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3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
I believe this is the first western horror story I have ever read and it was quite an entertaining experience. With a bit of romance, dark humor and a touch of the psychological thriller, Josh Malerman has given readers an engrossing second novel.
What got my attention about the story was the concept of being buried alive. I remember watching The Alfred Hitchcock Hour as a child and on one episode a man in prison planned his escape via casket. Unfortunately, things did not end well for him.
Luckily, Unbury Carol was not quite so dark--at least not at the crucial moment. The story did have some horrifying events, but I thought the tone had more of a dark humor feel.
Full of wonderful characters, supernatural beings and adventures on the western trail, this will make a great reading choice for any reader loving mystery, horror, westerns or just quirky mixed genres. There are some violent acts committed in the book and there is one sinister character named Smoke, who is a force of evil to be reckoned with.
Many thanks to NetGally and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for providing me with an advance copy.
What got my attention about the story was the concept of being buried alive. I remember watching The Alfred Hitchcock Hour as a child and on one episode a man in prison planned his escape via casket. Unfortunately, things did not end well for him.
Luckily, Unbury Carol was not quite so dark--at least not at the crucial moment. The story did have some horrifying events, but I thought the tone had more of a dark humor feel.
Full of wonderful characters, supernatural beings and adventures on the western trail, this will make a great reading choice for any reader loving mystery, horror, westerns or just quirky mixed genres. There are some violent acts committed in the book and there is one sinister character named Smoke, who is a force of evil to be reckoned with.
Many thanks to NetGally and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for providing me with an advance copy.
A very atmospheric book, but I found it very dark with many disturbing characters. I never connected to the characters, even with Carol who is arguably the most likeable. However, I can see this book appealing to others, so I'll encourage others to give it a try. Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the ARC.
I loved Bird Box, but was hesitant to read this because of other reviews. Glad I did because I loved this book. I actually audiobooked this and it was fantastic; the narrator really got the characters' personalities. It was a bit of a mishmash of genres, but that made it very unique and a little tongue in cheek. I especially loved the surprise hero.
My review here: https://beingfictional.wordpress.com/2018/05/04/unbury-carol/
‘’To someone outside the coma [....] I appear...dead. Hardly a heartbeat. Far from fogging a mirror. And a pulse as slow as a slug. There’s no light in there, John. I can hear the world around me, but I can’t move. And the wind in there...it howls. So...Howltown.’’
I’m certain that the people sitting opposite me in the Tube during my commute were absolutely amused, watching my face while I was reading. Shock, anxiety. Heart racing, eyes staring in surprise and disbelief...Because this book by Josh Malerman gave me all the feels. And yes, I’m sounding like a cliché Twitter meme but you will forgive me because Unbury Carol was quite a reading experience. I loved Bird Box but this novel...Jesus, I adored it! Definitely one of the best books of the year. Atmospheric, haunting, lively, full of wonderful characters.
Carol is suffering from a shocking affliction. She falls into days-long comas that resemble little deaths. And yet, she is completely aware of her surroundings during her ‘’sleep’’. Her husband knows of her condition. But there is also another man who knows the truth. An outlaw, a fascinating man who loved Carol, who was loved by her and yet, she left her alone, under the burden of her condition. When Carol faces the ultimate danger, Moxie will have to face a series of threats in order to save her.
‘’There’s a difference between bad and evil [...] Bad is when you ignore the one you love. But evil is when you know exactly what that person wants, what means most to them, and you figure out how to take it away.’’
Malerman places his outstanding story in a dark version of the Wild West and my God, what a scenery he has created! Vivid descriptions of the treacherous Trail, brilliant dialogue, scenes and sequences that send hearts racing. He mixes Magical Realism and Historical Fiction to create a fable of the Sleeping Beauty that is haunting and powerful, full of secrets and questions. Those of us who read Bird Box praised Malerman’s ability to create tension and dread through the presence of the unknown. Well, Unbury Carol is a deeply humane story that deals with our greatest fear: Death.
I have a confession to make. I never trusted people who said ‘’I’m not afraid of death’’. I don’t know, I am probably wrong but it just doesn’t seem right to me. It sounds like a phrase of pretentious bravery, of surrender and despair and I accept none of them. Even the notion of sacrificing your life for a ‘’greater good’’ seems strange to me but this is my cold heart talking. In any case and back to our novel, Death becomes a tangible, dreary, mystic presence. He gambles, trying to win more and more souls to condemn them to rot and be forgotten. But who gives Death the means to do so? If you thought of the word ‘’humans’’, you’d guess correctly. It is the dangerous combination of secrets, fear and guilt that provides Death with the weapon of despair and retreat. And vanity. Carol falls victim of a vain, cruel man and it is up to her mind and soul to find a way out. Literally.
