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adamyeti's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
First of all, do not be fooled by anyone who tells you that this is a "creature feature"... It is way more than that. The "creature" in this story is more god than creature. It felt much more like a cosmic horror story than I expected, which was very fun.
Early on, I was a bit lukewarm with this book, mostly due to the writing style. It was very straight-forward and matter-of-fact. While I don't enjoy purple prose, this felt almost too far in the other direction. One scene in particular had some very heavy contentdomestic violence that was presented in a way that added no weight to it. In short, I felt like the writing just wasn't doing the story justice at times.
That said, the story was something that I very much enjoyed. What seems like a simple premise at first goes well beyond anything that you could imagine. There was also a brief glimpse of a trope that I really enjoyordinary person is disfigured into an unstoppable villain .
This is where I began to change my mind about the writing. The unfortunately common experience with horror is that everything is great, but the ending lets you down. This was absolutely not the case here. As I said, I was a bit lukewarm on it until about 3/4 in. Then suddenly, every chapter was better than the last, until the book culminated in such a beautifully written, poetic sequence that I began to question if the earlier straight-forward writing style was actually intentional. I still am unsure about that theory, but by the end of the book, it felt like the author had transformed into someone else.Maybe that was the point...
If you like creature features, cosmic horror, quiet rural settings, and a small cast of characters that you know intimately, this is for you! It was quite a journey considering the short length that it is. I am very intrigued about the rest of Michael R. Goodwin's catalog now and will certainly be visiting some of his other works soon.
Early on, I was a bit lukewarm with this book, mostly due to the writing style. It was very straight-forward and matter-of-fact. While I don't enjoy purple prose, this felt almost too far in the other direction. One scene in particular had some very heavy content
That said, the story was something that I very much enjoyed. What seems like a simple premise at first goes well beyond anything that you could imagine. There was also a brief glimpse of a trope that I really enjoy
This is where I began to change my mind about the writing. The unfortunately common experience with horror is that everything is great, but the ending lets you down. This was absolutely not the case here. As I said, I was a bit lukewarm on it until about 3/4 in. Then suddenly, every chapter was better than the last, until the book culminated in such a beautifully written, poetic sequence that I began to question if the earlier straight-forward writing style was actually intentional. I still am unsure about that theory, but by the end of the book, it felt like the author had transformed into someone else.
If you like creature features, cosmic horror, quiet rural settings, and a small cast of characters that you know intimately, this is for you! It was quite a journey considering the short length that it is. I am very intrigued about the rest of Michael R. Goodwin's catalog now and will certainly be visiting some of his other works soon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Domestic abuse, and Gore
Moderate: Alcoholism
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