Intercepts by T. J. Payne

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Intercepts by T. J. Payne — Torture, Telepathy, and a Tonal Whiplash (3 ⭐)

😱 Trigger Warnings 

This book does not play nice. Proceed accordingly:

  • Graphic violence & gore 🩸

  • Torture (prolonged, detailed)

  • Suicide & suicidal ideation

  • Child death

  • Mental illness

  • Emotional & physical abuse

  • Self-harm

  • Sexual content

  • Substance use

📚 Overview: Horror Meets Government Conspiracy

If you like your horror bleak, claustrophobic, and morally disturbing… Intercepts absolutely delivers.

This is a speculative horror novel that blends:

  • Body horror 😬

  • Psychological horror 🧠

  • Government conspiracy vibes 🕵️‍♂️

The premise instantly hooked me—humans turned into psychic “antennas” through sensory deprivation torture? Yeah… that’s nightmare fuel.

It gave me strong vibes of Unit 731 and even echoes of Project MKUltra—that same cold, clinical cruelty in the name of “science.” 😬

But fair warning: this is a slow burn, and not always in a good way.

⚠️ Spoiler Warning — FULL Plot Breakdown Below

I’m going ALL in here—major spoilers ahead, including the ending.

🧠 Plot Summary (Spoilers Included!)

We start in pure darkness—literally.

An unnamed narrator exists in total sensory deprivation. No sight, sound, or touch… except when they’re dragged into brutal torture sessions. Hooks, lights, pain—full-body agony. They don’t know who they are, but they know one thing:

👉 Joe Gerhard is responsible. And they want revenge.

🏢 Inside the Facility

Cut to a secret underground government lab where humans—called Antennas—are kept in chemically induced sensory deprivation to develop psychic abilities.

Yes. It’s as horrifying as it sounds.

One of these Antennas, Bishop, suddenly becomes self-aware. When a careless worker (Carson) breaks protocol, she:

  • Speaks clearly (🚨 not normal)

  • Mentions Joe’s daughter 👀

  • Then brutally kills him

So… things escalate immediately.

👨‍👧 Joe’s Personal Life Starts Crumbling

Joe gets hit with devastating news:

  • His ex-wife Kate has died by suicide

  • His teenage daughter Riley comes to live with him

And that’s when the horror leaves the lab…

Riley starts seeing a terrifying woman—Bishop—outside, in the house, in her room. These aren’t just hallucinations. They feel targeted.

👉 Bishop is inside her mind.

🧪 The Truth About the Antennas

Through investigations and increasingly disturbing events, Joe realizes:

  • Bishop has evolved beyond the system

  • She can psychically project herself into others’ minds

  • She’s been watching Joe for YEARS

And now?

👉 She’s using Riley to punish him.

🔥 Everything Goes Off the Rails

Joe decides the only way to stop Bishop is to kill her by restoring her senses (which is basically fatal after prolonged deprivation).

He:

  • Disables the system

  • Cuts her gas line

  • Forces her into sensory overload

It works… sort of.

Bishop dies.

BUT—

Before dying, she connects all the other Antennas into a shared psychic network 😳

😨 The Real Nightmare Begins

The Antennas:

  • Take control of Riley

  • Confront Joe

  • Force him to free them

Joe gives in (because… his daughter).

Cue absolute chaos:

  • Antennas escape

  • Staff get slaughtered

  • Security teams are tricked into killing innocent employees via hallucinations

It’s brutal. It’s messy. It’s pure horror.

💀 Joe’s Fate

Joe wakes up captured by the Antennas.

They reveal:
👉 They manipulated him using his love for Riley.

That’s when it hits—this whole third act shifts hard into parental love vs. moral responsibility.

Joe begs the security team to kill the Antennas.

They do.

But Joe dies too.

🧬 Ending & Epilogue (Yes, It Gets Worse)

Riley survives—but she’s mentally shattered.

She’s given a choice:

  • Institutionalization

  • Memory wipe pills

She chooses to forget.

A year later:

  • She’s “normal” again

  • Thinks her parents are guiding her like guardian angels

But then…

👀 Final twist:

Joe is now an Antenna in a new facility.

Still conscious.

Still watching Riley.

Still… connected.

🤔 My Thoughts (The Good, The Bad, The “Wait… What?”)

👍 What Worked

  • The premise is SO strong — seriously disturbing in the best way

  • The opening chapters are gripping and horrifying

  • Bishop as a villain? Absolutely chilling 😈

  • The ethical horror hits hard—this is not easy reading

😬 What Didn’t Work (For Me)

Here’s where I struggled a bit…

👉 The book starts as:
“humans being tortured for psychic experimentation”

And ends as:
“a father will do anything for his daughter”

That’s not a bad theme—but the shift felt jarring.

It’s like:

  • First half: cold, clinical horror 🧪

  • Second half: emotional, family-driven drama 👨‍👧

The transition didn’t feel smooth—it felt like we changed books halfway through.

🐢 Pacing Issues

I also found it slow overall.

Not boring exactly—but:

  • Some sections drag

  • The tension doesn’t always build consistently

Which is frustrating because the concept is SO intense.

⭐ Final Rating: 3/5 Stars

  • Incredible premise ✔️

  • Disturbing and memorable ✔️

  • Uneven pacing ❌

  • Tonal shift that didn’t quite land ❌

I’m glad I read it, but I didn’t love it as much as I wanted to.

📖 If You Liked This, Try These:

If you’re into dark, disturbing, morally پیچ (yep, that kind of vibe), check these out:

  • The Troop by Nick Cutter — body horror + isolation nightmare 🐛

  • The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum — deeply disturbing realism 😖

  • Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica — ethical horror at its finest 🍖

  • The Institution by Helen Fields — dark experiments + psychological tension 🧠

  • Intercepts’ cousin in vibes: anything inspired by Project MKUltra

If you read this one, I need to know—did the ending work for you, or did it give you the same tonal whiplash?? 😅

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