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cmcrockford's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A really strong gritty horror thriller about cycles of violence that luckily also features descriptions worthy of an 80s gore fest and cosmic horror both. Also a biker gang is featured, always cool.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Death, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Grief, Medical trauma, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Violence, Alcohol, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Blood, Body horror, Gore, and Torture
archaicrobin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Two siblings, Jonah and Nell, that have many, many issues, decide to go on a road trip together on the way back to their dad’s house in New Mexico. On the way, they get on the bad side of some murderous bikers for absolutely no reasons before stumbling upon some otherworldly entity out in the desert, lots of chaos and confusion ensues.
Lyons is a good writer, he has strong prose and he’s very creative but his characters and plots always fall short for me. In this novel as well as in his previous novel, the characters are always unlikeable and behave in ways that are either confusing, or unbelievable. Every interaction between Jonah and Nell was cringy with over the top, dramatic, and unrealistic dialogue dripping with forced emotion. I’m told these too are close but I don’t feel it, they say I love you to each other far too much and it feels like someone attempting to write a sibling relationship without any understanding of what those bonds are like. In addition to the weird relationship, the characters themselves just suck. They’re both immature, neither of them can communicate, they’re both losers, and they’re both apparently expert brawlers that can perform aerobic fight sequences at the drop of a hat like a scene from Kill Bill, which brings me to my other issue. The Plot.
I honestly can’t tell you what the plot is here. Was it about mending their relationship? Beating up bikers? Possession? Otherworldly gods? Being on the run? The dangers of Christianity and mass religion? I honestly don’t know. There were so many plot lines going on, none of them really interesting or well done, so in the end I was dying for the book to just END. This occurred in his first novel as well, it seems like he has so many ideas that he tries to incorporate them all, causing his story to become fractured and tedious.
Personally I would not recommend this. It’s not a good sibling story, it’s not a good thriller, it’s not a good supernatural horror, and it’s not even a good eldritch story. It tries to be too many things and ends up failing at them all. If you’re looking for a Cosmo horror, set in the desert where weird gods are buried I’d recommend American Elsewhere and steer clear of this one.
Lyons is a good writer, he has strong prose and he’s very creative but his characters and plots always fall short for me. In this novel as well as in his previous novel, the characters are always unlikeable and behave in ways that are either confusing, or unbelievable. Every interaction between Jonah and Nell was cringy with over the top, dramatic, and unrealistic dialogue dripping with forced emotion. I’m told these too are close but I don’t feel it, they say I love you to each other far too much and it feels like someone attempting to write a sibling relationship without any understanding of what those bonds are like. In addition to the weird relationship, the characters themselves just suck. They’re both immature, neither of them can communicate, they’re both losers, and they’re both apparently expert brawlers that can perform aerobic fight sequences at the drop of a hat like a scene from Kill Bill, which brings me to my other issue. The Plot.
I honestly can’t tell you what the plot is here. Was it about mending their relationship? Beating up bikers? Possession? Otherworldly gods? Being on the run? The dangers of Christianity and mass religion? I honestly don’t know. There were so many plot lines going on, none of them really interesting or well done, so in the end I was dying for the book to just END. This occurred in his first novel as well, it seems like he has so many ideas that he tries to incorporate them all, causing his story to become fractured and tedious.
Personally I would not recommend this. It’s not a good sibling story, it’s not a good thriller, it’s not a good supernatural horror, and it’s not even a good eldritch story. It tries to be too many things and ends up failing at them all. If you’re looking for a Cosmo horror, set in the desert where weird gods are buried I’d recommend American Elsewhere and steer clear of this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Gun violence, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Death, and Gore
kermit_the_wrong's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Gore, Murder, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, and Death
Moderate: Medical content
fungivibes's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Car accident, Gun violence, Death, Blood, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
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