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3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
I wanted to try out another of Josh Malerman's books since I enjoyed Bird Box so much. I'm glad I did.
Set in the times where outlaws were still a thing, Carol suffers from an unheard of condition that causes her to fall into a deep sleep art unknown times. So deep that she is easily mistaken for dead.
This book follows a small range of characters which are easily remembered throughout the story. A great, fast read!
Set in the times where outlaws were still a thing, Carol suffers from an unheard of condition that causes her to fall into a deep sleep art unknown times. So deep that she is easily mistaken for dead.
This book follows a small range of characters which are easily remembered throughout the story. A great, fast read!
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Fans of Lone Women by Victor LaValle will like this one. Felt more like a Western than Horror but definitely had Horror in there.
Easily one of the best books I’ll read in 2020. Just absolutely loved this book. Loved the characters, the mystery, the suspense. Most of all I loved the spaghetti western setting. Just an all around amazing book from front to back!
This book would have been so much better if it were shorter! It starts off great; the premise is thrilling and well drawn characters are quickly established and set on their course...but then the middle is just mush.
Short chapters switch between Carol, Dwight (her duplicitous husband), Moxie (the gunman riding to save her), Smoke (the sadistic bounty hunter sent to stop Moxie from reaching her in time), plus the local sheriff and some side characters who are suspicious of the husband's behavior, but this cycle repeats far too many times without advancing the plot or raising the tension. It gets to the point where the obstacles that crop up to slow down most of the characters can only be attributed to their own stupid decisions to the point where you loose interest in them.
Moxie gets arrested because he strolls into a town and uses his real name despite being wanted. Smoke does nothing but dick around the entire time; his schtick is that he likes to coat trapped/sleeping/immobilized people in oil and burn them alive and he keeps stopping to do this to characters we have only just met and do not care about. And if you're thinking "but how does that work against a gun fighter?" It does not. And I'll buy that Dwight wanting to bury Carol alive at first because he's too spiteful but at the same time milk-toast to just smother her, but then as she starts to show signs of life and this whole unnecessary subplot with the sheriff investigating him unfurls, it becomes stupid and unbelievable that he wouldn't just put a pillow over her face.
Short chapters switch between Carol, Dwight (her duplicitous husband), Moxie (the gunman riding to save her), Smoke (the sadistic bounty hunter sent to stop Moxie from reaching her in time), plus the local sheriff and some side characters who are suspicious of the husband's behavior, but this cycle repeats far too many times without advancing the plot or raising the tension. It gets to the point where the obstacles that crop up to slow down most of the characters can only be attributed to their own stupid decisions to the point where you loose interest in them.
Spoiler
Moxie gets arrested because he strolls into a town and uses his real name despite being wanted. Smoke does nothing but dick around the entire time; his schtick is that he likes to coat trapped/sleeping/immobilized people in oil and burn them alive and he keeps stopping to do this to characters we have only just met and do not care about. And if you're thinking "but how does that work against a gun fighter?" It does not. And I'll buy that Dwight wanting to bury Carol alive at first because he's too spiteful but at the same time milk-toast to just smother her, but then as she starts to show signs of life and this whole unnecessary subplot with the sheriff investigating him unfurls, it becomes stupid and unbelievable that he wouldn't just put a pillow over her face.
dark
slow-paced
Though I've enjoyed two other Josh Malerman books in the past, this was a miss for me.
The pacing is tediously slow, and the repetition of certain words and phrases was driving me crazy. "Hell's Heaven," shows up constantly as well as "pig shit" or "pig shitting" over, and over, and OVER again! That got very repetitive. Although I like the premise of a woman with a rare condition being buried alive, I didn't feel I'd actually learned much about Carol by the end of the book. There was very little character growth and their motivations were generally difficult to understand. The wild-west/fantasy setting was okay, but could've been much better flushed out I think. Overall, the tone just felt strangely cartoonish and juvenile. 1.5 stars.
The pacing is tediously slow, and the repetition of certain words and phrases was driving me crazy. "Hell's Heaven," shows up constantly as well as "pig shit" or "pig shitting" over, and over, and OVER again! That got very repetitive. Although I like the premise of a woman with a rare condition being buried alive, I didn't feel I'd actually learned much about Carol by the end of the book. There was very little character growth and their motivations were generally difficult to understand. The wild-west/fantasy setting was okay, but could've been much better flushed out I think. Overall, the tone just felt strangely cartoonish and juvenile. 1.5 stars.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A good build with too quick an ending.
I loved everything about this book until the end. It felt too quick, disjointed from the rest of the book, and left a mess of questions unanswered.
I loved everything about this book until the end. It felt too quick, disjointed from the rest of the book, and left a mess of questions unanswered.