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pepper_le_puck's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
princessleopard's review against another edition
4.0
I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Actual rating: 4.25 stars
This novel was a fun read! A good chunk of it had me genuinely on the edge of my seat wondering what the heck was happening to these people. I definitely found the "past" plotline much more interesting than the "present." The "past" had stronger characters, more compelling action, more mystery (imo), and I was way more concerned for the fates of the characters, given they had both the plague and more mundane evil to contend with. The "present" sections were interesting, they just weren't quite as compelling.
I think the ending might be divisive for readers who want something more grounded, but I still enjoyed it. Overall, a good read.
Actual rating: 4.25 stars
This novel was a fun read! A good chunk of it had me genuinely on the edge of my seat wondering what the heck was happening to these people. I definitely found the "past" plotline much more interesting than the "present." The "past" had stronger characters, more compelling action, more mystery (imo), and I was way more concerned for the fates of the characters, given they had both the plague and more mundane evil to contend with. The "present" sections were interesting, they just weren't quite as compelling.
I think the ending might be divisive for readers who want something more grounded, but I still enjoyed it. Overall, a good read.
abibliophagist's review against another edition
4.0
I would argue this might be closer to a 4.5.
Thank you Jamie Killen for reaching out to me and offering me the opportunity to read this in exchange for a review. Now, I've had numerous authors reach out after my angry review of "Book of the Unnamed Midwife" and ask for a review. The whole "I see you hated this, maybe you'll like this". I always get nervous about these, as that book made me really mad haha. But this is the first of those that actually surprised me.
This book was exquisitely written, it's no Atwood, Le Guin or Butler. But it was solid. I honestly can't complain terribly in regard to the writing. The pacing was spot on, I read it quickly and looked forward to reading it, pulling it up on my phone whenever I had a moment. It always ended a section in a way that made me eager to read the next, the epitome of "just one more chapter". I wanted to finish it, not because I started it and I refuse to DNF, but because I honestly wanted to see where it was going. The characters were interesting, a little samey and flat, but interesting and unique enough to make them believable.
This story flips back and forth between the past and the present. Showing the events of an event when it first happens, and the repercussions of said event and the event of it beginning to happen again. Very Oryx and Crake style, which is my favorite book of all time. It starts in the 1960s in Arizona, a tiny community of mainly miners and workers. A Mexican Irish girl name Anza seeks out an old friend of her late mother to deal with her.. situation. A sexually active girl situation. During her consultation, a weather event happens, hail begins falling, but it's red, leaving gross red mush everywhere. It comes quickly and leaves quickly and the community has a "that's weird moment" and moves on. However, within the week, people begin exhibiting strange things. Similar to seizures they start just naming what's around them while zoned out, then they start having movement issues, freezing in contorted positions for long periods of time.
Then we have the present. A student working on his dissertation that focuses on the events of that community, in a loving relationship with the grandson of someone from that town. A single mom, singer, bartender, who also is a descendant. The issue is that though this event in the 60s stopped as suddenly as it started, these descendants are beginning to exhibit the same symptoms, the naming, the statuing, etc. The 60s event ended in bloodshed so what will happen now? The present effected come together to try and figure out just what happened in the past to see if they can solve the present.
The book then switched from the past to the present, showing the events that lead to racial tension and bloodshed, in a very realistic way. As the sickness spreads, people blame the Mexican community, they turn to the church, which breeds even more discontent and spreads even more suspicion and violence. Anza, a Priest, and her late mother's friend take on the task of investigating the sickness as you would with any sickness, interviewing, investigating and gathering all the information they can. What they discover is intense, and things get weirder and weirder. Weird bugs are popping up, the coyotes are acting strange, even the birds. What illness would only affect Men, and Women under 50, and why is it not affecting Anza? What illness would affect the animals and cause cacti to grow in unnatural ways?
The stories collide by the finale when the present meets the past in a finale that offer's us the author's interesting and believable solution, one that a poor author would butcher and would come out terribly. Whatever the solution is, it's in Galina, the small town where all this began on the day of the Red Hail.
The fact that I didn't spoil or go into depth means a lot to me. I do that to books I dislike so much I don't mind spoiling. But I want you to read this and come up with your own opinion. The author succeeded in making everything believable, no matter how out there. They made me on edge and relieved, they built up and delivered. The only thing I can argue is that the modern characters fell flat in comparison to the characters from the past, I didn't care about them nearly as much as the past ones. The author used a reverse technique of cliffhanger, the future hinting at major events in the past that made me look forward to the chapters in the past perspective that would tell me what exactly happened. At times eerie, at times mundane, but never boring. This book really brought something new to the table. Something I was excited to read and left satisfied at the end. It was a character study, anthropology, rather than a Michael Bay film and it worked. It kept it's pace, slow but sweet for the whole book and made me feel like I was solving the mystery as the characters did. It felt well researched and well planned. I very much look forward to what Jamie Killen writes next. While it won't usurp my current favorites, it was well worth the read, interesting, unique and really really satisfied me. Writing this review the same day I write a scathing review of another book makes me super sad that that book has more reviews, more people read it, and liked it, even though it was bad. This book deserves way more attention. I hope it gets the recognition it deserves over time. I won't lie though, I want to re-illustrate that cover, as I'd never pick this up in a store, but I'm picky and judgy (Illustration Professor right here). If I had cared a little more about the present characters this book would have the potential of really sticking with me. So please, if you're on the fence, read it!
Thank you Jamie Killen for reaching out to me and offering me the opportunity to read this in exchange for a review. Now, I've had numerous authors reach out after my angry review of "Book of the Unnamed Midwife" and ask for a review. The whole "I see you hated this, maybe you'll like this". I always get nervous about these, as that book made me really mad haha. But this is the first of those that actually surprised me.
This book was exquisitely written, it's no Atwood, Le Guin or Butler. But it was solid. I honestly can't complain terribly in regard to the writing. The pacing was spot on, I read it quickly and looked forward to reading it, pulling it up on my phone whenever I had a moment. It always ended a section in a way that made me eager to read the next, the epitome of "just one more chapter". I wanted to finish it, not because I started it and I refuse to DNF, but because I honestly wanted to see where it was going. The characters were interesting, a little samey and flat, but interesting and unique enough to make them believable.
This story flips back and forth between the past and the present. Showing the events of an event when it first happens, and the repercussions of said event and the event of it beginning to happen again. Very Oryx and Crake style, which is my favorite book of all time. It starts in the 1960s in Arizona, a tiny community of mainly miners and workers. A Mexican Irish girl name Anza seeks out an old friend of her late mother to deal with her.. situation. A sexually active girl situation. During her consultation, a weather event happens, hail begins falling, but it's red, leaving gross red mush everywhere. It comes quickly and leaves quickly and the community has a "that's weird moment" and moves on. However, within the week, people begin exhibiting strange things. Similar to seizures they start just naming what's around them while zoned out, then they start having movement issues, freezing in contorted positions for long periods of time.
Then we have the present. A student working on his dissertation that focuses on the events of that community, in a loving relationship with the grandson of someone from that town. A single mom, singer, bartender, who also is a descendant. The issue is that though this event in the 60s stopped as suddenly as it started, these descendants are beginning to exhibit the same symptoms, the naming, the statuing, etc. The 60s event ended in bloodshed so what will happen now? The present effected come together to try and figure out just what happened in the past to see if they can solve the present.
The book then switched from the past to the present, showing the events that lead to racial tension and bloodshed, in a very realistic way. As the sickness spreads, people blame the Mexican community, they turn to the church, which breeds even more discontent and spreads even more suspicion and violence. Anza, a Priest, and her late mother's friend take on the task of investigating the sickness as you would with any sickness, interviewing, investigating and gathering all the information they can. What they discover is intense, and things get weirder and weirder. Weird bugs are popping up, the coyotes are acting strange, even the birds. What illness would only affect Men, and Women under 50, and why is it not affecting Anza? What illness would affect the animals and cause cacti to grow in unnatural ways?
The stories collide by the finale when the present meets the past in a finale that offer's us the author's interesting and believable solution, one that a poor author would butcher and would come out terribly. Whatever the solution is, it's in Galina, the small town where all this began on the day of the Red Hail.
The fact that I didn't spoil or go into depth means a lot to me. I do that to books I dislike so much I don't mind spoiling. But I want you to read this and come up with your own opinion. The author succeeded in making everything believable, no matter how out there. They made me on edge and relieved, they built up and delivered. The only thing I can argue is that the modern characters fell flat in comparison to the characters from the past, I didn't care about them nearly as much as the past ones. The author used a reverse technique of cliffhanger, the future hinting at major events in the past that made me look forward to the chapters in the past perspective that would tell me what exactly happened. At times eerie, at times mundane, but never boring. This book really brought something new to the table. Something I was excited to read and left satisfied at the end. It was a character study, anthropology, rather than a Michael Bay film and it worked. It kept it's pace, slow but sweet for the whole book and made me feel like I was solving the mystery as the characters did. It felt well researched and well planned. I very much look forward to what Jamie Killen writes next. While it won't usurp my current favorites, it was well worth the read, interesting, unique and really really satisfied me. Writing this review the same day I write a scathing review of another book makes me super sad that that book has more reviews, more people read it, and liked it, even though it was bad. This book deserves way more attention. I hope it gets the recognition it deserves over time. I won't lie though, I want to re-illustrate that cover, as I'd never pick this up in a store, but I'm picky and judgy (Illustration Professor right here). If I had cared a little more about the present characters this book would have the potential of really sticking with me. So please, if you're on the fence, read it!
