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honnari_hannya's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars
A horror-thriller-mystery that oftentimes bit off more than it could chew. This multi-POV story kicks off with the discovery of a young boy's murdered and mutilated body. Even by 18-year-veteran detective Gabriella Versado's standards, the scene is particularly gruesome: instead of human legs, the boy's have been replaced with the other half of a deer, and they can't find the rest of him. Yet.
Versado's counterpart in searching for the killer is freelance journalist-turned-youtuber, Jonno, who washed out of New York and hopes to make it in Detroit one viral video at a time. A lucky break lands him the lead role as citizen sleuth, following the tracks of the city's latest serial killer, the so-called "Detroit Monster." Or is he being led to the killer for some darker purpose?
And then there's Clayton Broom—a failed artist, a failed would-be father, a man with nothing to his name. He's plagued by dreams of doors that he needs to open.
Now, if that were the whole novel, I would've rated it higher. Unfortunately, this is plagued by an issue that Beukes herself identified in the novel, I found it deeply ironic. Too many voices (visions) in one spaces, it kind of crowded out the message. It would have been far more interesting to limit the perspectives on this one so as to sustain the tension of this novel quite a bit more—Versado and Jonno are the obvious choices, as two investigators; but Versado and her daughter are another pair of POVs, perhaps, as detective and potential victim with Jonno as purely a non-speaking role that functions as audience (which could make for a really interesting point as a spectator). TK was completely unnecessary. Like, entirely so. He was only needed him for his miraculous chair moment—side character promoted for no particular reason.
Because of this, I felt like we never got to see fluctuation between Clayton and the Dream develop—where I felt this book was the weakest, and where Beukes could have really taken it into that realm of strange and speculative much sooner and better.
The slow build got entirely wrecked by the end by the choppy switch of POVs in what felt like the most convoluted fight scene of all time. It felt like a bad youtube supercut. Which, maybe it was meant to. Good effort, I suppose. Might pick up another from her but this was not my favorite.
A horror-thriller-mystery that oftentimes bit off more than it could chew. This multi-POV story kicks off with the discovery of a young boy's murdered and mutilated body. Even by 18-year-veteran detective Gabriella Versado's standards, the scene is particularly gruesome: instead of human legs, the boy's have been replaced with the other half of a deer, and they can't find the rest of him. Yet.
Versado's counterpart in searching for the killer is freelance journalist-turned-youtuber, Jonno, who washed out of New York and hopes to make it in Detroit one viral video at a time. A lucky break lands him the lead role as citizen sleuth, following the tracks of the city's latest serial killer, the so-called "Detroit Monster." Or is he being led to the killer for some darker purpose?
And then there's Clayton Broom—a failed artist, a failed would-be father, a man with nothing to his name. He's plagued by dreams of doors that he needs to open.
Now, if that were the whole novel, I would've rated it higher. Unfortunately, this is plagued by an issue that Beukes herself identified in the novel, I found it deeply ironic. Too many voices (visions) in one spaces, it kind of crowded out the message. It would have been far more interesting to limit the perspectives on this one so as to sustain the tension of this novel quite a bit more—Versado and Jonno are the obvious choices, as two investigators; but Versado and her daughter are another pair of POVs, perhaps, as detective and potential victim with Jonno as purely a non-speaking role that functions as audience (which could make for a really interesting point as a spectator). TK was completely unnecessary. Like, entirely so. He was only needed him for his miraculous chair moment—side character promoted for no particular reason.
Because of this, I felt like we never got to see fluctuation between Clayton and the Dream develop—where I felt this book was the weakest, and where Beukes could have really taken it into that realm of strange and speculative much sooner and better.
The slow build got entirely wrecked by the end by the choppy switch of POVs in what felt like the most convoluted fight scene of all time. It felt like a bad youtube supercut. Which, maybe it was meant to. Good effort, I suppose. Might pick up another from her but this was not my favorite.
blaineduncan's review against another edition
1.0
Wow. This book is bad. The sad part is that it's okay enough in the first 100 pages or so. Then you meet the killer. The book then goes from bad to ridiculously terrible. How do works like this get published?
suvata's review against another edition
4.0
A body has been found near the hipster/art community in downtown Detroit. But this is not any old body. It appears to be half deer/half African American male child somehow fused together. Okay, is that creepy enough for you?
The police are baffled and Detective Gabriella Versado becomes obsessed with this case. The story is told through differing points of view. We hear from Jonno, an aging hipster writer; TK, a homeless man who gets caught up in this mess; and Clayton, a has-been local artist.
Beukes tells a horrifying tale in a very plausible way. I think that is what is really scary about this book. Something like this could really happen and it just creeps me out to the max. If you like being scared and if you like a very well written horror story, then this book is for you.
The police are baffled and Detective Gabriella Versado becomes obsessed with this case. The story is told through differing points of view. We hear from Jonno, an aging hipster writer; TK, a homeless man who gets caught up in this mess; and Clayton, a has-been local artist.
Beukes tells a horrifying tale in a very plausible way. I think that is what is really scary about this book. Something like this could really happen and it just creeps me out to the max. If you like being scared and if you like a very well written horror story, then this book is for you.
rcbalter's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
spudnugs96's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
bippityboppityboop's review against another edition
5.0
Spooky, rollicking, literary horror. Perfect PoMo scary story for people who don't really like scary stories. Be brave and try this one! Recommend to: those interested in crime fiction, contemporary art, stories about the Internet, taxidermy.
bookishkaiti's review
am I getting in a slump??? why am I dnfing so many books? this one had way too many characters to keep up with. maybe it made sense further along but I'm not invested enough to see it played out.
_cherish's review
It seemed very juvenile. And the beginning was so confusing and just not drawing me into the story in any way.
moodyjulia's review against another edition
3.0
Oof this book was a lot to process. I really liked it at first and it certainly took a lot of twists and turns but the last 100 pages were pretty out there and felt thrown together.