Online\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Review: Roam by Erik Therme - Cemetery Dance Online","description":"Josh Black reviews Erik Therme's Roam for Cemetery Dance Online.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-roam-erik-therme\/","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Cemetery Dance Online","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-roam-erik-therme\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-roam-erik-therme\/"},"author":{"name":"Cemetery Dance Online","@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/#\/schema\/person\/30439c850dbb0e44ac4d2ddd09fb2d61"},"headline":"Review: Roam by Erik Therme","datePublished":"2018-04-19T12:00:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-roam-erik-therme\/"},"wordCount":416,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-roam-erik-therme\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/roam-233x350.jpg","keywords":["Erik Therme","Josh Black","Reviews","Roam"],"articleSection":["Reviews"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-roam-erik-therme\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-roam-erik-therme\/","url":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-roam-erik-therme\/","name":"Review: Roam by Erik Therme - Cemetery Dance Online","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-roam-erik-therme\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-roam-erik-therme\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/roam-233x350.jpg","datePublished":"2018-04-19T12:00:28+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/#\/schema\/person\/30439c850dbb0e44ac4d2ddd09fb2d61"},"description":"Josh Black reviews Erik Therme's Roam for Cemetery Dance Online.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-roam-erik-therme\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-roam-erik-therme\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-roam-erik-therme\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/roam.jpg?fit=333%2C500&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/roam.jpg?fit=333%2C500&ssl=1","width":333,"height":500},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-roam-erik-therme\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Reviews","item":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/reviews\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Review: Roam by Erik Therme"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/","name":"Cemetery Dance Online","description":"Free Horror Reads, News, Interviews, Comics, and More!","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/#\/schema\/person\/30439c850dbb0e44ac4d2ddd09fb2d61","name":"Cemetery Dance Online","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18103e6727693901d2722149c60f9ba733e3aed66126d844f9b43b26a6496345?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18103e6727693901d2722149c60f9ba733e3aed66126d844f9b43b26a6496345?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18103e6727693901d2722149c60f9ba733e3aed66126d844f9b43b26a6496345?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","caption":"Cemetery Dance Online"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/"]}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p81cXa-2Xo","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11370"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11370\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11374,"href":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11370\/revisions\/11374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}