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2.97 AVERAGE
2.97 AVERAGE
When I saw "The Vines" pop up on Netgalley, which graciously provided the review copy I was excited. A quarter of the way through the book I was still excited after an interesting and scary setup. By the end? Oooof, it went completely off the rails.
I have never read Christoper Rice before and judging by his work here, I would probably avoid him in the future. Rice writes very well, unfortunately his plotting is a disaster and when you write genre fiction, your plotting needs to be dead on target.
The Vines starts off as essentially a monster book. A rich woman slits her wrist when she discovers her husband cheating on her. This wakes up some plant based monsters that eat her husband. That's when this short book begins to go off the rails. Among the plot lines that are all wrapped up in the Vines:
1.) A slave witch and her brutal owner.
2.) The rich woman (Caitlin) and her relation to the vines and her suicide attempt.
3.) The daughter of the black groundskeeper who holds major animosity towards the racist world she grew up in.
4.) Caitlin's gay friend and the homophobic murder of his lover in years past.
5.) A major conspiracy involving said murder and nearly every character in the book.
6.) Man eating bugs that target cheating men.
It's a lot and very little of it works. Rice particularly misses when it comes to writing the black characters which seem like horrendous stereotypes. Nova and her father might as well be written as "Angry Black Girl and Uncle Tom."
It's not good. However it does get a second star because at least I finished it. I might not have enjoyed it or it's preposterous ending, but I did apparently care enough to get through it. But with so many good horror books out, this is one you can easily take a pass on.
I have never read Christoper Rice before and judging by his work here, I would probably avoid him in the future. Rice writes very well, unfortunately his plotting is a disaster and when you write genre fiction, your plotting needs to be dead on target.
The Vines starts off as essentially a monster book. A rich woman slits her wrist when she discovers her husband cheating on her. This wakes up some plant based monsters that eat her husband. That's when this short book begins to go off the rails. Among the plot lines that are all wrapped up in the Vines:
1.) A slave witch and her brutal owner.
2.) The rich woman (Caitlin) and her relation to the vines and her suicide attempt.
3.) The daughter of the black groundskeeper who holds major animosity towards the racist world she grew up in.
4.) Caitlin's gay friend and the homophobic murder of his lover in years past.
5.) A major conspiracy involving said murder and nearly every character in the book.
6.) Man eating bugs that target cheating men.
It's a lot and very little of it works. Rice particularly misses when it comes to writing the black characters which seem like horrendous stereotypes. Nova and her father might as well be written as "Angry Black Girl and Uncle Tom."
It's not good. However it does get a second star because at least I finished it. I might not have enjoyed it or it's preposterous ending, but I did apparently care enough to get through it. But with so many good horror books out, this is one you can easily take a pass on.
The Vines was a strange novel. It read quickly, (listened quickly?), and it was fun, but the whole time I felt that it was missing something .
I'm cool with plant-creatures and bugs, but I was not satisfied with the explanation for them, nor was I satisfied with the development of the characters. I especially loved Nova and while I felt she had plenty of page time, I did not feel that I got to know her as well as I would have liked. She discovered a program that a professor was putting together regarding slave narratives and I would have enjoyed learning more about that also.
A few times it seemed that the story was trying to figure out what it wanted to be. A commentary on slavery? On homosexuality? On the unfaithful? Or all of the above?
Overall, though, I did enjoy the quality of the writing and the descriptions. Even though I didn't out and out love this novel, I will try more of Mr. Rice's work in the future, because I feel like he has true writing chops and the potential to be amazing.
I'm cool with plant-creatures and bugs, but I was not satisfied with the explanation for them, nor was I satisfied with the development of the characters. I especially loved Nova and while I felt she had plenty of page time, I did not feel that I got to know her as well as I would have liked. She discovered a program that a professor was putting together regarding slave narratives and I would have enjoyed learning more about that also.
A few times it seemed that the story was trying to figure out what it wanted to be. A commentary on slavery? On homosexuality? On the unfaithful? Or all of the above?
Overall, though, I did enjoy the quality of the writing and the descriptions. Even though I didn't out and out love this novel, I will try more of Mr. Rice's work in the future, because I feel like he has true writing chops and the potential to be amazing.
From the synopsis, I thought this book would be right down my alley, but in the end it was just ok. I feel like there could've been so much more in regards to the story of a particular character and the reason the vines were the way they were. This was my first read by Christopher Rice and though it was just ok, I will not let that sway me from reading another one of his books in the future.
As a thank, you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced readers copy I shall give an honest review of this novel. After having this on my TBR for a while now I can say I have read another Christopher Rice novel. The novel had many elements for which I am familiar with his work. After reading “A Density of Souls”, and “The Snow Garden” I have been wanting something new but familiar. In this novel, Rice continued to build suspense, and drama with elements he knows so well. The Vines featured high drama, the supernatural, and somewhat science fiction. His ability to weave these elements together proved to be an entertaining endeavor and one I recommend. This is far from his other works I have read but am looking forward to seeing Rice build on what has made him successful. I give this novel a solid three stars out of five.
Christopher Rice is a brilliant author. I love everything he does, but wish he would do more writing and less of his entertaining, but not about writing jobs. (He needs to make a living like the rest of us.
Triggers: Two kinds of violence, the kind people do to people and the kind that dead people do to the living. Supernatural stuff. Spells. Slaves taking revenge on the descendants of the long dead slave owner, and then there is adultery.
The dark history of Spring House, a beautifully restored plantation mansion on the outskirts of New Orleans, has long been forgotten. But something sinister lurks beneath the soil of the old estate. After heiress and current owner Caitlin Chaisson is witness to her husband’s stunning betrayal at her birthday party, she tries to take her own life in the mansion’s cherished gazebo. Instead, the blood she spills awakens dark forces in the ground below. Chaos ensues and by morning her husband has vanished without a trace and his mistress has gone mad. Nova, daughter to Spring House?s groundskeeper, has always suspected that something malevolent haunts the old place, and in the aftermath of the birthday party she enlists Caitlin’s estranged best friend, Blake, to help her get to the bottom of it. The pair soon realizes that the vengeance enacted by this sinister and otherworldly force comes at a terrible price.
Triggers: Two kinds of violence, the kind people do to people and the kind that dead people do to the living. Supernatural stuff. Spells. Slaves taking revenge on the descendants of the long dead slave owner, and then there is adultery.
The dark history of Spring House, a beautifully restored plantation mansion on the outskirts of New Orleans, has long been forgotten. But something sinister lurks beneath the soil of the old estate. After heiress and current owner Caitlin Chaisson is witness to her husband’s stunning betrayal at her birthday party, she tries to take her own life in the mansion’s cherished gazebo. Instead, the blood she spills awakens dark forces in the ground below. Chaos ensues and by morning her husband has vanished without a trace and his mistress has gone mad. Nova, daughter to Spring House?s groundskeeper, has always suspected that something malevolent haunts the old place, and in the aftermath of the birthday party she enlists Caitlin’s estranged best friend, Blake, to help her get to the bottom of it. The pair soon realizes that the vengeance enacted by this sinister and otherworldly force comes at a terrible price.