The writing is gloriously good. The atmosphere of the era, the depiction of the Wild West, the interactions of the characters are worthy of an immensely talented writer that knows how to engage the readers without resorting to cheap tricks and mass-market cliches. Malerman creates a Western fairytale of the finest quality, using a dark fable and an array of extraordinary characters.
‘’You let her rot, James. You broke her heart and a better man came and held her ‘cause she was sick...sick, James…’’
This is a rather sinister fellowship. Carol, a brave young woman who gave in to despair by choosing a completely inadequate man. Moxie, an outlaw, a man of secrets and follies, a man who seems to have sprung out of the finest old Western films, a man you cannot help but fall in love with. Opal, a brave protector of the law. Farrah, a faithful, clever companion to Carol. Hattie, Carol’s mother, who taught her to be a survivor. Evans, the devil incarnate. Smoke, a terrifying, hypnotizing, cult figure. And Rot. A presence that will haunt your sleep.
It cannot get any better than that. It really can’t. This novel aimed at my heart (ridiculously bad pun intended) and won it from the very first pages. If you want to read a book that is a fine example of Mystery, Historical Fiction and Magical Realism with questions about the darkness of the human nature, a book free from the awful stereotypes that are smothering the Literature of our times, then Unbury Carol is waiting.
[..] how these days have circled back, like the Trail, in a way, from north to south and then back north again, all a bundle of shadows and unknowns, places without sun, places where things might hide…’’
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com
I’m certain that the people sitting opposite me in the Tube during my commute were absolutely amused, watching my face while I was reading. Shock, anxiety. Heart racing, eyes staring in surprise and disbelief...Because this book by Josh Malerman gave me all the feels. And yes, I’m sounding like a cliché Twitter meme but you will forgive me because Unbury Carol was quite a reading experience. I loved Bird Box but this novel...Jesus, I adored it! Definitely one of the best books of the year. Atmospheric, haunting, lively, full of wonderful characters.
Carol is suffering from a shocking affliction. She falls into days-long comas that resemble little deaths. And yet, she is completely aware of her surroundings during her ‘’sleep’’. Her husband knows of her condition. But there is also another man who knows the truth. An outlaw, a fascinating man who loved Carol, who was loved by her and yet, she left her alone, under the burden of her condition. When Carol faces the ultimate danger, Moxie will have to face a series of threats in order to save her.
‘’There’s a difference between bad and evil [...] Bad is when you ignore the one you love. But evil is when you know exactly what that person wants, what means most to them, and you figure out how to take it away.’’
Malerman places his outstanding story in a dark version of the Wild West and my God, what a scenery he has created! Vivid descriptions of the treacherous Trail, brilliant dialogue, scenes and sequences that send hearts racing. He mixes Magical Realism and Historical Fiction to create a fable of the Sleeping Beauty that is haunting and powerful, full of secrets and questions. Those of us who read Bird Box praised Malerman’s ability to create tension and dread through the presence of the unknown. Well, Unbury Carol is a deeply humane story that deals with our greatest fear: Death.
I have a confession to make. I never trusted people who said ‘’I’m not afraid of death’’. I don’t know, I am probably wrong but it just doesn’t seem right to me. It sounds like a phrase of pretentious bravery, of surrender and despair and I accept none of them. Even the notion of sacrificing your life for a ‘’greater good’’ seems strange to me but this is my cold heart talking. In any case and back to our novel, Death becomes a tangible, dreary, mystic presence. He gambles, trying to win more and more souls to condemn them to rot and be forgotten. But who gives Death the means to do so? If you thought of the word ‘’humans’’, you’d guess correctly. It is the dangerous combination of secrets, fear and guilt that provides Death with the weapon of despair and retreat. And vanity. Carol falls victim of a vain, cruel man and it is up to her mind and soul to find a way out. Literally.
The writing is gloriously good. The atmosphere of the era, the depiction of the Wild West, the interactions of the characters are worthy of an immensely talented writer that knows how to engage the readers without resorting to cheap tricks and mass-market cliches. Malerman creates a Western fairytale of the finest quality, using a dark fable and an array of extraordinary characters.
‘’You let her rot, James. You broke her heart and a better man came and held her ‘cause she was sick...sick, James…’’
This is a rather sinister fellowship. Carol, a brave young woman who gave in to despair by choosing a completely inadequate man. Moxie, an outlaw, a man of secrets and follies, a man who seems to have sprung out of the finest old Western films, a man you cannot help but fall in love with. Opal, a brave protector of the law. Farrah, a faithful, clever companion to Carol. Hattie, Carol’s mother, who taught her to be a survivor. Evans, the devil incarnate. Smoke, a terrifying, hypnotizing, cult figure. And Rot. A presence that will haunt your sleep.
It cannot get any better than that. It really can’t. This novel aimed at my heart (ridiculously bad pun intended) and won it from the very first pages. If you want to read a book that is a fine example of Mystery, Historical Fiction and Magical Realism with questions about the darkness of the human nature, a book free from the awful stereotypes that are smothering the Literature of our times, then Unbury Carol is waiting.
[..] how these days have circled back, like the Trail, in a way, from north to south and then back north again, all a bundle of shadows and unknowns, places without sun, places where things might hide…’’
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com
Thank you to NetGalley and Del Ray for the opportunity to read and review this book. It was weird, dark and fun.
This book won't be for everyone, but if you want something a little bizarre, not terribly unbelievable, and have enjoyed a Stephen King book or two this might be for you. Unbury Carol is a western horror that somehow works. This book was an adventure.
While I did enjoy reading this book it was still missing a little something. My guess is I won't remember this story too well a year from now, but I hope Josh Malerman puts out another book soon.
This book won't be for everyone, but if you want something a little bizarre, not terribly unbelievable, and have enjoyed a Stephen King book or two this might be for you. Unbury Carol is a western horror that somehow works. This book was an adventure.
While I did enjoy reading this book it was still missing a little something. My guess is I won't remember this story too well a year from now, but I hope Josh Malerman puts out another book soon.
I wanted to like this book, but I couldn't finish it. In fact, I couldn't get past 70 pages. The premise is great and it could be a great book...but this seems like the early stages of a movie or TV series. There are good ideas, but nothing is fleshed out nearly enough. What the heck is the Trail? Where and when are these events occurring? *My ARC is missing a map, so perhaps this would help.*
The reader is thrown into Carol's story with a brief description of her affliction and then she's gone. The story then focuses on her husband, Dwight, who just wasn't interesting enough for me. I didn't know enough about him to understand his motivation. I'm sure there are people who will love this book, but it just doesn't deliver on its potential for me.
The reader is thrown into Carol's story with a brief description of her affliction and then she's gone. The story then focuses on her husband, Dwight, who just wasn't interesting enough for me. I didn't know enough about him to understand his motivation. I'm sure there are people who will love this book, but it just doesn't deliver on its potential for me.
Thank NetGalley for the ARC for an Author that I have high hopes for. I could spoil much of this book in a scathing review, but I will keep this review simple and spoiler-free. I often have more words to say about a book I don't like compared to the ones I adore. This book is part psychological horror, part path-horror. I define path-horror as our hero being on, in this case, a trail, and they must overcome many horrors and tests along their way to save a central character. In this book, it is Carol who must be saved from her inconvenient disease that causes her psychological trauma. Many things are poorly defined in this book, least of all the ill-conceived disease that continuously kills Carol, the time period that I failed to grasp until several chapters in, and the Trail. The Trail..how long is it? Do only criminals use it? For criminals on the trail, how is it so easy for them to avoid the law?
The book left so many questions unanswered, but at the same time I felt the concepts in it would've been best explored in novella length. Not enough was done in the 380 pages.
What Josh Malerman does so well is bring in tension. While it was a struggle for me to want to turn each page, there were still many moments where tension was built, and my heart would begin to beat faster.
The book left so many questions unanswered, but at the same time I felt the concepts in it would've been best explored in novella length. Not enough was done in the 380 pages.
What Josh Malerman does so well is bring in tension. While it was a struggle for me to want to turn each page, there were still many moments where tension was built, and my heart would begin to beat faster.
Had to DNF at page 100. I was so incredibly bored and this is not even the slightest bit scary. Interesting premise, but not executed well in my opinion. If you like/love this book, great. It just wasn’t what I was expecting and this one just wasn’t for me.
slow-paced
I struggle with this review and rating. I wanted to love it but didn't. I liked it somewhat but felt it could have been so much more. It doesn't really fit in any specific category, I guess maybe weird western.
Carol has an peculiar ailment. She sometimes goes into a death-like coma that can last several days. She appears dead to most but she is alive and will awaken as good as new. The problem is after the death of her very close friend, it appears only her Husband now knows of her situation, and he has decided to allow everyone to believe she has died when she again succumbs to her odd coma state.
The story idea is fabulous. The writing was a little long-winded at times and still didn't do a great job of fully explaining certain situations. I am sure some will love this book as well as some will hate it.
Carol has an peculiar ailment. She sometimes goes into a death-like coma that can last several days. She appears dead to most but she is alive and will awaken as good as new. The problem is after the death of her very close friend, it appears only her Husband now knows of her situation, and he has decided to allow everyone to believe she has died when she again succumbs to her odd coma state.
The story idea is fabulous. The writing was a little long-winded at times and still didn't do a great job of fully explaining certain situations. I am sure some will love this book as well as some will hate it.