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3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
"Fear was no stranger to Howltown, no traveler from the Trail, but the fear she felt now was shattering."
I read Unbury Carol as the second book for the Night Worms review team. This was a rollercoaster for me - I really enjoyed some parts, and struggled with others. I want to say up front that I am not particularly fond of books with a lot of traveling, so keep that in mind when reading my review.
I think I would classify this as a paranormal western. Don't go into this expecting a horror novel. I was expecting some creepiness, and I may have set myself up for disappointment with that.
This book is a slow burn. There's a lot of planning/plotting & waiting. I thought there would be more happening in Carol's coma world, but she was just stuck in there, and that was it. There are a lot of words, and not a ton of action, and the lovers of slow burns are going to appreciate that. For me, this book was very long for the story that was being told, and I felt like I was waiting for something throughout most of the book.
It seemed like this book was going to focus on Carol, but she is more of a secondary character to the men in her life. At some points, she seems to be relegated to the status of an object because of the absolute lack of control over her own life (the sickness part is not her fault). Men move her around, men want to save her, men try to figure out what other men are up to regarding her situation. The women in the novel are either dead, appear to be dead, or are drinking & crying. I had hoped for more in this area.
In all honesty, I think I would have felt differently about this book if it was more focused on Carol & her mother Hattie's relationship instead of Carol's relationships to the men around her. Hattie's actions do play a large role in the way Carol's life plays out, but only has a minor storyline. I found her to be far more interesting than some of the characters who received more attention.
As you may have seen in other reviews, "hell's heaven" and "pig-shit" are used quite frequently throughout the book. I appreciate the effort to create a western vernacular in the story, but these two phrases were overused to the point of distraction. I wish they would have been broken up with some other phrases.
I liked the resolution of the story, and I thought it was a creative way to tie up the ending. I was always uncertain about how it was going to end, and that curiosity held me throughout the whole book. I thought it was a fun way to handle solving everything.
Bird Box is the only other Josh Malerman book I've read, and he has versatility and creativity as a writer. Bird Box & Unbury Carol are incredibly different stories, and I admire the range of his imagination. I have Black Mad Wheel on my shelf, and hope to read it soon. I will continue to pick up whatever he writes next. Also, I want to say that whoever does the cover designs for his books is amazing. They are always stunning.
Thank you so much to Del Rey for sending early copies to the Night Worms. Unbury Carol will be out on 4/10!
I read Unbury Carol as the second book for the Night Worms review team. This was a rollercoaster for me - I really enjoyed some parts, and struggled with others. I want to say up front that I am not particularly fond of books with a lot of traveling, so keep that in mind when reading my review.
I think I would classify this as a paranormal western. Don't go into this expecting a horror novel. I was expecting some creepiness, and I may have set myself up for disappointment with that.
This book is a slow burn. There's a lot of planning/plotting & waiting. I thought there would be more happening in Carol's coma world, but she was just stuck in there, and that was it. There are a lot of words, and not a ton of action, and the lovers of slow burns are going to appreciate that. For me, this book was very long for the story that was being told, and I felt like I was waiting for something throughout most of the book.
It seemed like this book was going to focus on Carol, but she is more of a secondary character to the men in her life. At some points, she seems to be relegated to the status of an object because of the absolute lack of control over her own life (the sickness part is not her fault). Men move her around, men want to save her, men try to figure out what other men are up to regarding her situation. The women in the novel are either dead, appear to be dead, or are drinking & crying. I had hoped for more in this area.
In all honesty, I think I would have felt differently about this book if it was more focused on Carol & her mother Hattie's relationship instead of Carol's relationships to the men around her. Hattie's actions do play a large role in the way Carol's life plays out, but only has a minor storyline. I found her to be far more interesting than some of the characters who received more attention.
As you may have seen in other reviews, "hell's heaven" and "pig-shit" are used quite frequently throughout the book. I appreciate the effort to create a western vernacular in the story, but these two phrases were overused to the point of distraction. I wish they would have been broken up with some other phrases.
I liked the resolution of the story, and I thought it was a creative way to tie up the ending. I was always uncertain about how it was going to end, and that curiosity held me throughout the whole book. I thought it was a fun way to handle solving everything.
Bird Box is the only other Josh Malerman book I've read, and he has versatility and creativity as a writer. Bird Box & Unbury Carol are incredibly different stories, and I admire the range of his imagination. I have Black Mad Wheel on my shelf, and hope to read it soon. I will continue to pick up whatever he writes next. Also, I want to say that whoever does the cover designs for his books is amazing. They are always stunning.
Thank you so much to Del Rey for sending early copies to the Night Worms. Unbury Carol will be out on 4/10!
Loved it. I suspect a second read through would be a lot less satisfying, so I'm going to put the book up or give it to someone else to read.
There's not enough Carol in the book. It feels like such an obvious omission. The readers are told Carol is intelligent, independent, well respected, but there's not much opportunity for her to demonstrate these characteristics. Book is mostly concerned with men.
Lots of repetition. It's astounding how many times loud footsteps are mentioned - the clack of boots, the click of shoes. For as fierce as the Trail is made out to be, there wasn't much on the Trail to fear. I wonder if boats on the river bypass the alleged treacherousness of the Trail.
It's easier for me to figure out what I don't like about books as opposed to what I enjoyed.
However, I did enjoy the book immensely. I was keen to get to the end and evaluate the resolution of the story. There was a lot of originality in the story. The bad guys were very well thought out and presented. Felt like it could have been sixty pages longer, stuffed with more about Carol and the Trail, and not suffered a bit due to girth.
There's not enough Carol in the book. It feels like such an obvious omission. The readers are told Carol is intelligent, independent, well respected, but there's not much opportunity for her to demonstrate these characteristics. Book is mostly concerned with men.
Lots of repetition. It's astounding how many times loud footsteps are mentioned - the clack of boots, the click of shoes. For as fierce as the Trail is made out to be, there wasn't much on the Trail to fear. I wonder if boats on the river bypass the alleged treacherousness of the Trail.
It's easier for me to figure out what I don't like about books as opposed to what I enjoyed.
However, I did enjoy the book immensely. I was keen to get to the end and evaluate the resolution of the story. There was a lot of originality in the story. The bad guys were very well thought out and presented. Felt like it could have been sixty pages longer, stuffed with more about Carol and the Trail, and not suffered a bit due to girth.
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
This was better than I expected but I don’t like westerns. It had a really slow start, but I did end up getting more interested about 150 pages in.
(4.5 stars) I think I had a good introduction to the genre of westerns from a up and coming new favorite writer of mine Josh Malerman. Unbury Carol is a tale about love, gunslinging, and a little bit of magic. An adventure to gobble up in a few days, with mystery's lining the way for you to speculate about.
From my description it doesn't like anything otherworldly, but a few key details make it stand out.
Firstly, the villains of this tale are marvelous. I think my favorite perspective to be in was Smokes, who will reign high in my all-time villain list. He's wicked to the bone, and sometimes that's all a horror reader wants to read. Rot wasn't quite as good, but still creepy and interesting. I'm not as much a paranormal guy, but Rot definitely played his part, his motivation to hate Carol never really makes sense though.
Secondly, I think the way Malerman spices all of his novels makes them stand out. Carols condition, The Trail, his host of new and different characters, and Rot all make this book like nothing else out there. The creative juices put into his novels are close to the best I've ever read and I'm so here for it.
If anyone reading this hasn't read Malerman, give him a shot at least if you're at all into horror, or just really good books.
From my description it doesn't like anything otherworldly, but a few key details make it stand out.
Firstly, the villains of this tale are marvelous. I think my favorite perspective to be in was Smokes, who will reign high in my all-time villain list. He's wicked to the bone, and sometimes that's all a horror reader wants to read. Rot wasn't quite as good, but still creepy and interesting. I'm not as much a paranormal guy, but Rot definitely played his part, his motivation to hate Carol never really makes sense though.
Secondly, I think the way Malerman spices all of his novels makes them stand out. Carols condition, The Trail, his host of new and different characters, and Rot all make this book like nothing else out there. The creative juices put into his novels are close to the best I've ever read and I'm so here for it.
If anyone reading this hasn't read Malerman, give him a shot at least if you're at all into horror, or just really good books.
Josh Malerman always does it for me.I can’t get enough of his books! This book was a little bit of everything. It’s was fun and yet horrifying and also a bit of a love story with such interesting and fun characters.
Maybe my hopes were too high since Birdbox is one of my favorite books of all time, but this book just okay. It was a really unique premise so I enjoyed that.