mishalleneous_451's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Speculative fiction with themes of the other; social responses to an unknown phenomenon; critical thinking over prejudice.
fruityloo's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
jmeyers888's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
devirtualized's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Pandemic/Epidemic, Racism, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Cancer and Death of parent
jenmat1197's review against another edition
3.0
This is a story that starts in 1960 with a small town of Galina. A mysterious illness has taken over several people in the town after a red hail fell. People start staring and repeating words of objects around them. Then they become statues in weird positions. Then they start to speak as if they are answering questions. The town is frightened, and as more people fall victim of this illness, two groups form. Those who want to find out what is causing it and those who believe that God has brought these among a certain group on purpose.
The other half of the book takes place in 2020 where people who have decendents from Galina start to show symptoms that occured in 1960. As a group of researchers try to figure out the mystery, the reason for the illness comes to light.
Both groups race to figure out if this will spread or if it will stop. And both groups are surprised to figure out the reason.
This was a fair book. I love a good mystery/supernatural story. I was drawn in to the idea and curious where it was leading. In the end, it was just okay. It was pretty well written, but endings are always tricky and this one was just so/so. Not sorry I picked it up though - it was entertaining.
Stars: 3.5
The other half of the book takes place in 2020 where people who have decendents from Galina start to show symptoms that occured in 1960. As a group of researchers try to figure out the mystery, the reason for the illness comes to light.
Both groups race to figure out if this will spread or if it will stop. And both groups are surprised to figure out the reason.
This was a fair book. I love a good mystery/supernatural story. I was drawn in to the idea and curious where it was leading. In the end, it was just okay. It was pretty well written, but endings are always tricky and this one was just so/so. Not sorry I picked it up though - it was entertaining.
Stars: 3.5
blomil's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
bogstandard mystery told in the most boring way possible
roshreviews's review against another edition
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
In a Nutshell: Have you ever read a fictional work that reads like it's based on facts despite its outlandish plot? This is one! As long as you don't overanalyse this indie novel, it offers a wild and creepy ride. A good mix of sci-fi, mystery, and psychological thriller. Enjoyed most of it.
Story Synopsis:
Sixty years ago in 1960, a scary illness swept through the small town of Galina in Arizona, apparently beginning with a mysterious red hail. Not only were the symptoms strange, but they also had no apparent resolution. The onset created communal tensions between the whites and those of Mexican origin. The authorities dismissed the whole affair as a case of mass hysteria, and the plague remained out of public sight and mind.
Now, in 2020, Colin, a sociology professor, has been researching the Galina Plague as the subject of his dissertation when his partner Alonzo falls ill. To Colin’s utter horror, Alonzo begins demonstrating the same symptoms as the victims of the Galina Plague. As one of the very few people who knows the strange events of the past, Colin rushes to find out what stopped the plagues in the sixties.
The book comes to us over the two timelines of 1960 and 2020, and is written in the third person perspective of some key characters, including Colin.
Bookish Yays:
😍 The first half of the book was utterly gripping, and to a certain extent, even terror-inducing. The “disease” scared the bejesus out of me. Many scenes left me jittery. I had to keep the book aside at regular intervals to relax my nerves.
(On an aside: I finally understand why Joey of FRIENDS felt like keeping his copy of ‘The Shining’ in the freezer. I might have done the same for ‘Red Hail’ had I not loved my Kindle so much!)
😍 One of my favourite experiences while reading is putting myself in the place of the characters and wondering what I would have done in such a situation. This exercise is nerve-wracking for this book, but it serves well to understand the almost-catastrophic tension faced by the inhabitants of Galina in 1960. As people who have survived a viral global pandemic, who better than we to understand what it is like to fear the unknown ailment?
😍 The suspense is well-maintained almost throughout the first 75% or so. Even though the possible source is guessable to a certain extent, the hows and whys don’t come out until the climax.
