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3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
This is not what I expected at all. I thought the writing was beautiful at times, but it couldn’t save this book for me.
I was excited to see a new Josh Malerman book, since I read Bird Box and loved it. However this is a very different book than Bird Box.
The slow burn story unfortunately was just too slow burning for me. This took me over a week to wade through because it was just so boring. Overall, just too slow & not as interesting as I thought it was going to be. Also what was with the phrase “pig shit”? Why was it used every other sentence??
2/5 🌟
I was excited to see a new Josh Malerman book, since I read Bird Box and loved it. However this is a very different book than Bird Box.
The slow burn story unfortunately was just too slow burning for me. This took me over a week to wade through because it was just so boring. Overall, just too slow & not as interesting as I thought it was going to be. Also what was with the phrase “pig shit”? Why was it used every other sentence??
2/5 🌟
My least favorite of the three Josh Malerman books I’ve read so far, and I still really enjoyed it!
The high points for me were the writing style and the characters. The only thing that wasn’t amazing for me was the plot at some points. However I did enjoy the ending!
The high points for me were the writing style and the characters. The only thing that wasn’t amazing for me was the plot at some points. However I did enjoy the ending!
I really enjoyed this book. The author’s first, Bird Box, will always be my favorite, but this was good. I liked the setting and plot elements that stemmed from it. Out of the author’s 3 books, this ranks second for me.
After reading the first couple of chapter of Unbury Carol I knew I would love it; I wasn't wrong, the fact I have a signed copy is just icing on the cake.
Unbury Carol is hilarious, I'm not sure if that was the intention behind the writing of it, considering the premise of the book is about a lady being burried alive by her husband while she is in a coma in order for him to steal her fortune- but it is.
The characters are a hoddgepodge group of heros and villians (who being what, depending soley on which character is doing the talking), made me laugh out loud in some parts and grip the edge of my seat in others, as their stories weaved in and out of each other's within this Western setting.
So the storyline??? Carol's best friend, the lovely John, who is the life of every party, died, the stress of his death, being what may or may not have triggered Carol's unfortunate condition of slipping into a death like coma, a coma that generally no Doctor can distingush the fact Carol is actually alive, during. The husband, Dwight, tired of living in the shadow of his lovely and rich wife, realises there is only one option, that is to say, exploit this coma and bury his wife alive, sooner rather than later, with the help of the very bad ass Lafayette, a women who, under no circumstances would you cross. Bury her alive you see, because he's not monsterous (or foolish) enough to leave marks of foul play on her body, yes, this is the better option.
Unfortunately for Dwight, Farrah (Carol's handmaiden), suspects Dwight of foul play, and contacts the outlaw James Moxie, (props to the author, loving the name choice here) our loveable outlaw with as many magic tricks as baggae of the emotional kind, in order to let him know.
So the question is, can James save the love of his life, or will she be burried alive if she doesn't save her own damn self, cause seriously, with a husband burying you, can you really rely on the outlaw?
Fast-paced, action packed, utterly thrilling and honestly funny. Five Stars, would totally recommend.
Unbury Carol is hilarious, I'm not sure if that was the intention behind the writing of it, considering the premise of the book is about a lady being burried alive by her husband while she is in a coma in order for him to steal her fortune- but it is.
The characters are a hoddgepodge group of heros and villians (who being what, depending soley on which character is doing the talking), made me laugh out loud in some parts and grip the edge of my seat in others, as their stories weaved in and out of each other's within this Western setting.
So the storyline??? Carol's best friend, the lovely John, who is the life of every party, died, the stress of his death, being what may or may not have triggered Carol's unfortunate condition of slipping into a death like coma, a coma that generally no Doctor can distingush the fact Carol is actually alive, during. The husband, Dwight, tired of living in the shadow of his lovely and rich wife, realises there is only one option, that is to say, exploit this coma and bury his wife alive, sooner rather than later, with the help of the very bad ass Lafayette, a women who, under no circumstances would you cross. Bury her alive you see, because he's not monsterous (or foolish) enough to leave marks of foul play on her body, yes, this is the better option.
Unfortunately for Dwight, Farrah (Carol's handmaiden), suspects Dwight of foul play, and contacts the outlaw James Moxie, (props to the author, loving the name choice here) our loveable outlaw with as many magic tricks as baggae of the emotional kind, in order to let him know.
So the question is, can James save the love of his life, or will she be burried alive if she doesn't save her own damn self, cause seriously, with a husband burying you, can you really rely on the outlaw?
Fast-paced, action packed, utterly thrilling and honestly funny. Five Stars, would totally recommend.
Birdbox is as good as Unbury Carol is bad. No characters have real motives, it ends almost exactly how you think it will and takes forever long to get there, the phrase "hell's heaven" is on almost literally every page and uttered by every character in the most annoying of ticks, the magic is not magical, and Rot is not scary and nothing makes sense and I stuck with it out of loyalty and hope that it would get better but wish I hadn't. Needs more Carol and Farrah, and less kind of terrible men with no real motivation.
i had no idea it was a western, it’s just not for me.
I mean, I guess it was okay. I sure as hell didn't realize there are so many ways to use pig-shit and its variations. Actually, I never want to read anything with that many variations of the word pigshit again. It was a bit kooky, I think and deviated weirdly from where it started. The old west vibe was certainly present, but it never really caught my attention. Everyone was a little too unhinged. So, eh, it was alright.
