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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
Definitely a thriller, although I feel like it took a while to really take off—once you hit that point, it's really hard (nearly impossible) to put down. (I hit 3am reading the final stretch and the only thing that stopped me from plowing through was my own good sense.)
I think the payoff for all the different storylines is fine, but to be honest, sitting through the beginnings of those storylines—mainly Salazar and Harriett's perspectives—was kind of hard since I was vastly more interested in Jess's story. Having read the ending I think everything comes together nicely and will begrudgingly admit that these perspectives were probably necessary...but I really didn't care. And I might still not. I'm not sure.
Also, note to add: this is really not horror. I'm not sure why it's categorized as such on here, other than the fact that it kind of deals with the supernatural. But I didn't even realize it was considered horror until I came on here and I am...puzzled.
I think the payoff for all the different storylines is fine, but to be honest, sitting through the beginnings of those storylines—mainly Salazar and Harriett's perspectives—was kind of hard since I was vastly more interested in Jess's story. Having read the ending I think everything comes together nicely and will begrudgingly admit that these perspectives were probably necessary...but I really didn't care. And I might still not. I'm not sure.
Also, note to add: this is really not horror. I'm not sure why it's categorized as such on here, other than the fact that it kind of deals with the supernatural. But I didn't even realize it was considered horror until I came on here and I am...puzzled.
I feel like 2016 is The Year That Sophomore Novels Disappointed Me. [b:The Girl with All the Gifts|17235026|The Girl with All the Gifts|M.R. Carey|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403033579s/17235026.jpg|23753235] was a book I could rave about all day long. Fellside is...a book.
I am half-wondering if Carey is working himself through interpretations of today's watercooler TV. If The Girl With All the Gifts was his take on The Walking Dead, then Fellside is his take on Orange is the New Black. I'm wondering what's next. Mr. Robot? House of Cards? Homeland?
Although the publisher REALLY wants you to know that M.R. Carey is the same guy who wrote The Girl With All the Gifts (it says so on the cover!!), very little of what made Girl so good is present. Maybe that's the reason for the reminder. Otherwise you may not realize the two books shared any connection. Also, there was no horror element involved in this book. A touch of the supernatural, but no horror.
Jess is put in prison for allegedly killing a child by setting a fire in her apartment complex. She has amnesia, so she has no memory of setting a fire. But she convinces herself she must have done it (the prosecutor's theory is she meant to kill her abusive boyfriend in the fire). Jess can see ghosts, and after trying to starve herself to death in prison, the ghost of the child she supposedly killed eventually convinces her to live and hunt for his killer.
In the meantime, there are a thousand other characters that we have to follow for no known reason. There’s the idealistic but morally compromised prison doctor, Salazar (“Sally”); the ruthless prison boss, Grace; the corrupt prison guard, Devlin (“Devil”), the dim-witted thug, the overly eager young druggie, the self-righteous nurse, etc. ARE ANY OF THESE PEOPLE ZOMBIES OR GHOSTS OR DEMONS OR VAMPIRES??? NO? THEN I DON’T CARE.
It felt like pulp literary fiction. Carey's writing style pulls the reader along and keeps the pace moving (even if it feels like it's going nowhere). But the focus on multiple characters, and their life stories, read more like literary fiction. The supernatural element was limited, and seemed more like a plot device than a main focus of the story.
I am half-wondering if Carey is working himself through interpretations of today's watercooler TV. If The Girl With All the Gifts was his take on The Walking Dead, then Fellside is his take on Orange is the New Black. I'm wondering what's next. Mr. Robot? House of Cards? Homeland?
Although the publisher REALLY wants you to know that M.R. Carey is the same guy who wrote The Girl With All the Gifts (it says so on the cover!!), very little of what made Girl so good is present. Maybe that's the reason for the reminder. Otherwise you may not realize the two books shared any connection. Also, there was no horror element involved in this book. A touch of the supernatural, but no horror.
Jess is put in prison for allegedly killing a child by setting a fire in her apartment complex. She has amnesia, so she has no memory of setting a fire. But she convinces herself she must have done it (the prosecutor's theory is she meant to kill her abusive boyfriend in the fire). Jess can see ghosts, and after trying to starve herself to death in prison, the ghost of the child she supposedly killed eventually convinces her to live and hunt for his killer.
In the meantime, there are a thousand other characters that we have to follow for no known reason. There’s the idealistic but morally compromised prison doctor, Salazar (“Sally”); the ruthless prison boss, Grace; the corrupt prison guard, Devlin (“Devil”), the dim-witted thug, the overly eager young druggie, the self-righteous nurse, etc. ARE ANY OF THESE PEOPLE ZOMBIES OR GHOSTS OR DEMONS OR VAMPIRES??? NO? THEN I DON’T CARE.
It felt like pulp literary fiction. Carey's writing style pulls the reader along and keeps the pace moving (even if it feels like it's going nowhere). But the focus on multiple characters, and their life stories, read more like literary fiction. The supernatural element was limited, and seemed more like a plot device than a main focus of the story.
A bit of a departure from his earlier book but well worth the read. The story follows a woman who is incarcerated in Fellside and begins to experience visitations by a ghost who needs her help.
The characters and setting are interesting and nicely detailed, the prison life is pretty brutal and some of the scenes are grim. I liked "The Girl .." better but this is a close runner-up.
The characters and setting are interesting and nicely detailed, the prison life is pretty brutal and some of the scenes are grim. I liked "The Girl .." better but this is a close runner-up.
I didn't love it as much as Someone Like Me...but this was really good. Interesting and I didn't know where it was headed so I enjoyed the journey.
Inhaled in the free spaces over the course of three days; Review forthcoming.
Despite loving The Girl with all the Gifts, this one fell flat for me - could see the twists coming a mile away, and the characters and story weren't interesting enough to survive that.
This book is not horror. I would have no problem reading this late at night in the dark by myself. Tragedy might be a better category. Either way, it's so not my style. I was hoping that Carey's amazing writing skills would distract me from a genre I don't care about, but it didn't. I mean, the book wasn't bad, it's just not something I would ever have chosen to pick up based on the blurb alone. It was like reading Shawshank Redemption with ghosts and not quite as good of an ending, which is not entirely true because I would watch Shawshank Redemption again, but I wouldn't read this again. So if you like reading about weak people making bad decisions and being bullied in a prison, this is the one for you!
‘It’s a strange thing to wake up not knowing who you are.’
Jess Moulson is found guilty of the murder of Alex Beech, a ten-year-old boy. Alex died in a fire, which apparently Jess started, a crime that she cannot remember committing. She’s sentenced to spend the rest of her life within Fellside, a state-of-the-art maximum-security prison on the edge of the Yorkshire moors. But for how long will Jess live? Wracked with guilt, she sets out to starve herself to death. As Jess edges close to death, she hears voices. And one of those voices seems to be Alex’s, with a special message for Jess. I’ll stop right there, otherwise there’ll be no mystery left in the story.
Mr Carey combines elements of the supernatural (or perhaps paranormal) with the unpleasant reality that is life in Fellside. A very different story from ‘The Girl With All the Gifts’, but just as unsettling.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Jess Moulson is found guilty of the murder of Alex Beech, a ten-year-old boy. Alex died in a fire, which apparently Jess started, a crime that she cannot remember committing. She’s sentenced to spend the rest of her life within Fellside, a state-of-the-art maximum-security prison on the edge of the Yorkshire moors. But for how long will Jess live? Wracked with guilt, she sets out to starve herself to death. As Jess edges close to death, she hears voices. And one of those voices seems to be Alex’s, with a special message for Jess. I’ll stop right there, otherwise there’ll be no mystery left in the story.
Mr Carey combines elements of the supernatural (or perhaps paranormal) with the unpleasant reality that is life in Fellside. A very different story from ‘The Girl With All the Gifts’, but just as unsettling.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith