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git_r_read's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to slap the crap out of the main character, Jared. I do not know how his best friend, Kaitlyn, handled being around him for a goodly portion of their lives. How he managed to get out of bed each day and not get the snot slapped out of him was beyond me. A well-written character if I felt that strongly about it. The story was a bit choppy to read, but the characters (in whatever form that took) told it and moved the story quickly. There was quite a bit of going back in time explaining Jared and his hang-ups in life and there was the Banshee who gave up quite a lot to rescue him from "The Assembly', a gruesome band of creatures determined to have the gift promised them. I sort of read their parts with my hand over my eyes and reading between my fingers and my feet up in the seat, like I was at a horror slasher flick.
gnashchick's review against another edition
4.0
Divine Scream took me by surprise. When I read the synopsis and saw “banshee” I immediately thought of the classic Irish variety. I was so wrong. When you crack the cover, dismiss any preconceived ideas because the author will blow them away. The world Ethridge builds is fresh, imaginative, and subject to change into a surreal landscape of shadows and alternate realities.
Jared Kare is already uncomfortable with living in his world, and a troubling health condition doesn’t help. He’s a man who can’t fully function in society, so his best friend Kaitlyn and family friends, the Kangjuns, help him manage his life. When the banshee lures him away from this comfortable world, he’s slammed into a multi-dimensional journey that may very well end with his death.
The more I got to know Jared as a character, the more I believe that he’s not neurotypical. I’m not sure if that was intentional or if I was reading my own bias into it, but it helped me connect to Jared. It was a joy to watch him evolve as he came to grips with his situation and gained confidence without losing his unique personality.
Banch, the banshee, with her magical voice, risks everything to keep Jared safe despite the horrific being pursuing them. Her voice is the inspiration for the book’s title, and I don’t want to reveal too much for fear of spoilers.
What are they running from? The Assembly, a mono-mind entity with ten bodies, is possibly the most terrifying antagonist I’ve encountered since Clive Barker’s Cenobites. They are your worst gore-soaked, indiscriminately vicious nightmare, and they are relentless.
Divine Scream is not without its faults. In my opinion, it suffers from a bad case of too much explanation. When something happens, it’s described and discussed in so much detail that I didn’t have enough room to sit back and enjoy the magic. The first half of the novel builds tension well. The sense of urgency is palpable, and I was right there with it for a while, but the story sags a bit in the middle. I started skimming pages to get to where the action picked up again, but I wasn’t disappointed by the end.
Overall, Divine Scream is one of the most original horrific urban fantasy novels I’ve come across this year. Benjamin Kane Ehtridge is a Bram Stoker Award winning novelist, and it shows. I recommend it for readers who enjoy a frightening, blood-soaked, physical and emotional mind trip.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review that originally appeared at The Bookie Monster.
Jared Kare is already uncomfortable with living in his world, and a troubling health condition doesn’t help. He’s a man who can’t fully function in society, so his best friend Kaitlyn and family friends, the Kangjuns, help him manage his life. When the banshee lures him away from this comfortable world, he’s slammed into a multi-dimensional journey that may very well end with his death.
The more I got to know Jared as a character, the more I believe that he’s not neurotypical. I’m not sure if that was intentional or if I was reading my own bias into it, but it helped me connect to Jared. It was a joy to watch him evolve as he came to grips with his situation and gained confidence without losing his unique personality.
Banch, the banshee, with her magical voice, risks everything to keep Jared safe despite the horrific being pursuing them. Her voice is the inspiration for the book’s title, and I don’t want to reveal too much for fear of spoilers.
What are they running from? The Assembly, a mono-mind entity with ten bodies, is possibly the most terrifying antagonist I’ve encountered since Clive Barker’s Cenobites. They are your worst gore-soaked, indiscriminately vicious nightmare, and they are relentless.
Divine Scream is not without its faults. In my opinion, it suffers from a bad case of too much explanation. When something happens, it’s described and discussed in so much detail that I didn’t have enough room to sit back and enjoy the magic. The first half of the novel builds tension well. The sense of urgency is palpable, and I was right there with it for a while, but the story sags a bit in the middle. I started skimming pages to get to where the action picked up again, but I wasn’t disappointed by the end.
Overall, Divine Scream is one of the most original horrific urban fantasy novels I’ve come across this year. Benjamin Kane Ehtridge is a Bram Stoker Award winning novelist, and it shows. I recommend it for readers who enjoy a frightening, blood-soaked, physical and emotional mind trip.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review that originally appeared at The Bookie Monster.
andreablythe's review against another edition
3.0
The Assembly is the best part of this book. As a blood soaked group of ten functioning as a single organism, they are creepy and terrifying. I would not want to come across them in a sunny field of daisies let alone dark alley. And, yet, they were also the most sympathetic characters in the novel, because their function is vital in holding reality together and because it is their very job that has made them the disturbing creature they are. It was easy to pity them and though I couldn't quite route for them (because no person good or evil deserves to be placed at their hands), I couldn't help wanting them to receive some sort of gain out of all that happens.
The good guys on the other hand were entirely uninteresting to me. Jared Kare, who is scheduled to be granted to the Assembly as a Gift, is an anxiety ridden man in his 20s incapable of functioning on his own and apparently without any passions. The banshee, who doesn't even have a proper name, is a manic pixie dream girl in every sense, including metallic blue-purple hair and cerulean eyes, who literally drags the reluctant Jared into the unseen magic of the world in order to save him from the assembly. The banshee, a being that sings mortal souls into the light, is willing to help Jared out of all the other human's she serves because of her particular fondness for him (though it's hard to understand why, since he's as bland as white bread and is incapable of functioning as an adult in the world, with friends cooking, cleaning, and even depositing his checks for him). The banshee doesn't understand human girls who go for confident men and don't coddle all these good-hearted nice guys, like Jared, into being the greatness they secretly are (because what is the purpose of a woman, if not to make reluctant men great). For the first half of the book, she drives all of the action with Jared just dragging his feet by her side.
I probably would have not bothered finishing this one, if the Assembly didn't scare the crap out of me every time they showed up, which kept things interesting. Thankfully, the second half of the book got more interesting and wrapped up well, making it mostly enjoyable.
Note: I received this book as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program.
fhina's review
3.0
This book was provided via Librarything and Book View Cafe in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much.
I really had my struggles with this book and being in a reading slump didn't help either.
This book was somewhat unique and I've never read a novel like this before. But the book was also very confusing sometimes and personally I found the English used a little weird, but that might be because I'm not a native English speaker.
The entire story basically happens within one day, so the characters don't really show a lot of development which I usually find important for a story. So Jared - the protagonist - always stays the same anxious guy. From his behaviour I first thought he was much, much younger than he actually turned out to be.
Then there's The Banshee. I really liked her character but again I found the reader doesn't really get to know her since the entire book happens within one day. All the other things like the Assembly and the Silent Kings...it's was just too confusing and that actually really annoyed me. But again that again, that might be because I was in a reading slump and really forced myself to finish the book. Others may like the book but personally it just wasn't my kind of book.
Because the story was somewhat unique, I gave the book 3 Stars.
I really had my struggles with this book and being in a reading slump didn't help either.
This book was somewhat unique and I've never read a novel like this before. But the book was also very confusing sometimes and personally I found the English used a little weird, but that might be because I'm not a native English speaker.
The entire story basically happens within one day, so the characters don't really show a lot of development which I usually find important for a story. So Jared - the protagonist - always stays the same anxious guy. From his behaviour I first thought he was much, much younger than he actually turned out to be.
Then there's The Banshee. I really liked her character but again I found the reader doesn't really get to know her since the entire book happens within one day. All the other things like the Assembly and the Silent Kings...it's was just too confusing and that actually really annoyed me. But again that again, that might be because I was in a reading slump and really forced myself to finish the book. Others may like the book but personally it just wasn't my kind of book.
Because the story was somewhat unique, I gave the book 3 Stars.
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