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3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
This would have made a banger of a short story. As it is, the length just gives you time to think about all the ways in which it doesn’t make sense.
This book was good, just a tiny bit too long. The end really redeemed it though.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
This book was beautifully written. It read like poetry. I did feel like there were more side characters than necessary, and that it ended too abruptly, but I enjoyed it nonetheless
I had no idea what this book was about other than it was from the author of "Bird Box" and I had mixed feelings about that one. "Unbury Carol" could best be described as a supernatural western with a strange love story at its center. I needed to finish it and see the outcome.
Ahoy there me mateys! I received this fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here be me honest musings . . .
This book was an odd wonderful mix of western, fantasy, and magical realism with a dash or two of creepiness thrown in.
The story involves a woman named Carol who “dies” frequently and yet always has awakened. These deaths take the form of a coma where she appears to be dead but is instead transported into another place where she has the sensation of continuously falling, can’t move, can’t see, and yet can hear the conversations around her. She never knows how long these spells will last and has kept the condition a secret from everyone in her present and past except for her long-dead mother, her husband, and her recently deceased best friend.
With only her husband remaining, she goes into a coma only to realize that her husband has no intention of letting her come back to life. He declares her dead and Carol has no hope. Or so she thinks. But there was one other person who knew her secret long ago and ran away out of fear . . .
There are many aspects of the story that I loved. The setting was an enormous forest with one trail that is a menace to all travelers. The trail begins at one town and leads to series of others on a path, which eventually ends at another town far south. There is seemingly no other outlet to the outside world. These settlements feel like western towns complete with saloons, general stores, brothels, and lots of outlaws. Of course there are the other more genteel members of the towns with money as well. Carol being one of them.
The outlaws are the absolute fun of the novel. There is the notorious “magical” outlaw, James Moxie, who has been retired from the trail and is on a mission to redeem himself. There is the delightfully insane outlaw, Smoke, who has been hired to stop him and has definitely earned his name. There are several others who have individual quirks and fun perspectives. I very much enjoyed all of their viewpoints. There also be perspectives from Carol, her jerk of a husband, the sheriff, and others.
The novel takes place over the course of a couple of days and is mixture of quiet thoughtful sections and outlaw action vignettes. The downside of the novel for me was that Carol is almost a non-entity in the story due to being “dead.” It’s not her fault and makes sense in the novel but I would have liked for some true action from her. I also didn’t love the conclusion of the novel. I did like the otherworldly elements and the lack of many good explanations though I can see how others wouldn’t.
I am glad I read this hard-to-define zany novel and will be trying others by the author for sure.
So lastly . . .
Thank you Random House!
Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/
This book was an odd wonderful mix of western, fantasy, and magical realism with a dash or two of creepiness thrown in.
The story involves a woman named Carol who “dies” frequently and yet always has awakened. These deaths take the form of a coma where she appears to be dead but is instead transported into another place where she has the sensation of continuously falling, can’t move, can’t see, and yet can hear the conversations around her. She never knows how long these spells will last and has kept the condition a secret from everyone in her present and past except for her long-dead mother, her husband, and her recently deceased best friend.
With only her husband remaining, she goes into a coma only to realize that her husband has no intention of letting her come back to life. He declares her dead and Carol has no hope. Or so she thinks. But there was one other person who knew her secret long ago and ran away out of fear . . .
There are many aspects of the story that I loved. The setting was an enormous forest with one trail that is a menace to all travelers. The trail begins at one town and leads to series of others on a path, which eventually ends at another town far south. There is seemingly no other outlet to the outside world. These settlements feel like western towns complete with saloons, general stores, brothels, and lots of outlaws. Of course there are the other more genteel members of the towns with money as well. Carol being one of them.
The outlaws are the absolute fun of the novel. There is the notorious “magical” outlaw, James Moxie, who has been retired from the trail and is on a mission to redeem himself. There is the delightfully insane outlaw, Smoke, who has been hired to stop him and has definitely earned his name. There are several others who have individual quirks and fun perspectives. I very much enjoyed all of their viewpoints. There also be perspectives from Carol, her jerk of a husband, the sheriff, and others.
The novel takes place over the course of a couple of days and is mixture of quiet thoughtful sections and outlaw action vignettes. The downside of the novel for me was that Carol is almost a non-entity in the story due to being “dead.” It’s not her fault and makes sense in the novel but I would have liked for some true action from her. I also didn’t love the conclusion of the novel. I did like the otherworldly elements and the lack of many good explanations though I can see how others wouldn’t.
I am glad I read this hard-to-define zany novel and will be trying others by the author for sure.
So lastly . . .
Thank you Random House!
Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/
A slow start, but good as it developed. This is a fantasy Western with some good outlaws and definite bad outlaws fighting against each other. It did get a little gruesome throughout so this is not the faint of heart, but if you are looking for a suspenseful, sometime scary read, check this one out.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
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:
Complicated
this being set in the wild west was a struggle for me
I thought this, by the author of Bird Box, started slowly but became enthralling when I stuck with it. As someone else suggested, it felt like a cross between a western and a Quentin Tarantino movie...