Welcome to Howltown
Interesting world building looking at the magic (real and imagined) that surrounds love, greed, good, and evil. It's not so much about the characters, several of whom I wanted to get to know better, but the events.
Interesting world building looking at the magic (real and imagined) that surrounds love, greed, good, and evil. It's not so much about the characters, several of whom I wanted to get to know better, but the events.
One star for the first half, three-ish stars for the second half.
I think I have to accept that Malerman just isn't for me. I thought Bird Box was all right but it took me a while to get into, and the first half of this was painfully slow to me (and my favorite books are epic fantasy so the fact I found it slow should tell you something). It's a shame, because the concept is excellent. Carol falls into a bear death state where her vital functions slow down so much as to be undetectable. Her husband, who knows this, decided to take advantage and have her buried alive. A former beau gets word of this nefarious plot and rides hell bent for leather to try to get to the town they live in time to save Carol.
Fantastic premise, right? But it really fell down in execution for me. There was a lot of repetition of certain phrases. Who in earth would even say "hell's heaven" anyway? It has a very western vibe, and that is something I actually normally enjoy. But once again, the concept didn't translate for me. The bad guys (looking at you Smoke) are so mustache-twirly it borders on ridiculous. Some of the stuff makes no sense in world. If you are going to play in a fantasy setting, pick your rules and stick to them. A character has a flash-back to when he lost his legs and it makes no sense that he didn't bleed out and die. If someone cuts off your legs at the knee and you pass out, you shouldn't wake up in an abandoned alley hours later YOU SHOULD DIE. I would have been OK with a hand wave explanation for this is elsewhere in the book people don't get shot and die normally from blood loss. Make your world consistent, people. There is also a fuel that is referred to repeatedly throughout the book, and the results of it that led Moxie (out intrepid former beau) to legendary outlaw status along The Trail. But how he accomplished his truck is never satisfactorily explained. Or maybe I didn't grasp the full explanation, but I was left feeling nettled about the entire Abberstown situation.
That said, the second half worked better for me. There are flashes of brilliant phrasing. The lines "Cause I'm the landscape we all live in, the outlaw can be an artist. The outlaw can be entertainment" particularly struck me. And the husband is an interesting case of entitled man. He is jealous because Carol is not only well-off financially, but beloved in their town. He decides to bury her alive because he thinks he deserves what she has. And as the story progresses, his thoughts always circle back to how it's not fair that he doesn't have all he wants, or that things in his murder scheme don't fall into place just so. That aspect was really well done, to the point of being uncomfortable to read as a woman (because the news is peppered with stories like this. Oh she wouldn't date me/ have sex with me/ forgive me so I decided to kill her). So there were some things that left me with ideas to chew over, but ultimately this just wasn't my cup of tea.
I think I have to accept that Malerman just isn't for me. I thought Bird Box was all right but it took me a while to get into, and the first half of this was painfully slow to me (and my favorite books are epic fantasy so the fact I found it slow should tell you something). It's a shame, because the concept is excellent. Carol falls into a bear death state where her vital functions slow down so much as to be undetectable. Her husband, who knows this, decided to take advantage and have her buried alive. A former beau gets word of this nefarious plot and rides hell bent for leather to try to get to the town they live in time to save Carol.
Fantastic premise, right? But it really fell down in execution for me. There was a lot of repetition of certain phrases. Who in earth would even say "hell's heaven" anyway? It has a very western vibe, and that is something I actually normally enjoy. But once again, the concept didn't translate for me. The bad guys (looking at you Smoke) are so mustache-twirly it borders on ridiculous. Some of the stuff makes no sense in world. If you are going to play in a fantasy setting, pick your rules and stick to them. A character has a flash-back to when he lost his legs and it makes no sense that he didn't bleed out and die. If someone cuts off your legs at the knee and you pass out, you shouldn't wake up in an abandoned alley hours later YOU SHOULD DIE. I would have been OK with a hand wave explanation for this is elsewhere in the book people don't get shot and die normally from blood loss. Make your world consistent, people. There is also a fuel that is referred to repeatedly throughout the book, and the results of it that led Moxie (out intrepid former beau) to legendary outlaw status along The Trail. But how he accomplished his truck is never satisfactorily explained. Or maybe I didn't grasp the full explanation, but I was left feeling nettled about the entire Abberstown situation.
That said, the second half worked better for me. There are flashes of brilliant phrasing. The lines "Cause I'm the landscape we all live in, the outlaw can be an artist. The outlaw can be entertainment" particularly struck me. And the husband is an interesting case of entitled man. He is jealous because Carol is not only well-off financially, but beloved in their town. He decides to bury her alive because he thinks he deserves what she has. And as the story progresses, his thoughts always circle back to how it's not fair that he doesn't have all he wants, or that things in his murder scheme don't fall into place just so. That aspect was really well done, to the point of being uncomfortable to read as a woman (because the news is peppered with stories like this. Oh she wouldn't date me/ have sex with me/ forgive me so I decided to kill her). So there were some things that left me with ideas to chew over, but ultimately this just wasn't my cup of tea.