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3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
I almost gave up on this book, but slogged on to the end anyway. The pace of this book was slow and the build up extremely slow. The characters were uninteresting and not too different from each other; they all used the same way of speaking, which was this awkward and stiff pseudo-western lingo. The “who cares?” portion of this story doesn’t come until about 2/3 of the way through the book when the main source of Carol’s condition is revealed, and even then it’s hard to care because this (and other elements) were not sufficiently explained and the main storyline isn’t resolved by the end of the book.
I was doubly as disappointed by this book because I LOVED Bird Box. I mean, in the top 10 books I’ve ever read - a masterpiece of psychological horror. This book is so boring and bland I am having a hard time believing these books were written by the same author.
Sadly, Unbury Carol is a swing and a miss.
I was doubly as disappointed by this book because I LOVED Bird Box. I mean, in the top 10 books I’ve ever read - a masterpiece of psychological horror. This book is so boring and bland I am having a hard time believing these books were written by the same author.
Sadly, Unbury Carol is a swing and a miss.
slow-paced
3.5 stars
There's no getting around it, this book is just plain weird! But in a good way. We start off with being introduced to Carol, a woman whose closest friend has just died - a victim of a sickness that flew into Carol's town and flew right back with many bodies in the ground. The sight of her friends face disappearing forever beneath dirt, causes Carol to think of her own deaths. That's right plural. Since childhood, Carol has died many times. Fallen into a coma so strong that her heart beats just 3 times a minute, with breath is so negligible as to be noticed by no one. While in the coma, Carol is able to hear the actions taking place around her, but is only able to see darkness and feel wind rushing at her face as though she is falling, falling, falling.... She calls the place of her deaths Howltown.
The death of Carol's friend causes her to realize that now there are only two people left alive who know the truth of her illness; only two people to prevent Carol from a premature burial of her own. One is James Moxie, a famous outlaw, but before he'd become famous was Carol's first love. He'd been unable to handle the reality that came with Carol's mysterious pathology and so disappeared, never to be heard of again. The second is Carol's husband Dwight.
Dwight may have loved Carol in the beginning, at least a little. But over time, he became jealous and unable to handle the light of adoration that all the town's villagers shined upon his wife. He grew to despise her, and so developed a scheme that would get Carol gone, but not the fortune she beheld. The night Carol sent her friend to the grave, she collapses, and Dwight sets his plan in motion.
What follows next is cruelty, love, ghosts, twisted plot devises, the reappearance of a brave man, and the lingering taunt of magic. As I said at the offset, there is so much weirdness in this tale, but it's crafted in a way that intrigued me from beginning to end. On a slightly different note, I listened to this one and thought that the narrator Dan John Miller did an excellent job.
There's no getting around it, this book is just plain weird! But in a good way. We start off with being introduced to Carol, a woman whose closest friend has just died - a victim of a sickness that flew into Carol's town and flew right back with many bodies in the ground. The sight of her friends face disappearing forever beneath dirt, causes Carol to think of her own deaths. That's right plural. Since childhood, Carol has died many times. Fallen into a coma so strong that her heart beats just 3 times a minute, with breath is so negligible as to be noticed by no one. While in the coma, Carol is able to hear the actions taking place around her, but is only able to see darkness and feel wind rushing at her face as though she is falling, falling, falling.... She calls the place of her deaths Howltown.
The death of Carol's friend causes her to realize that now there are only two people left alive who know the truth of her illness; only two people to prevent Carol from a premature burial of her own. One is James Moxie, a famous outlaw, but before he'd become famous was Carol's first love. He'd been unable to handle the reality that came with Carol's mysterious pathology and so disappeared, never to be heard of again. The second is Carol's husband Dwight.
Dwight may have loved Carol in the beginning, at least a little. But over time, he became jealous and unable to handle the light of adoration that all the town's villagers shined upon his wife. He grew to despise her, and so developed a scheme that would get Carol gone, but not the fortune she beheld. The night Carol sent her friend to the grave, she collapses, and Dwight sets his plan in motion.
What follows next is cruelty, love, ghosts, twisted plot devises, the reappearance of a brave man, and the lingering taunt of magic. As I said at the offset, there is so much weirdness in this tale, but it's crafted in a way that intrigued me from beginning to end. On a slightly different note, I listened to this one and thought that the narrator Dan John Miller did an excellent job.
