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3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
I’m kind of right in the middle with this book, I didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it either. Some parts of the book were so interesting that I couldn’t put it down while others times I couldn’t help but wish the story would just hurry up and get on with it. The idea behind the story is both fascinating and absolutely terrifying but I thought the execution lacked a little oomph to take it to the next level. I did enjoy the mix of genres, a mix of horror and suspense/thriller and western is bound to be interesting but it didn’t have quite enough spark for me.
This was kinda bananas
I was most pleased with it
I was most pleased with it
Have you seen that Netflix movie Bird Box? Did you know it was a book? Yep! The author of Bird Box wrote Unbury Carol. This is one of those mashup genre books. It technically belongs in horror but we also have a western vibe to it as well as fantasy elements. If I had to describe this book in one word it would be – pecuilar.
The underlying tones of this book had me unsettled. I felt off kilter, just not completely in my own body if you will. Similar to the way I felt with In The House In The Dark of the Woods. Viewing what was happening to Carol through her eyes was so strange to me. It didn’t feel like I was in the characters shoes but more so outside of her body looking in on herself, therefore bringing together some horror elements. Then the book flips to someone else’s perspective of what’s happening and you feel the western vibe.
I really liked the atmosphere and overall vibe of this book. The plot was intricate and the mash up of genres provided a new feel to it.
Elements that didn’t work for me is the name Dwight. I cannot take a name like that seriously so for a main character to have the name Dwight..ugh it was a tad irritating to my brain. Some parts of the book felt hazy and I couldn’t seem to piece together if it was really happening or not.
**Thank you Penguin Canada for a solid great read and for sending me a copy.**
The underlying tones of this book had me unsettled. I felt off kilter, just not completely in my own body if you will. Similar to the way I felt with In The House In The Dark of the Woods. Viewing what was happening to Carol through her eyes was so strange to me. It didn’t feel like I was in the characters shoes but more so outside of her body looking in on herself, therefore bringing together some horror elements. Then the book flips to someone else’s perspective of what’s happening and you feel the western vibe.
I really liked the atmosphere and overall vibe of this book. The plot was intricate and the mash up of genres provided a new feel to it.
Elements that didn’t work for me is the name Dwight. I cannot take a name like that seriously so for a main character to have the name Dwight..ugh it was a tad irritating to my brain. Some parts of the book felt hazy and I couldn’t seem to piece together if it was really happening or not.
**Thank you Penguin Canada for a solid great read and for sending me a copy.**
I have really not enjoyed this book at all.
I have had to finish it at 100 pages in. I might come back to it one day and really enjoy it. But it really was not for me.
I have had to finish it at 100 pages in. I might come back to it one day and really enjoy it. But it really was not for me.
This book had some potential, but the setting was lackluster and the characters one-dimensional. It was a bizarre mix of light fantasy/western/horror but the author really didn't do a good job researching any of those genres. It was hard to get into the story because the writing was bad, characters unbelievable, and nothing was developed beyond a cursory thought.
dark
mysterious
dark
slow-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
I found this one unsatisfying. For one thing, the world building is sloppy. It's an alternate reality so doesn't have to conform to actual history, but it should have some internal logic to it. And Malerman makes the weird and ineffective choice to leave out the most important scene. So, unsatisfying.
Unbury Carol is a horror/fantasy/western story about a woman named Carol who has a peculiar condition. You see, she slips into coma-like states which make her appear to be dead to the outside world. She refers to these episodes as 'being in Howltown', and despite being able to hear all that is going on around her, she has been unable so far to raise herself out of them, and basically has to wait them out.
After her good friend John dies, Carol slips into Howltown, leaving only two people living who know of her condition. The first is her husband Dwight, a man who only married Carol for her money, and plans to take advantage of this situation by declaring her as dead, and burying her as soon as possible. The second is infamous outlaw James Moxie, who also happens to be Carol's ex-lover.
When Moxie hears that Carol is 'dead', he decides to return to Harrows and save her from being buried alive. But he'll have to escape a deadly man, sent out to stop Moxie from arriving at Harrows. Will he make it in time to save Carol? Or will Dwight get away with burying her alive?
Sooooooooooo I didn't know this story was a Western when I added it to my TBR (my fault, I should have researched this book a bit better), but honestly, I didn't hate it as much as I thought I would. Now, the plot was a little... convoluted and twisty. In my opinion, I feel like the story could have been condensed. We got too much of Smoke's POV and other random characters, and not enough of Carol. Going into it, Because of this, and because I didn't really care for Smoke and his pyromaniac tendencies, I had to rate this book in the middle.
After her good friend John dies, Carol slips into Howltown, leaving only two people living who know of her condition. The first is her husband Dwight, a man who only married Carol for her money, and plans to take advantage of this situation by declaring her as dead, and burying her as soon as possible. The second is infamous outlaw James Moxie, who also happens to be Carol's ex-lover.
When Moxie hears that Carol is 'dead', he decides to return to Harrows and save her from being buried alive. But he'll have to escape a deadly man, sent out to stop Moxie from arriving at Harrows. Will he make it in time to save Carol? Or will Dwight get away with burying her alive?
Sooooooooooo I didn't know this story was a Western when I added it to my TBR (my fault, I should have researched this book a bit better), but honestly, I didn't hate it as much as I thought I would. Now, the plot was a little... convoluted and twisty. In my opinion, I feel like the story could have been condensed. We got too much of Smoke's POV and other random characters, and not enough of Carol. Going into it,
Spoiler
I believed Carol's condition would be explored more, but no. I thought we might get an explanation of what causes it, or how it can be prevented, or if anyone else in this world suffered from it, but no.
I'm not going to say that i hated this book. I'm just going to think it very loudly.
I was thinking that Bird Box was great, so let's get another helping. Unbury Carol doesn't even feel like it's written by the same author. The plot of the story was awesome...Carol's condition is strange and out of place for the time period it's set in. I was just terribly irritated by the characters. They all used the same catch phrases, the most interesting character was killed off suddenly, the hero was a fake, and the villains were flat. *sigh* Here's to hoping that another Malerman novel will pull me from this disappointment.
I was thinking that Bird Box was great, so let's get another helping. Unbury Carol doesn't even feel like it's written by the same author. The plot of the story was awesome...Carol's condition is strange and out of place for the time period it's set in. I was just terribly irritated by the characters. They all used the same catch phrases, the most interesting character was killed off suddenly, the hero was a fake, and the villains were flat. *sigh* Here's to hoping that another Malerman novel will pull me from this disappointment.