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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
This book was a slow build to.... Nothing.
No real plot. Flowery and poetic language peppered with coffee table book wisdom used to cover up a lack of story
No real plot. Flowery and poetic language peppered with coffee table book wisdom used to cover up a lack of story
I enjoyed the book but the anti-conspiracy theory in me kept that half a star in my pocket.
Update: I've though about it over night and I decided to round up my rating. I still think suggesting every mass murder in the country is staged or some kind of false flag is dangerous (especially in these times), but it's a work of fiction. So I'm going to overlook it.
Update: I've though about it over night and I decided to round up my rating. I still think suggesting every mass murder in the country is staged or some kind of false flag is dangerous (especially in these times), but it's a work of fiction. So I'm going to overlook it.
I thought Blackbird was just okay. I've had it for a while, and while it isn't typically the sort of book I'd pick up, it was part of the PageHabit horror box (back when I was getting it before I ended up cancelling it).
Here's the thing. I don't know that I would classify this book as horror. It's more of a thriller, and I tend to associate horror with authors like Stephen King or movies like The Exorcist and Halloween. Not a novel about an assassin who takes an 8 year old as his apprentice after kidnapping her from a fast food place.
We get sections narrated by both Christian and Edison. Christian's chapters are in a slightly different font than Edisons, and there's obviously a different voice, but it would randomly switch between the two, so it always took a while to get into the two very different perspectives.
It's not an easy read, and I found that I could only read a little bit at a time before I had to put it down and read something else. I liked it at the beginning, but by the end, I kind of lost interest in what was happening. I also thought things were more muddled by the end, though this is the sort of book you need to pay close attention to, and I wasn't really doing that. It's not my cup of tea, and it felt like things were painfully slow.
It also felt like I was getting snippets of their lives, and I think that's because of the time jumps. Which were fine, of course, and the story was pretty linear. I just felt like I was getting little snippets, and even with the time jumps, I still felt like things moved slow.
I did get a conspiracy theory vibe from the book, which was interesting. Edison has a handler, and people are watching both him and Christian (xtian as he calls her) and he travels around doing murder for hire by some shadow organization. If that's not some sort of conspiracy right there, I don't know what is.
I also liked that Fiegel had no problem showing how terrible Edison was, and it is a pretty straightforward book. You see his methods and beliefs, and yet it didn't seem like he was intentionally trying to shock or scare the reader. It was also more literary than I expected. In the literary fiction sense.
I'm not sure what else to say about Blackbird. It seems like a book a lot of people liked, but it wasn't for me.
My Rating: 2 stars. Blackbird was okay, and while I initially liked it, by the end I was bored. I can see why people like it.
Here's the thing. I don't know that I would classify this book as horror. It's more of a thriller, and I tend to associate horror with authors like Stephen King or movies like The Exorcist and Halloween. Not a novel about an assassin who takes an 8 year old as his apprentice after kidnapping her from a fast food place.
We get sections narrated by both Christian and Edison. Christian's chapters are in a slightly different font than Edisons, and there's obviously a different voice, but it would randomly switch between the two, so it always took a while to get into the two very different perspectives.
It's not an easy read, and I found that I could only read a little bit at a time before I had to put it down and read something else. I liked it at the beginning, but by the end, I kind of lost interest in what was happening. I also thought things were more muddled by the end, though this is the sort of book you need to pay close attention to, and I wasn't really doing that. It's not my cup of tea, and it felt like things were painfully slow.
It also felt like I was getting snippets of their lives, and I think that's because of the time jumps. Which were fine, of course, and the story was pretty linear. I just felt like I was getting little snippets, and even with the time jumps, I still felt like things moved slow.
I did get a conspiracy theory vibe from the book, which was interesting. Edison has a handler, and people are watching both him and Christian (xtian as he calls her) and he travels around doing murder for hire by some shadow organization. If that's not some sort of conspiracy right there, I don't know what is.
I also liked that Fiegel had no problem showing how terrible Edison was, and it is a pretty straightforward book. You see his methods and beliefs, and yet it didn't seem like he was intentionally trying to shock or scare the reader. It was also more literary than I expected. In the literary fiction sense.
I'm not sure what else to say about Blackbird. It seems like a book a lot of people liked, but it wasn't for me.
My Rating: 2 stars. Blackbird was okay, and while I initially liked it, by the end I was bored. I can see why people like it.
dark
medium-paced
I absolutely loved this book. This is one of my favorite books I have read this year, if not the favorite. It is such an interesting story with a unique premise. The dynamic between the two leads never gets boring. I have no doubt that people like that exist. I would love to read a sequel but it is probably best left as it is. If you want something different to read and a story you havent heard, this is worth doing.
This book was violent and filled with conspiracy. That said seemed out of touch with reality. Like the writing and switch off in narration. Let with more questions than answers . Not a rewarding read.
challenging
dark
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was good. The storytelling was on point
I dropped this about 50 pages in, which I'm actually really bummed about. When I read the summary, I couldn't wait to pick this up. It's exactly the sort of twisted horror/thriller novel that I love. But the main character is such a rambling, pretentious bastard that it ruined it for me. He thinks so highly of himself and his intellect, it felt exactly like every situation I've ever been in where a white man tried to explain something to me that I already knew more about than he did. I'm not in for a 300+ page mansplaining session. Thank you.