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3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
I had some issues with the book, especially the way it all wrapped up. But I enjoyed the characters and the story.
3.5 ⭐ First of all, this is a genre bending book. It can't really be contained in one category. It's horror/fantasy/paranormal/western all rolled into one. With that said, I'm sure if you are a fan of Westerns, you'll LOVE this book even more. That's the part I had a hard time getting into; the backstory of the outlaws on The Trail.
I LOVED Carol's point of view as well as the other people in Harrows. I wanted more Howltown, more Carol, I even wanted a little more of the jerk, Dwight. Malerman did write an excellent cast of characters though. Carol was the star to me but there are great supporting characters throughout. I really appreciated that the small town sheriff, funeral director and Carol's employee Farrah were proactive and SMART.
If you loved Bird Box, try Unbury Carol. Even though they're very different, they offer a unique twist on what a lot of people fear.
I LOVED Carol's point of view as well as the other people in Harrows. I wanted more Howltown, more Carol, I even wanted a little more of the jerk, Dwight. Malerman did write an excellent cast of characters though. Carol was the star to me but there are great supporting characters throughout. I really appreciated that the small town sheriff, funeral director and Carol's employee Farrah were proactive and SMART.
If you loved Bird Box, try Unbury Carol. Even though they're very different, they offer a unique twist on what a lot of people fear.
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.**
What a bizarre read...I really loved Bird Box, so when I heard Malerman had a kind of steampunk western twist on Sleeping Beauty, I was all over it. Turns out that maybe mixing so many genres wasn't such a great idea after all.
This is definitely an interesting idea. Carol suffers from a sickness that occasionally drops her into a coma-like state for days at a time, where it's nearly impossible to tell she's still alive. She can hear everything going on around her, but can't see or move. Once the only person other than her husband to know of her condition dies, her husband seizes the opportunity to bury Carol alive so that he doesn't have to live in his wife's shadow. Great plan, except it turns out someone else knows about her condition.
The book mixes way too many things together. There's some magic, maybe. The sickness, which is never really explained. A weird steampunk villain with tin legs. An environment that reminded me of Into the Badlands, but no explanation of why the world is that way. So much time is spent on cobbling all the different elements together that at times, the plot felt a bit like it fell by the wayside. The book felt too long and too short at the same time; not long enough to fully explain all the side elements going on, but too long for the plot not to feel artificially drawn out.
This definitely isn't Malerman at his best. It was an intriguing read, but it would be largely forgettable if not for the bizarre genre mishmash that I'm sure will stick with me for a while.
This is definitely an interesting idea. Carol suffers from a sickness that occasionally drops her into a coma-like state for days at a time, where it's nearly impossible to tell she's still alive. She can hear everything going on around her, but can't see or move. Once the only person other than her husband to know of her condition dies, her husband seizes the opportunity to bury Carol alive so that he doesn't have to live in his wife's shadow. Great plan, except it turns out someone else knows about her condition.
The book mixes way too many things together. There's some magic, maybe. The sickness, which is never really explained. A weird steampunk villain with tin legs. An environment that reminded me of Into the Badlands, but no explanation of why the world is that way. So much time is spent on cobbling all the different elements together that at times, the plot felt a bit like it fell by the wayside. The book felt too long and too short at the same time; not long enough to fully explain all the side elements going on, but too long for the plot not to feel artificially drawn out.
This definitely isn't Malerman at his best. It was an intriguing read, but it would be largely forgettable if not for the bizarre genre mishmash that I'm sure will stick with me for a while.
This was my first foray into the works of Josh Malerman, so I didn't know what to expect. I was surprised that it was a 'Western', but that it also had elements of Fantasy, Suspense and Horror; the last two being favorites of mine. I thought it was well written, and I kept me thinking about it, even when I wasn't reading. Enjoy!
4.5 stars
I really liked this one. This is only the second book I've read by Josh Malerman, but it has solidified my respect and appreciation for what he does. His books aren't what you would call fast-paced, and they're not gory or terrifying. But they are creeeeepy and excruciatingly beautiful. I don't want to push through his books, I want to linger.
The characters are a mixed bag of humanity. Between good intentions and nefarious schemes, you really never know what you're going to get. The villains, of which there are many, swing from slimy to rotten, offering up a whole smorgasbord of evil. Every reader will be able to find one they love to hate.
And the heroes? Even though they never seem to have the full picture, they still manage to wiggle their way through. It's almost like... magic...
I really liked this one. This is only the second book I've read by Josh Malerman, but it has solidified my respect and appreciation for what he does. His books aren't what you would call fast-paced, and they're not gory or terrifying. But they are creeeeepy and excruciatingly beautiful. I don't want to push through his books, I want to linger.
The characters are a mixed bag of humanity. Between good intentions and nefarious schemes, you really never know what you're going to get. The villains, of which there are many, swing from slimy to rotten, offering up a whole smorgasbord of evil. Every reader will be able to find one they love to hate.
And the heroes? Even though they never seem to have the full picture, they still manage to wiggle their way through. It's almost like... magic...
This was a dark, supernatural, Western take on the Sleeping Beauty story. Josh Malerman is a great writer, and I enjoyed the Western setting of this book. I also LOVED Smoke as a character. He really dominated whatever scene he was in with a very malicious energy that I could not get enough of. I will say I wasn't a huge fan of Carol's scenes in "Howltown"/ The Sunken Place. A good read, definitely not horror.
I came for the claustrophobic feel of a woman trapped in her own mind at danger of being buried alive and left with a western about the men who are trying to kill her, rescue her, or kill the man who wants to rescue her. There were a lot of positives about this book: the writing is solid and Smoke is one of the creepiest villains I've read in a long time. But I had some problems, too: Carol is not in the book nearly enough, for one thing. Her story, to me, was the most interesting and it doesn't get it's due. I also wanted her chapters, where she's locked inside her coma trying to get out, to feel more spooky and claustrophobic. Second, I did not believe her husband's motivation for wanting her dead; it seemed a bit forced. I also just didn't like him, even as a villain.
I stayed with this book because I hoped the end would redeem itself, and for that reason I'm glad I finished it. The ending is really quite clever and very satisfying.
I stayed with this book because I hoped the end would redeem itself, and for that reason I'm glad I finished it. The ending is really quite clever and very satisfying.