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stinsylinson's review against another edition
2.0
I think this is my first trek into the horror romance genre. It was an easy read, but I didn't really love it. It wasn't horror enough or romantic enough. Although, the end did give me a valid reason why it felt so 'surface-level' I suppose. The end also gives you a lot to think about. At one point our narrator called his first wife Prudence, not Patience...and those kind of errors really stick out to me and nag at my brain.
thee_eclectic_eccentric's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Murder, Blood, Domestic abuse, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Racism, Drug use, and Racial slurs
Minor: Suicide
raforall's review against another edition
5.0
This is an example of a book giving me so much more than I expected. And this is saying a lot because I really like this author. CARETAKER OF LORNE FIELD [same author] is one of my all time favorite horror novels. Like HUSK it is literary fiction as much as horror. Zeltserman refers to that book in Husk and I loved that. [My review from when I first read Caretaker: https://raforallhorror.blogspot.com/2011/02/what-im-reading-caretaker-of-lorne.html]
But back to HUSK, I'm using the sound bite line for this novel and saying "It's as if Paul Tremblay wrote the DEXTER series." I bet I have your attention now.
The plot summary gives you the basics of what happens. You learn real quickly that Charlie belongs to a race of humans that can only stomach human flesh; they need it to survive. His job for his clan is to bring back bodies, but as the novel opens, he abandons everything for Julie.
But while this novel is a tale of a monster living among us, trying to fit in [clumsily] and Charlie is a boarding romantic hero, the novel is so much more.
First of all Charlie is so likable, yet he is a monster...literally. Talk about flawed protagonist.
Also, this sounds like a far fetched story, but somehow it is utterly original, compelling, and so thought provoking. I don't want to give much away with details because reading it was chilling, and not just because Charlie is a killer. What this story reveals about society, family, human nature, modern life, the trials of being undocumented...is so amazing. And it is all wrapped up in a well paced, compelling storyline.
This is a quick read, but one you will think about for a long time afterwards. Plus, the Husker details are so chillingly realistic. It makes me wonder who else is living off the grid in the woods. Yikes.
There is very little detail of violence here. There is violence and characters do die, but because Charlie is describing it all and he is dispassionate about killing people for food, it is described without much detail or emotion.
Oh yeah, that's important too. All of this book is in Charlie's first person voice. He is telling, us the reader the story, but that is all I will say about that.
Three Words That Describe This Book: anxiety, thought provoking, unreliable narrator
Last line makes the entire book. Seriously brilliant. I was getting worried as the book was coming to a close that there was no way he could finish this book satisfyingly. Well, I was 100% wrong. Just perfect and totally makes the anxiety ratchet up another notch and
Readalikes: Paul Tremblay- because both authors write books that are horror with high anxiety and dread, but not a lot of gore. Their novels are also thought provoking looks at human nature at their cores. High anxiety, literary fiction styles, character focused, with open endings that wrap things up, but leave it up to the reader to decide what to believe.
The Warm Bodies series by Issac Marion is a more literal readalike [sentient zombie who fall in love with a human]
BREATHERS A ZOMBIE'S LAMENT by Browne [which I reviewed here: https://raforall.blogspot.com/2009/06/what-im-reading-breathers-zombies.html] is another thought provoking look at a zombie trying to pass in a world of humans. While Charlie is not a zombie, he is a monster.
But the series that most captures the feel of HUSK, how we are drawn to this killer character, and how we are manipulated by the author to sympathize with a monster reminded me of the Dexter series by Lindsay. This is a perfect read alike for people who loved that series [in print or on TV] and are looking for similar reads.
But back to HUSK, I'm using the sound bite line for this novel and saying "It's as if Paul Tremblay wrote the DEXTER series." I bet I have your attention now.
The plot summary gives you the basics of what happens. You learn real quickly that Charlie belongs to a race of humans that can only stomach human flesh; they need it to survive. His job for his clan is to bring back bodies, but as the novel opens, he abandons everything for Julie.
But while this novel is a tale of a monster living among us, trying to fit in [clumsily] and Charlie is a boarding romantic hero, the novel is so much more.
First of all Charlie is so likable, yet he is a monster...literally. Talk about flawed protagonist.
Also, this sounds like a far fetched story, but somehow it is utterly original, compelling, and so thought provoking. I don't want to give much away with details because reading it was chilling, and not just because Charlie is a killer. What this story reveals about society, family, human nature, modern life, the trials of being undocumented...is so amazing. And it is all wrapped up in a well paced, compelling storyline.
This is a quick read, but one you will think about for a long time afterwards. Plus, the Husker details are so chillingly realistic. It makes me wonder who else is living off the grid in the woods. Yikes.
There is very little detail of violence here. There is violence and characters do die, but because Charlie is describing it all and he is dispassionate about killing people for food, it is described without much detail or emotion.
Oh yeah, that's important too. All of this book is in Charlie's first person voice. He is telling, us the reader the story, but that is all I will say about that.
Three Words That Describe This Book: anxiety, thought provoking, unreliable narrator
Last line makes the entire book. Seriously brilliant. I was getting worried as the book was coming to a close that there was no way he could finish this book satisfyingly. Well, I was 100% wrong. Just perfect and totally makes the anxiety ratchet up another notch and
Readalikes: Paul Tremblay- because both authors write books that are horror with high anxiety and dread, but not a lot of gore. Their novels are also thought provoking looks at human nature at their cores. High anxiety, literary fiction styles, character focused, with open endings that wrap things up, but leave it up to the reader to decide what to believe.
The Warm Bodies series by Issac Marion is a more literal readalike [sentient zombie who fall in love with a human]
BREATHERS A ZOMBIE'S LAMENT by Browne [which I reviewed here: https://raforall.blogspot.com/2009/06/what-im-reading-breathers-zombies.html] is another thought provoking look at a zombie trying to pass in a world of humans. While Charlie is not a zombie, he is a monster.
But the series that most captures the feel of HUSK, how we are drawn to this killer character, and how we are manipulated by the author to sympathize with a monster reminded me of the Dexter series by Lindsay. This is a perfect read alike for people who loved that series [in print or on TV] and are looking for similar reads.
lauriereadslohf's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
3.0
I have about 4 old Netgalley titles left on my dash that I need to clear out and I peeked at the reviews of them trying to decide what I wanted to read next. This one had several comments about it being a horror romance. Lots of folks think that is a bad thing and that’s ok because we’re all different. Horror romance blends are one of my favorite things, however! So I went in hoping they weren’t leading me astray.
Charlie Husk tells this story. He’s a young person (creature?) who is tasked with bringing back meat for his clan. You can guess what the meat is, right? He’s equipped with a van and burlap bags and has his routine down until the moment he witnesses a cute blonde - one of <i>them</I> - arguing with a man who ditches her at a rest stop. It should be easy pickin’s for him but he instantly goes all goo-goo eyed over Jill for some reason and instead of throwing her in a bag, he decides to drive her home and even he is confused as to why he does it. During the ride to NY he falls head over heels in the dreaded (if you’re me) insta-love. Ugh, not the insta-love *forever cries in frustration*. I kind of hate it but occasionally it turns out well and I’m able to go with the flow. Unfortunately, the romance part of this story did not work for me because we’re told this story through Charlie’s first person POV only and we never get to know what Jill is thinking at all. In fact, she rarely speaks early on. There is zero chemistry, banter or any of that sweet falling in love sort of feeling that I love to experience. Why is he in love? WHO KNOWS. It’s a little creepy and stalkery even though Charlie’s intentions are sweetly old-fashioned and terribly misguided. So as a romance this was a bit of a dud for me but I’ve read a LOT of romances and I’m super picky about them now.
Anyhow, most of this book is about Charlie trying to fit into Jill’s world. Looking for work in a world that demands a social security number and a birth certificate which he doesn’t have because his clan lives off the grid. This story portrays the struggle of an undocumented person very well and you feel for him because he has skills that he cannot use and has to take a shitty job with a shitty boss who cheats him. It’ll make you a little ragey, most likely. It made me a little ragey but I should probably say that a lot of things make me a little ragey right about now..
I contemplated quitting this book at about the halfway mark because to be honest I was finding it too slow, too mundane and the romance too one-sided but then some things started to happen. I’m not going to tell you about these things because SPOILERS. This is not an over the top gory book by any means but there is a strong sense of menace simmering behind many of the interactions that is done incredibly well. I kept going back to it for that reason and because I did find Charlie strangely endearing. Especially because he is not wrong. Some humans do deserve to be stuffed in the burlap bag 😹!
In the end, I ended up liking this book more than I thought I would after the first half or so. It’s worth a read if you want something a little different.
<i>This is a review of my personal reading experience. Yours may differ. Don't be blaming me if it does!</i>
Charlie Husk tells this story. He’s a young person (creature?) who is tasked with bringing back meat for his clan. You can guess what the meat is, right? He’s equipped with a van and burlap bags and has his routine down until the moment he witnesses a cute blonde - one of <i>them</I> - arguing with a man who ditches her at a rest stop. It should be easy pickin’s for him but he instantly goes all goo-goo eyed over Jill for some reason and instead of throwing her in a bag, he decides to drive her home and even he is confused as to why he does it. During the ride to NY he falls head over heels in the dreaded (if you’re me) insta-love. Ugh, not the insta-love *forever cries in frustration*. I kind of hate it but occasionally it turns out well and I’m able to go with the flow. Unfortunately, the romance part of this story did not work for me because we’re told this story through Charlie’s first person POV only and we never get to know what Jill is thinking at all. In fact, she rarely speaks early on. There is zero chemistry, banter or any of that sweet falling in love sort of feeling that I love to experience. Why is he in love? WHO KNOWS. It’s a little creepy and stalkery even though Charlie’s intentions are sweetly old-fashioned and terribly misguided. So as a romance this was a bit of a dud for me but I’ve read a LOT of romances and I’m super picky about them now.
Anyhow, most of this book is about Charlie trying to fit into Jill’s world. Looking for work in a world that demands a social security number and a birth certificate which he doesn’t have because his clan lives off the grid. This story portrays the struggle of an undocumented person very well and you feel for him because he has skills that he cannot use and has to take a shitty job with a shitty boss who cheats him. It’ll make you a little ragey, most likely. It made me a little ragey but I should probably say that a lot of things make me a little ragey right about now..
I contemplated quitting this book at about the halfway mark because to be honest I was finding it too slow, too mundane and the romance too one-sided but then some things started to happen. I’m not going to tell you about these things because SPOILERS. This is not an over the top gory book by any means but there is a strong sense of menace simmering behind many of the interactions that is done incredibly well. I kept going back to it for that reason and because I did find Charlie strangely endearing. Especially because he is not wrong. Some humans do deserve to be stuffed in the burlap bag 😹!
In the end, I ended up liking this book more than I thought I would after the first half or so. It’s worth a read if you want something a little different.
<i>This is a review of my personal reading experience. Yours may differ. Don't be blaming me if it does!</i>
findingmontauk1's review against another edition
4.0
Husk by Dave Zeltserman opens up with a young man on the prowl for some meat to bring back to his clan. Little do we know that the meat he is looking for is that of a living human and he's stalking the rest areas off the interstate. CANNIBALS! Le gasp! But what happens when he unexpectedly falls in love with one of the potential victims and decides to assimilate to a new life void of his clan's diet, background, and rituals?
At the beginning we get lots of uncomfortable talks about how someone looks like there "is not enough meat on the bones" or "how much meat can we trim off them." There are jokes about skinning people alive and more. At this point, the book could go one of two ways: it could become a gore fest of slaughtering/skinning people alive and eating them OR it could go the way it did.
I WAS looking forward to lots of gore, but I actually enjoyed the route the story went. Our protagonist was trying to assimilate to the real world, fight off his cravings, and escape the ways of his clan. He fell in love and it was fun watching him learn about the ways of the real world in the landscape of New York City. There were a couple scenes that gave me enough gore to keep MY cravings at bay!
This book gets 4 out of 5 stars from me and I am thankful to NetGalley and Severn House Publishers for the advance copy. Crittically acclaimed author Paul Tremblay is quoted as saying this about Husk: "Dave Zeltserman’s Husk is a compelling, quirky, twisty, smart, page-turner mix of horror, satire, and even a little romance with (yeah, I’ll say it) bite. A brutal love story perfect for our dark times." And I couldn't agree more!
At the beginning we get lots of uncomfortable talks about how someone looks like there "is not enough meat on the bones" or "how much meat can we trim off them." There are jokes about skinning people alive and more. At this point, the book could go one of two ways: it could become a gore fest of slaughtering/skinning people alive and eating them OR it could go the way it did.
I WAS looking forward to lots of gore, but I actually enjoyed the route the story went. Our protagonist was trying to assimilate to the real world, fight off his cravings, and escape the ways of his clan. He fell in love and it was fun watching him learn about the ways of the real world in the landscape of New York City. There were a couple scenes that gave me enough gore to keep MY cravings at bay!
This book gets 4 out of 5 stars from me and I am thankful to NetGalley and Severn House Publishers for the advance copy. Crittically acclaimed author Paul Tremblay is quoted as saying this about Husk: "Dave Zeltserman’s Husk is a compelling, quirky, twisty, smart, page-turner mix of horror, satire, and even a little romance with (yeah, I’ll say it) bite. A brutal love story perfect for our dark times." And I couldn't agree more!
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