😍 The book has quite a few strong characters in the contemporary as well as historical timeline. Without going into much detail, I’ll just say that most of the main characters are strong and atypical. I especially loved the female characters. Anza, Sonia and Dove all don’t fit into traditional roles and are major catalysts in this tale. (As a mother, I could feel Sonia’s pain to my core.) The quirky combo of teenaged Anza, gutsy Dove and pragmatic Fr. Santiago makes for an interesting team of epidemiological investigators.
😍 For a change, both the timelines are powerful enough on their own merit and work in tandem to reveal the secrets. This is the first time I have seen two distinct timelines function so well as two halves of the same picture. There is a perfect synchronicity between the timelines, and each supports the book equally without spoiling the fun of the other era.
😍 The book covers quite a few strong themes such as racism, homophobia, religious fanaticism, xenophobia, and fatalism. While each of these is intense, the book never felt like it went over the top in its approach of these topics.
😍 Alonzo and Colin are homosexual partners, and there is another homosexual pair in the 1960s. While the latter felt a bit too convenient to the book, I loved the portrayal of the contemporary pair. Their new relationship, their banter, their love, their struggles and their struggle to accept what’s happening – every aspect of their life comes across realistically.
😍 There are priests of two religious orders in the book. The evangelical one is the usual fire-and-brimstone spouting hack who does everything possible to prove God’s avenging hand in the new disease. The Jesuit priest is the more practical fellow who doesn’t let go of his faith but is still open-minded about the possible causes, and doesn’t push God into every conversation. As a Christian who is a staunch opponent of evangelical malpractices, I loved this depiction. I also appreciate how it highlighted the difference in the approach across varied Christian denominations. (I am fed up of people who presume all Christians to have the same malevolent intentions.)
Bookish Mixed Bags:
😐 While I did like the resolution, I can’t help feeling like it was too smooth and too tame, especially after the originality of the first half. That said, I must appreciate the unusual source of the “cause”. It is not an angle commonly taken in this genre.
😐 Dove is a strong character and one of a kind. Hers is the kind of woman character we dream of reading. At the same time, her character background seems to span too many diverse things. It felt like a convenient way of putting her into varied situations without much question. I also would have loved to know her age. This might not be a problem for everyone, but for key characters, I like having a rough idea of how to picture them in my head. Dove seems to be anywhere between 40 to 65, too wide an age range for my comfort.
😐 The fictional Galina, Arizona (probably based on Galena, Arizona) is used fairly well in the story. The small town setting is utilised to highlight the closeness and familiarity of the neighbours while still depicting the underlying hostility between the whites and the Mexicans. At the same time, the natural features of the desert-mountain landscape could have been used even better to enhance the eeriness of the events. The heat, the sand, the distances between the houses, the mesa, all were great elements that could have heightened the tension more.
😐 The book goes ahead at a mostly steady pace, not too fast to rush over key elements and not too slow as to create boredom. However, while the first half kept me gripped, the second half’s slackened action makes the events feel a bit repetitive and dragged.
Bookish Nays:
😒 There are some plot holes, though admittedly, these will only pop up if you go over every events with a fine-toothed comb. There are also some gaps in the events at the end. While we can fill in some of the blanks, I would have loved for the plot to seal the entire story properly.
😒 Some of the secondary characters are quite clichéd.
All in all, I did have a lot of fun with this book, until my mind started popping up the queries and I realised that I didn’t have all the answers. So this is the kind of book you ought not overanalyse. It is an imaginative entertainer, and if you read it with the right spirit, you will have a great time being creeped out.
4 stars. (It was a strong 4.5 stars until the first half, and that saved the overall rating. The second half kept swinging between 3.5-4 stars.)
My thanks to author Jamie Killen for providing me with a complimentary copy of “Red Hail”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
Story Synopsis:
Sixty years ago in 1960, a scary illness swept through the small town of Galina in Arizona, apparently beginning with a mysterious red hail. Not only were the symptoms strange, but they also had no apparent resolution. The onset created communal tensions between the whites and those of Mexican origin. The authorities dismissed the whole affair as a case of mass hysteria, and the plague remained out of public sight and mind.
Now, in 2020, Colin, a sociology professor, has been researching the Galina Plague as the subject of his dissertation when his partner Alonzo falls ill. To Colin’s utter horror, Alonzo begins demonstrating the same symptoms as the victims of the Galina Plague. As one of the very few people who knows the strange events of the past, Colin rushes to find out what stopped the plagues in the sixties.
The book comes to us over the two timelines of 1960 and 2020, and is written in the third person perspective of some key characters, including Colin.
Bookish Yays:
😍 The first half of the book was utterly gripping, and to a certain extent, even terror-inducing. The “disease” scared the bejesus out of me. Many scenes left me jittery. I had to keep the book aside at regular intervals to relax my nerves.
(On an aside: I finally understand why Joey of FRIENDS felt like keeping his copy of ‘The Shining’ in the freezer. I might have done the same for ‘Red Hail’ had I not loved my Kindle so much!)
😍 One of my favourite experiences while reading is putting myself in the place of the characters and wondering what I would have done in such a situation. This exercise is nerve-wracking for this book, but it serves well to understand the almost-catastrophic tension faced by the inhabitants of Galina in 1960. As people who have survived a viral global pandemic, who better than we to understand what it is like to fear the unknown ailment?
😍 The suspense is well-maintained almost throughout the first 75% or so. Even though the possible source is guessable to a certain extent, the hows and whys don’t come out until the climax.
😍 The book has quite a few strong characters in the contemporary as well as historical timeline. Without going into much detail, I’ll just say that most of the main characters are strong and atypical. I especially loved the female characters. Anza, Sonia and Dove all don’t fit into traditional roles and are major catalysts in this tale. (As a mother, I could feel Sonia’s pain to my core.) The quirky combo of teenaged Anza, gutsy Dove and pragmatic Fr. Santiago makes for an interesting team of epidemiological investigators.
😍 For a change, both the timelines are powerful enough on their own merit and work in tandem to reveal the secrets. This is the first time I have seen two distinct timelines function so well as two halves of the same picture. There is a perfect synchronicity between the timelines, and each supports the book equally without spoiling the fun of the other era.
😍 The book covers quite a few strong themes such as racism, homophobia, religious fanaticism, xenophobia, and fatalism. While each of these is intense, the book never felt like it went over the top in its approach of these topics.
😍 Alonzo and Colin are homosexual partners, and there is another homosexual pair in the 1960s. While the latter felt a bit too convenient to the book, I loved the portrayal of the contemporary pair. Their new relationship, their banter, their love, their struggles and their struggle to accept what’s happening – every aspect of their life comes across realistically.
😍 There are priests of two religious orders in the book. The evangelical one is the usual fire-and-brimstone spouting hack who does everything possible to prove God’s avenging hand in the new disease. The Jesuit priest is the more practical fellow who doesn’t let go of his faith but is still open-minded about the possible causes, and doesn’t push God into every conversation. As a Christian who is a staunch opponent of evangelical malpractices, I loved this depiction. I also appreciate how it highlighted the difference in the approach across varied Christian denominations. (I am fed up of people who presume all Christians to have the same malevolent intentions.)
Bookish Mixed Bags:
😐 While I did like the resolution, I can’t help feeling like it was too smooth and too tame, especially after the originality of the first half. That said, I must appreciate the unusual source of the “cause”. It is not an angle commonly taken in this genre.
😐 Dove is a strong character and one of a kind. Hers is the kind of woman character we dream of reading. At the same time, her character background seems to span too many diverse things. It felt like a convenient way of putting her into varied situations without much question. I also would have loved to know her age. This might not be a problem for everyone, but for key characters, I like having a rough idea of how to picture them in my head. Dove seems to be anywhere between 40 to 65, too wide an age range for my comfort.
😐 The fictional Galina, Arizona (probably based on Galena, Arizona) is used fairly well in the story. The small town setting is utilised to highlight the closeness and familiarity of the neighbours while still depicting the underlying hostility between the whites and the Mexicans. At the same time, the natural features of the desert-mountain landscape could have been used even better to enhance the eeriness of the events. The heat, the sand, the distances between the houses, the mesa, all were great elements that could have heightened the tension more.
😐 The book goes ahead at a mostly steady pace, not too fast to rush over key elements and not too slow as to create boredom. However, while the first half kept me gripped, the second half’s slackened action makes the events feel a bit repetitive and dragged.
Bookish Nays:
😒 There are some plot holes, though admittedly, these will only pop up if you go over every events with a fine-toothed comb. There are also some gaps in the events at the end. While we can fill in some of the blanks, I would have loved for the plot to seal the entire story properly.
😒 Some of the secondary characters are quite clichéd.
All in all, I did have a lot of fun with this book, until my mind started popping up the queries and I realised that I didn’t have all the answers. So this is the kind of book you ought not overanalyse. It is an imaginative entertainer, and if you read it with the right spirit, you will have a great time being creeped out.
4 stars. (It was a strong 4.5 stars until the first half, and that saved the overall rating. The second half kept swinging between 3.5-4 stars.)
My thanks to author Jamie Killen for providing me with a complimentary copy of “Red Hail”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.