I honestly didn’t know how to categorize this one so I called it a fairy tale. It feels a bit like a retelling or sleeping beauty.
I loved Bird Box by this author but didn’t like his following book and was hesitant about this one. Then when I saw all the low reviews, I put it aside. Later, I heard a podcast of this book and they raced about it. So I decided to find out for myself. I chose audio because one reviewer said the reader was excellent. He wasn’t wrong! The reader may have had everything to do with the 5 stars, but I don’t care I loved it!
Unbury Carol is actually in a western setting, with outlaws, villains and gunslingers. It also has some magical elements to it and a fairy tale feel. So I’m. It sure what it is lol!
The villain in this tale is one of the most vile I’ve ever come across. He just got under my skin. Such evil! The characters here were wonderfully drawn. However, this definitely is not a boom for everyone and considering most folks may hold the author up for the brilliant bird box, this may not hold for many. That said, I’m thrilled I took a chance. ♥️
I loved Bird Box by this author but didn’t like his following book and was hesitant about this one. Then when I saw all the low reviews, I put it aside. Later, I heard a podcast of this book and they raced about it. So I decided to find out for myself. I chose audio because one reviewer said the reader was excellent. He wasn’t wrong! The reader may have had everything to do with the 5 stars, but I don’t care I loved it!
Unbury Carol is actually in a western setting, with outlaws, villains and gunslingers. It also has some magical elements to it and a fairy tale feel. So I’m. It sure what it is lol!
The villain in this tale is one of the most vile I’ve ever come across. He just got under my skin. Such evil! The characters here were wonderfully drawn. However, this definitely is not a boom for everyone and considering most folks may hold the author up for the brilliant bird box, this may not hold for many. That said, I’m thrilled I took a chance. ♥️
I almost didn’t get through this one. I received it from a giveaway at ECCC and it was one of several that I really looked forward to reading.
I’m conflicted because there were several good qualities to this book but overall it really didn’t do it for me. As you can tell from the description, Carol has these spells in which she appears to be dead but she isn’t. Her husband decides to bury her alive because she makes him feel like he’s living in her shadow and he wants to feel like a man. Interesting premise going on.
I really like the way each new character is introduced. With a lot of books I’ve read recently I feel like the author jus throws characters at you and you’re left struggling to keep them straight. These are slowly introduced so you get a chance to know them and feel comfortable with them before moving on to another one.
There’s a weird supernatural element to this book that never gets completely explained in the end. Regarding it, there are several parts in the book where you don’t know what the heck is going on and he seems like the characters are going crazy. This is probably the main reason why I kept reading and I didn’t even get a resolution!
There are interesting nods towards horror and darkness, even losing your mind, which is intriguing but it doesn’t feel like enough to me. In the end this book does not feel ready to be published and still needs a lot of work. I’ve heard good things about other books but this author but I don’t plan on reading any for myself.
I’m conflicted because there were several good qualities to this book but overall it really didn’t do it for me. As you can tell from the description, Carol has these spells in which she appears to be dead but she isn’t. Her husband decides to bury her alive because she makes him feel like he’s living in her shadow and he wants to feel like a man. Interesting premise going on.
I really like the way each new character is introduced. With a lot of books I’ve read recently I feel like the author jus throws characters at you and you’re left struggling to keep them straight. These are slowly introduced so you get a chance to know them and feel comfortable with them before moving on to another one.
There’s a weird supernatural element to this book that never gets completely explained in the end. Regarding it, there are several parts in the book where you don’t know what the heck is going on and he seems like the characters are going crazy. This is probably the main reason why I kept reading and I didn’t even get a resolution!
There are interesting nods towards horror and darkness, even losing your mind, which is intriguing but it doesn’t feel like enough to me. In the end this book does not feel ready to be published and still needs a lot of work. I’ve heard good things about other books but this author but I don’t plan on reading any for myself.
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Pros:
Writing style
Enjoyed most of the characters
Fun
Cons:
Plot hole - why doesn't he killer her in the coma?
Names of characters
Writing style
Enjoyed most of the characters
Fun
Cons:
Plot hole - why doesn't he killer her in the coma?
Names of characters
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes