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3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
Unbury Carol touts itself as a kind of blend between western and supernatural elements, with a thriller based plot. The novel, which tells the story of Carol Evers who periodically falls into a deathlike Coma that mimics death. Only two people are aware of this condition: Dwight, her husband, and Moxie, her ex-lover. Dwight uses her condition as an opportunity to rid himself of her and inherit her fortune. Moxie, now an outlaw with a "magical" past, hears of her "death" and makes his way back to save her from being buried alive. This story, which should have been a gripping thriller against time, however, it quickly turns into a disappointment.
One of the most frustrating aspects of the novel is the lack of depth in its characters. Many read as flat or, in some cases, downright caricature-like. For example, the character of Smoke-depicted as a "cripple" who uses his boot to shoot oil and kills with a sing-song menace-feels more cartoonish than menacing. His exaggerated traits make him feel quite implausible, detracting from any genuine suspense and making the story feel rather "stupid" and overall detached from reality. The result is a villain who is hard to take seriously, and making it more difficult to invest in the story.
The structure and pacing of the story also suffer, much with the critical plot points. Like Rinaldo's "twist," seeming very dry and uneventful. Instead of feeling suspenseful or dramatic, these moments feel contrived, creating a "so that's how we're doing this?" reaction. Even when Moxie and Smoke finally meet, the scene is lackluster, failing to build any real level of excitement and left a me feeling disengaged.
The biggest disappointment, however, is the ending. Rather than providing a satisfying payoff for the buildup that was far too drawn out, it was boring and lackluster. For a book that spends the build of its pages in suspense, you'd expect for it to get good at some point but nothing seems to ever get going. The novel claims to be horror, but in reality leans more into Western, with some supernatural elements, but unfortunately not in a compelling way. As a result, any sense of horror is pretty much absent.
While I tried to find some redeeming qualities in Unbury Carol, I found it pretty much impossible. The book failed to deliver excitement, tension, or depth to make it worth reading. It feels like a poorly executed experiment rather than a polished piece of horror or even western literature. If this hadn't been a book club read for me, I very easily would have DNF'ed this within the first 100 pages. I cannot speak for Malerman's other reads but this one certainly was bad.
One of the most frustrating aspects of the novel is the lack of depth in its characters. Many read as flat or, in some cases, downright caricature-like. For example, the character of Smoke-depicted as a "cripple" who uses his boot to shoot oil and kills with a sing-song menace-feels more cartoonish than menacing. His exaggerated traits make him feel quite implausible, detracting from any genuine suspense and making the story feel rather "stupid" and overall detached from reality. The result is a villain who is hard to take seriously, and making it more difficult to invest in the story.
The structure and pacing of the story also suffer, much with the critical plot points. Like Rinaldo's "twist," seeming very dry and uneventful. Instead of feeling suspenseful or dramatic, these moments feel contrived, creating a "so that's how we're doing this?" reaction. Even when Moxie and Smoke finally meet, the scene is lackluster, failing to build any real level of excitement and left a me feeling disengaged.
The biggest disappointment, however, is the ending. Rather than providing a satisfying payoff for the buildup that was far too drawn out, it was boring and lackluster. For a book that spends the build of its pages in suspense, you'd expect for it to get good at some point but nothing seems to ever get going. The novel claims to be horror, but in reality leans more into Western, with some supernatural elements, but unfortunately not in a compelling way. As a result, any sense of horror is pretty much absent.
While I tried to find some redeeming qualities in Unbury Carol, I found it pretty much impossible. The book failed to deliver excitement, tension, or depth to make it worth reading. It feels like a poorly executed experiment rather than a polished piece of horror or even western literature. If this hadn't been a book club read for me, I very easily would have DNF'ed this within the first 100 pages. I cannot speak for Malerman's other reads but this one certainly was bad.
Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman is a free NetGalley ebook that I read in late April.
Carol Evers is a happy, attractive woman, who frequently falls into a catatonic state she calls Howltown. Her husband, Dwight, with his eye on her fortune, plans her permanent death while she's stuck in its stasis, but one man, her former paramour James Moxie, sends a telegram that exclaims the book's title. In all, their three stories (plus an occasional flashback to Carol's mom) are told very well, while also with the overhanging spectre of death and doom.
Carol Evers is a happy, attractive woman, who frequently falls into a catatonic state she calls Howltown. Her husband, Dwight, with his eye on her fortune, plans her permanent death while she's stuck in its stasis, but one man, her former paramour James Moxie, sends a telegram that exclaims the book's title. In all, their three stories (plus an occasional flashback to Carol's mom) are told very well, while also with the overhanging spectre of death and doom.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.5 out of 5 stars
Who keeps marking this book as horror?
WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE??! Are we reading the same book???
Let's adjust some expectations here: this is, above all, a Western. Yes, a Western, and also kind of a take on Sleeping Beauty with some minimal magic elements. This is not a thriller, this is not fantasy, and this is DEFINITELY not horror. Also, this is not really about Carol.
OK, now that we got that out of the way, I'm going to try to take my expectations out of this and review this book for what it is. To be honest, I just really am not a big fan of Westerns. I will say that it WAS an interesting setting for a Sleeping Beauty flavored story, but generally speaking the whole outlaw thing just doesn't do much for me. Some of the POV jumping between characters was a bit jarring as well, but I eventually got used to it. I DID find the story itself to be engaging, and I really like Malerman's writing style, especially considering that he's turning out to be a pretty versatile author, but overall this wasn't exactly my cup of tea. I still enjoyed it for the most part, but I think fans of Westerns will get WAY more out of this than me.
Who keeps marking this book as horror?
WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE??! Are we reading the same book???
Let's adjust some expectations here: this is, above all, a Western. Yes, a Western, and also kind of a take on Sleeping Beauty with some minimal magic elements. This is not a thriller, this is not fantasy, and this is DEFINITELY not horror. Also, this is not really about Carol.
OK, now that we got that out of the way, I'm going to try to take my expectations out of this and review this book for what it is. To be honest, I just really am not a big fan of Westerns. I will say that it WAS an interesting setting for a Sleeping Beauty flavored story, but generally speaking the whole outlaw thing just doesn't do much for me. Some of the POV jumping between characters was a bit jarring as well, but I eventually got used to it. I DID find the story itself to be engaging, and I really like Malerman's writing style, especially considering that he's turning out to be a pretty versatile author, but overall this wasn't exactly my cup of tea. I still enjoyed it for the most part, but I think fans of Westerns will get WAY more out of this than me.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wouldn’t call this horror, but it’s a great book! Quick easy read.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Good story with varied characters. An old western horror tale with just enough of both to keep me hooked.
I'm kinda sad James didnt get to rescue her though. It felt like his whole journey was kinda moot
I couldn't get past the first chapter of this one. I couldn't tell what time period it was set in, but it definitely wasn't present day. However, the characters still spoke and acted like present-day people. The writing was all tell and no show. Honestly, I'm surprised this novel made it through the publisher's manuscript screening process.
Gotta say, for how much tension and dread it built up throughout, the end felt a bit anticlimactic. Could be that I was too bleary and ill to understand early on, but I also couldn't tell that Hattie and Carol's mother were the same person? Hattie seemed like a friend or a sister, or maybe it just didn't register calling her by her first name and then also saying Mother in the same sentence. Guess that could be confusion from listening rather than reading. And maybe I'm a romantic, but I was disappointed that Moxie didn't actually get to save Carol in the end, it was just some trick box. Maybe that would have been built better if during the Hattie bits I wasn't trying to figure out who was who, and I could have heard more about The Box? And am I mistaken but do we not ever learn how the trick at Abbertown worked, or how Rinaldo got out of the outhouse? Or how Moxie shot the killer in the prison? Is it supposed to be... with string? Not sure I got that at the end with the Sheriff. Could be winked away and just handwaved as "magic" but I did want to know. Seemed maybe the man who would have bought the books shot Daniel Prouds, but it's never confirmed. Which could be the point, but whatever. Also, everyone in this book LOVES the swears "pig-shitting" and "hell's heaven," so much they really stuck out to me by the end, kind of grating. I really liked Rot as a villain, but I wish we got to see more of Howltown in some way. The vibes were impeccable though, gritty spooky western with stage magic and real magic all muddled up. Fun, but the end left me a bit flattened because I guess it's all about love but the proclamations it finishes with are kinda bland.
I picked up Unbury Carol on a whim - I impulse buy books when stressed, you see - enticed by the cover, title, and the possibility of a weird western. I didn’t even read the synopsis till I was a chapter in and that was about the only real break I took in my reading. This story moves! And not in ways I expected.
It’s the genre mashup you never knew you wanted. We got shootouts, saloons, an outlaw hero! With a healthy dose of make you squirm horror and even a smattering of steampunk. But it reads like a fairytale. I would have no problem believing the story of Carol and Moxie has been told around campfires and at bedtimes for years and years. It is Officially™ my favorite Sleeping Beauty retelling. (I never had a favorite Sleeping Beauty retelling to begin with, but…)
Honestly, knowing the female lead was going to be in a coma for a good portion of the book made me, well, morbidly curious. How do you even tell a story when the titular character is in a coma? Was I about to be duped into somebody else’s story? I was here for Carol, darnit! Turned out, Carol’s chapters - her time in Howltown - were some of the most eerie and stressful parts of the book. And that is saying something considering the character Smoke! Carol might be down but she’s not out, and her struggles to break herself free of her coma turned out to be exactly what I wanted to read.
Smoke is… A lot. And it’s a good thing! I’m not here for mollycoddled villains and I don’t think there’s any way a person in their right mind could think that way about the bounty hunter Smoke. This dude is a deliciously evil wildcard, to the point I genuinely feared Moxie would never make it to Carol in time.
Lafayette and Dwight might be slightly outshined by the nightmare fuel that is Smoke, but they were quite the pair of conspirators. Dwight’s reasons for wanting to bury Carol are understandable and he’s just the right mix of competent and incompetent to make it stressful to read. Lafayette is straight up heartless and I loved her for it. Not your typical female villain.
Moxie is the outlaw antihero I deserve. That’s it. That’s the review. No, but I love him. I love all of his doubts and worries. The guilt over Carol. If like me you have a weird soft spot for sad men trying to fix the mistakes of their past, this is probably your kind of book.
I do have mixed feelings about the ending. No spoilers, but… In ways it was even better than expected, in others it went too quick. The book starts slow, but the tension and pacing ramp up more and more with every chapter. It went by fast! Which left me wishing for more of a breath at the end.
Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman was so wonderfully weird. It’s fast pace and distinctive characters made the reading feel more like a ride down The Trail. Truly a one of a kind experience.
*yes this was my first book review ever at all in my life, thank you for bearing with me while I try to figure how to even do this.
It’s the genre mashup you never knew you wanted. We got shootouts, saloons, an outlaw hero! With a healthy dose of make you squirm horror and even a smattering of steampunk. But it reads like a fairytale. I would have no problem believing the story of Carol and Moxie has been told around campfires and at bedtimes for years and years. It is Officially™ my favorite Sleeping Beauty retelling. (I never had a favorite Sleeping Beauty retelling to begin with, but…)
Honestly, knowing the female lead was going to be in a coma for a good portion of the book made me, well, morbidly curious. How do you even tell a story when the titular character is in a coma? Was I about to be duped into somebody else’s story? I was here for Carol, darnit! Turned out, Carol’s chapters - her time in Howltown - were some of the most eerie and stressful parts of the book. And that is saying something considering the character Smoke! Carol might be down but she’s not out, and her struggles to break herself free of her coma turned out to be exactly what I wanted to read.
Smoke is… A lot. And it’s a good thing! I’m not here for mollycoddled villains and I don’t think there’s any way a person in their right mind could think that way about the bounty hunter Smoke. This dude is a deliciously evil wildcard, to the point I genuinely feared Moxie would never make it to Carol in time.
Lafayette and Dwight might be slightly outshined by the nightmare fuel that is Smoke, but they were quite the pair of conspirators. Dwight’s reasons for wanting to bury Carol are understandable and he’s just the right mix of competent and incompetent to make it stressful to read. Lafayette is straight up heartless and I loved her for it. Not your typical female villain.
Moxie is the outlaw antihero I deserve. That’s it. That’s the review. No, but I love him. I love all of his doubts and worries. The guilt over Carol. If like me you have a weird soft spot for sad men trying to fix the mistakes of their past, this is probably your kind of book.
I do have mixed feelings about the ending. No spoilers, but… In ways it was even better than expected, in others it went too quick. The book starts slow, but the tension and pacing ramp up more and more with every chapter. It went by fast! Which left me wishing for more of a breath at the end.
Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman was so wonderfully weird. It’s fast pace and distinctive characters made the reading feel more like a ride down The Trail. Truly a one of a kind experience.
*yes this was my first book review ever at all in my life, thank you for bearing with me while I try to figure how to even do this.