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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
I thoroughly enjoyed the first half or two-thirds of this book. They'd get a 4- or 5-star rating. But somewhere around that point, it switched genres from horror to fantasy, and the author stopped respecting the reader (things that should have remained unstated for the reader to mull over themselves are stated outright, etc.). Knowing that RJB switched to fully writing fantasy after this book now makes a lot of sense.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Man, I am on a roll here. Reading only the books recommended to me is working out greatly in my favor.
So, American Elsewhere. I've had such trouble describing this book while reading it. It's got a pinch of American Gods, a dollop of Twin Peaks and a generous helping of Lovecraft. The protagonist is a Hispanic woman who is a complete badass, but never once a dude with long hair. I'm not exaggerating when I say this is one of the most nuanced portrayals of a female lead that I've seen by a male author. Mona Bright is the BOMB.
There are parts of this story that are predictable by fans of the genre, but with enough twists to where I was never entirely sure about what would happen. There are also parts of this book that are ENORMOUSLY GORY/GRAPHIC so be prepared to grimace a lot if you're a visual person.
[Side Note: I thoroughly enjoyed how you could tell this book was written by a Texan. The Oklahoma joke early-on made me straight up snort out loud in public!]
As for the audiobook, the narrator was fantastic. I was worried about a male narrator for a book where the protagonist is a woman, but Graham Winton quickly showed me I had nothing to worry about.
So, American Elsewhere. I've had such trouble describing this book while reading it. It's got a pinch of American Gods, a dollop of Twin Peaks and a generous helping of Lovecraft. The protagonist is a Hispanic woman who is a complete badass, but never once a dude with long hair. I'm not exaggerating when I say this is one of the most nuanced portrayals of a female lead that I've seen by a male author. Mona Bright is the BOMB.
There are parts of this story that are predictable by fans of the genre, but with enough twists to where I was never entirely sure about what would happen. There are also parts of this book that are ENORMOUSLY GORY/GRAPHIC so be prepared to grimace a lot if you're a visual person.
[Side Note: I thoroughly enjoyed how you could tell this book was written by a Texan. The Oklahoma joke early-on made me straight up snort out loud in public!]
As for the audiobook, the narrator was fantastic. I was worried about a male narrator for a book where the protagonist is a woman, but Graham Winton quickly showed me I had nothing to worry about.
This is proper B movie stuff, and I mean that most approvingly. Scientists meddling with things that Man Was Not Meant To Understand, small town America under threat from mysterious outside forces, a lone drifter who rolls into town to save the day...it's all great fun. Robert Jackson Bennett is fast becoming one of my favourite writers, and this only reinforces that
“This would have been better as a computer game.” That was the thought most often popping into my head as I read American Elsewhere. The deep weirdness of the town, the existential dread, the parsimonious doling out of information, the quirky characters and their inconsistencies, even the kinda lame (probably unintentionally funny) reveal of a major character’s motivation: this would totally work as a spooky, atmospheric horror/sci-fi game. As a book? Well, it was interesting enough that I didn’t DNF it. But I often felt the story just didn’t make sense. And I mean within its own internal logic. Several plot points came across as pointless and/or silly. And it definitely should have been 50% shorter. I’m a fan of RJB. Big thumbs up for the Divine Cities and Founders books. But this one just didn’t do it for me. But if he ever does turn American Elsewhere into a video game, I’ll definitely play it. But please please please add in the option to
Spoiler
save poor trapped Dr. Coburn, because, like really? That would have been so simple for Mona to do. But she never even spares a thought for the dude. Really? Guess he was just an NPC after all. haha
This book was A LOT. But I really liked it. Did it need to be over 600 pages? Probably not. But it certainly held my attention throughout -- even if I was irritated that it took me three whole days to read it.
The best book I’ve read in a while. It’s a slow burn, and well worth putting in the effort!
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Novelist recommended this book to me based on other books similar to the Welcome to Night Vale novel and, now that I've read it, I can see why this was the first suggestion.
Built around a government quantum space lab in New Mexico, the town of Wink- which can't be found on any map- is essentially an atomic-age postcard, frozen in time. The people who live there do their best to ignore the strange, dark underbelly of their tiny town and abide by outdated customs of classic 50's-60's hierarchies. In exchange for their cooperation, they can live in a 'perfect' town and avoid harassment from inhuman neighbors, who must also follow strict rules set by their predecessors. The protagonist comes to Wink to inherit her mother's old house, who had once been a scientist working at the Lab. Her arrival triggers the next few steps in a complicated scheme to resurrect an alien god and destroy reality.
If you're familiar with Night Vale, you'll see a lot of connections already (though I would argue that Wink is a bit closer to Desert Bluffs than the town of Night Vale with its suburban facade that hides a darker secret) but the writing, mood, and tone is closer to a grittier Niel Gaiman or a restrained Stephen King. With a switching POV that bounces between a large cast of characters and elements of a supernatural crime-thriller, it reminded me of something like Salems' Lot mixed with Night Vale's A Story About You/Them episodes.
The protagonist, gritty and jaded Texan ex-cop Mona Bright, helps to keep all the balls in the air going, which is a big task considering how many are in play at any given time. She's kind of like the Watson of the story, asking the questions that the audience is asking and pursuing the mystery with the same determination. Unfortunately, I don't think the author has the same confidence in the reader, as it takes Mona a long time to even broach the idea that something supernatural is going on in Wink and, when she does discover and accept it, it still takes a lot of repetition and exposition to get her to understand what the reader has probably already guessed. Granted, the book is from 2013 and I am already very familiar with the genre of cosmic horror-fantasy-sci/fi so I might have had an advantage over Mona. She is also an ex-cop/amateur detective who likes guns which automatically makes her the dumbest person in the room wherever she goes. She has charm though, thankfully, even if she's a predictable archetype.
The best characters are all the non-humans, who are a whole new kind of Lovecraftian alien that I haven't seen before. They were creatively designed and had that classic Weird Fiction vibe while feeling fresh and having their own character. They all have a lot of personality, despite their inhuman natures, especially "Mrs. Benjamin" and "Mr. Parson". I think the way they "work" got a bit overcomplicated at times and I think fewer explanations (and re-explanations) would have actually made it easier for me to get it. All the characters are fun to read though and, even when they do shitty stuff, you can't help but enjoy spending time with them. Mona especially has a lot of heart and you sympathize with her struggle and root for her despite her hard-case nature. She makes a good heart to the story, kind but a hardened badass, deeply familial, and loyal but lonely; her conflicted nature made her flaws endearing to me. She does get corny at times, but she's still fun if you're willing to get past the whole 'dad taught me to shoot and I can never love again' kind of corny.
The best part of the story is the conveyance. It was impressively skilled at worldbuilding, character, and mystery in short chapters and with a bit of subtle implication. The book is so long because of the fact that it's stuffed- and sometimes, overstuffed- with tiny arrows all pointing towards a greater thing. There are a huge number of clues and actors to keep track of and the book keeps you invested in figuring out what they mean. I would even consider the book to be more of a supernatural mystery than a cosmic fantasy-horror. That same deft touch does make it more frustrating when Mona needs to have things constantly repeated to her and I think the book would have been, like, 12% better if she just learned to read the room. Once a dumb cop though, always a dumb cop, I guess.
I would definitely agree with Novelist here and say that, if you like Night Vale, you will probably like this too. Even if you don't like Night Vale and enjoy a good mystery and good fantasy storytelling though, you'll probably still like it.
Built around a government quantum space lab in New Mexico, the town of Wink- which can't be found on any map- is essentially an atomic-age postcard, frozen in time. The people who live there do their best to ignore the strange, dark underbelly of their tiny town and abide by outdated customs of classic 50's-60's hierarchies. In exchange for their cooperation, they can live in a 'perfect' town and avoid harassment from inhuman neighbors, who must also follow strict rules set by their predecessors. The protagonist comes to Wink to inherit her mother's old house, who had once been a scientist working at the Lab. Her arrival triggers the next few steps in a complicated scheme to resurrect an alien god and destroy reality.
If you're familiar with Night Vale, you'll see a lot of connections already (though I would argue that Wink is a bit closer to Desert Bluffs than the town of Night Vale with its suburban facade that hides a darker secret) but the writing, mood, and tone is closer to a grittier Niel Gaiman or a restrained Stephen King. With a switching POV that bounces between a large cast of characters and elements of a supernatural crime-thriller, it reminded me of something like Salems' Lot mixed with Night Vale's A Story About You/Them episodes.
The protagonist, gritty and jaded Texan ex-cop Mona Bright, helps to keep all the balls in the air going, which is a big task considering how many are in play at any given time. She's kind of like the Watson of the story, asking the questions that the audience is asking and pursuing the mystery with the same determination. Unfortunately, I don't think the author has the same confidence in the reader, as it takes Mona a long time to even broach the idea that something supernatural is going on in Wink and, when she does discover and accept it, it still takes a lot of repetition and exposition to get her to understand what the reader has probably already guessed. Granted, the book is from 2013 and I am already very familiar with the genre of cosmic horror-fantasy-sci/fi so I might have had an advantage over Mona. She is also an ex-cop/amateur detective who likes guns which automatically makes her the dumbest person in the room wherever she goes. She has charm though, thankfully, even if she's a predictable archetype.
The best characters are all the non-humans, who are a whole new kind of Lovecraftian alien that I haven't seen before. They were creatively designed and had that classic Weird Fiction vibe while feeling fresh and having their own character. They all have a lot of personality, despite their inhuman natures, especially "Mrs. Benjamin" and "Mr. Parson". I think the way they "work" got a bit overcomplicated at times and I think fewer explanations (and re-explanations) would have actually made it easier for me to get it. All the characters are fun to read though and, even when they do shitty stuff, you can't help but enjoy spending time with them. Mona especially has a lot of heart and you sympathize with her struggle and root for her despite her hard-case nature. She makes a good heart to the story, kind but a hardened badass, deeply familial, and loyal but lonely; her conflicted nature made her flaws endearing to me. She does get corny at times, but she's still fun if you're willing to get past the whole 'dad taught me to shoot and I can never love again' kind of corny.
The best part of the story is the conveyance. It was impressively skilled at worldbuilding, character, and mystery in short chapters and with a bit of subtle implication. The book is so long because of the fact that it's stuffed- and sometimes, overstuffed- with tiny arrows all pointing towards a greater thing. There are a huge number of clues and actors to keep track of and the book keeps you invested in figuring out what they mean. I would even consider the book to be more of a supernatural mystery than a cosmic fantasy-horror. That same deft touch does make it more frustrating when Mona needs to have things constantly repeated to her and I think the book would have been, like, 12% better if she just learned to read the room. Once a dumb cop though, always a dumb cop, I guess.
I would definitely agree with Novelist here and say that, if you like Night Vale, you will probably like this too. Even if you don't like Night Vale and enjoy a good mystery and good fantasy storytelling though, you'll probably still like it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicide, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment
Minor: Racism, Pregnancy
This is a cosmic science-fiction with horror elements in the lovecraftian tradition, so expect a certain degree of existential/cosmic horror, frightening imagery, and absurdist horror.
Lots of action scenes that include guns, blood, loss of life, and injury. Some injuries were described in more detail than others and while they never got too grotesque there is quite a lot of violent death.
Most significantly (hidden for spoilers and suicide/infanticide/homocide) there was a mass murder-suicide involving all the human citizens of the book's main setting incited by them all witnessing a cosmic horror. Children are killed by their parents, spouses kill one another, and there is lots of detail about methods/means which ranged from self-mutilation to gunshot wounds to carbon monoxide.
There is some discussion of bigotry and fascistic hierarchy, a heavy focus on complicated/toxic maternal relationships, some drug abuse/use, insanity, psychosis, and altered states of mind, and a few mentions of sexual content (including a brief scene that suggests that a character was considering raping the protagonist, a woman of color, at gunpoint. He is unsuccessful, she escapes from him, then beats him up and -later- kills him.).
There is also a romantic relationship between a human teenaged girl and a potentially ancient and nearly omnipotent alien who communicates psychically with her. This relationship is implied to have a sexual element to it as well. The main character regards this relationship with disgust and compares it to abusive relationships she's seen in the past but there we never see any explicit abuse take place. The alien character is one of the protagonists' allies and likable and seems to genuinely care for her but their relationship is complicated by the fact that her parents have essentially sacrificed her chance at a normal life so they can live comfortably in a town controlled by aliens. She also doesn't seem to reciprocate their feelings quite as much and seems uncomfortable when the topic comes up. Its difficult to read her real feelings on the matter.
If you are a reader of Stephen King or similar, you will not be too far outside of your comfort zone (aside, perhaps, from the scene hidden above).