Take a photo of a barcode or cover
2.58 AVERAGE
2.58 AVERAGE
Thank you to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for providing me with this ARC in return for an honest review.
'Hellweg's Keep' starts off really strong. It's a fun combination of sci-fi horror and mystery with the perfect amount of world building for a book that is meant to make you feel isolated. The cover and the premise really hooked me in. It does give off that 'Event Horizon' and 'Alien' feel to it which I quite enjoyed.
For the most part I loved the writing style and would find myself fully immersed in the story but then a weird sentence structure or description would snap me back in to reality. Some of the dialogue is awkward and unnecessary and the little bits of romance thrown in felt really forced. I want to be clear that I did enjoy most of the dialogue and the back and forth between most of the characters including Gradius and Jasper. Their friendship was really fun.
From the moment that things start to get real for the characters the dread, claustrophobia and tension were palpable and then you get to the last quarter of the book. It felt rushed, it felt a bit silly and it honestly almost ruined the book. Without the ending this would be a four star read for me.
'Hellweg's Keep' starts off really strong. It's a fun combination of sci-fi horror and mystery with the perfect amount of world building for a book that is meant to make you feel isolated. The cover and the premise really hooked me in. It does give off that 'Event Horizon' and 'Alien' feel to it which I quite enjoyed.
For the most part I loved the writing style and would find myself fully immersed in the story but then a weird sentence structure or description would snap me back in to reality. Some of the dialogue is awkward and unnecessary and the little bits of romance thrown in felt really forced. I want to be clear that I did enjoy most of the dialogue and the back and forth between most of the characters including Gradius and Jasper. Their friendship was really fun.
From the moment that things start to get real for the characters the dread, claustrophobia and tension were palpable and then you get to the last quarter of the book. It felt rushed, it felt a bit silly and it honestly almost ruined the book. Without the ending this would be a four star read for me.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
“Roxie coughed blood all over her already-saturated sheet, but never broke eye contact with Kendra. Her pupils were all but lost within the red. “Hellweg’s Keep.”
“Why? That’s my job, to investigate. Why would I stay out of Hellweg’s Keep? Will I die?”
“Worse.” Roxie coughed once more and broke into a barrage of strangled hacking and gagging. Blood dribbled down her chin and dripped to her chest. “Better to die,” she managed.”
Damn… this was honestly going to be one of the top books I’d read this year until the 3/4 mark… then it nosedived and crashed.
The first 3/4: spooky and creepy as heck. This is a paranormal scifi horror that gives the reader goosebumps. A team investigate a mine where the miners have disappeared. There seems to be one or more malignant entities (demons or evil spirits or cosmic gods perhaps) that are involved.
The last 1/4: things get weird and confusing. There are some editing errors and a continuity error (sooo is Ramee’s mom dead or alive???). Big, monstrous things are happening, no answers yet, but the characters are starting to figure some things out slowly…. AND BOOM.
It’s over, no resolution, no answers, not even a cliffhanger or epilogue. The characters just seem to not give a crap anymore and leave. What the actual eff???? That was brutal as a reader to be left like that. Boooooo
“Why? That’s my job, to investigate. Why would I stay out of Hellweg’s Keep? Will I die?”
“Worse.” Roxie coughed once more and broke into a barrage of strangled hacking and gagging. Blood dribbled down her chin and dripped to her chest. “Better to die,” she managed.”
Damn… this was honestly going to be one of the top books I’d read this year until the 3/4 mark… then it nosedived and crashed.
The first 3/4: spooky and creepy as heck. This is a paranormal scifi horror that gives the reader goosebumps. A team investigate a mine where the miners have disappeared. There seems to be one or more malignant entities (demons or evil spirits or cosmic gods perhaps) that are involved.
The last 1/4: things get weird and confusing. There are some editing errors and a continuity error (sooo is Ramee’s mom dead or alive???). Big, monstrous things are happening, no answers yet, but the characters are starting to figure some things out slowly…. AND BOOM.
It’s over, no resolution, no answers, not even a cliffhanger or epilogue. The characters just seem to not give a crap anymore and leave. What the actual eff???? That was brutal as a reader to be left like that. Boooooo
This story is told in third person and follows multiple people that are sent into a mine to either rescue or recover miners that have disappeared leaving only a few body parts behind in the caverns hosting a Titanium mine on a moon orbiting another planet. The story begins with an FBI agent enroute that has been requested to investigate by the Imperial Prime Space Station Director. Also on the ship is a group of paranormal investigators that were hired by the mine owner and a man infamous for his ability as a protector from the paranormal. By the time the group reaches their destination, one of the members is already dead and several have seen possible apparitions of loved ones.
Upon arrival, there’s some jockeying for position and question as to who’s in charge but ultimately FBI agent Kendra Omen takes point and initiates an investigation into the owner’s office only to find a body along with a pentagram inlaid into the floor and a Ouija Board prominently displayed on the desk. A group is assembled comprised of the new arrivals, mine security and operations, local law enforcement, an indigenous man looking for his missing son and a missionary sent from Earth to bring the Good Word. It’s an eclectic group and personalities clash quickly.
I enjoyed this motley crew for the most part as they set off into the mine, which is in an extensive natural cavern system. It’s dark and creepy and they hear eerie moaning sounds and find more body parts. There are various stories being passed among the group about what was going on, how the occult was involved, if they had summoned a demon or were making sacrifices to various gods. Of course, the group splits up at points and are attacked by creatures or spirits that seem to manifest the guise of loved ones then manipulate them to do their bidding, which usually leads to death. Things got a little crazy at the end which is not surprising for this genre.
Then I turned the page, and that was it. But wait! What about…? Why did Zak…? Suffice it to say that it ended abruptly. Too abruptly.
I really enjoyed most of the journey in this book. Recommended to those that like space/alien horror with a dash of manipulative spirits but watch out for that ending.
Thank you to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for a copy provided for an honest review.
Upon arrival, there’s some jockeying for position and question as to who’s in charge but ultimately FBI agent Kendra Omen takes point and initiates an investigation into the owner’s office only to find a body along with a pentagram inlaid into the floor and a Ouija Board prominently displayed on the desk. A group is assembled comprised of the new arrivals, mine security and operations, local law enforcement, an indigenous man looking for his missing son and a missionary sent from Earth to bring the Good Word. It’s an eclectic group and personalities clash quickly.
I enjoyed this motley crew for the most part as they set off into the mine, which is in an extensive natural cavern system. It’s dark and creepy and they hear eerie moaning sounds and find more body parts. There are various stories being passed among the group about what was going on, how the occult was involved, if they had summoned a demon or were making sacrifices to various gods. Of course, the group splits up at points and are attacked by creatures or spirits that seem to manifest the guise of loved ones then manipulate them to do their bidding, which usually leads to death. Things got a little crazy at the end which is not surprising for this genre.
Then I turned the page, and that was it. But wait! What about…? Why did Zak…? Suffice it to say that it ended abruptly. Too abruptly.
I really enjoyed most of the journey in this book. Recommended to those that like space/alien horror with a dash of manipulative spirits but watch out for that ending.
Thank you to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for a copy provided for an honest review.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Hellweg's Keep was recommended to me multiple times in a horror group I follow on Instagram under "good space horror". I'd never heard of it or the author, so I figured it was probably indie publish/self-publish. I was so surprised to find it in my local library system. Yay!
Hellweg's Keep is an actual place on a distant planet called Zeta One. It's a new-ish mine run by a corporation. The miners are straight up disappearing. So the CEO and Mine Security?(I'm not sure who the other person was) call in some extra help to check into it from the FBI and some paranormal investigators from Terra/Earth. Thus begins Ghostbusters in space!
Overall, this book was fine, but really failed to keep me invested. The characters and plot seemed pretty flat and the last third of the book really started dropping some plot inconsistencies that started to really irk me. I'm not sure if the publisher/author employed a concept editor, but if they did--it was not a very good one.
There were also some really random flashbacks/memories that the characters experienced/shared that were obviously input to create emotion or something. Instead of doing that, I felt irritated. I do not want to hear about Zak's mom's drug overdose when they are trying to find the missing/dead miners. It felt self-serving and really douchey. And Zak isn't the only one. We get a full family description of Ramee's mom/dad. I get the author is trying to create better characters, but halfway through the book is the wrong place for their history.
In the same "wrong place, wrong time" vein, there are these two people in the group that become absolutely infatuated/in-love with each other through this story, but the author opts to go into weird detail about how much they would love to hold each other by the fire after they have to shoot one of the crew members in the head. Uh....what are you doing? Why? Especially when it is explained that none of them have had to shoot any real person before. No way in hell are you looking at someone with heart eyes when you just saw someone's brain matter burst from their skull with a bullet you shot.
I'm sad I didn't like this book more. It was pretty middle of the road until the last half of the book when inconsistencies with plot/timelines started to get VERY common and the obvious struggle to maintain a good tone.
There were some pretty obvious sexist points in this book too that made it very clear that this was written by a man, who doesn't know how to write women. There are some really weird sections discussing a girl on her period that was confusing. Why are we including this? It didn't further the plot or the character at all.
Oh and the ending. All of a sudden there's this random fantasy element that just pops up out of nowhere, it's clearly a deus ex machina. After this random fantasy element, there's no resolution for the missing/dead miners at all. The crew walks through the mine, experiences all the paranormal stuff and then they leave. Like they looked at each other and said, "That's why it happened. Let's get out of here. Deuces."
I can't. I just can't like this book. I tried. I read the whole dang book, even though I was ready to be done halfway. It needs a good story/concept editor and then I think it would be good. There's a lot of potential here. Ghostbusters in space is a good concept.
I would not recommend this book at all.
Hellweg's Keep is an actual place on a distant planet called Zeta One. It's a new-ish mine run by a corporation. The miners are straight up disappearing. So the CEO and Mine Security?(I'm not sure who the other person was) call in some extra help to check into it from the FBI and some paranormal investigators from Terra/Earth. Thus begins Ghostbusters in space!
Overall, this book was fine, but really failed to keep me invested. The characters and plot seemed pretty flat and the last third of the book really started dropping some plot inconsistencies that started to really irk me. I'm not sure if the publisher/author employed a concept editor, but if they did--it was not a very good one.
There were also some really random flashbacks/memories that the characters experienced/shared that were obviously input to create emotion or something. Instead of doing that, I felt irritated. I do not want to hear about Zak's mom's drug overdose when they are trying to find the missing/dead miners. It felt self-serving and really douchey. And Zak isn't the only one. We get a full family description of Ramee's mom/dad. I get the author is trying to create better characters, but halfway through the book is the wrong place for their history.
In the same "wrong place, wrong time" vein, there are these two people in the group that become absolutely infatuated/in-love with each other through this story, but the author opts to go into weird detail about how much they would love to hold each other by the fire after they have to shoot one of the crew members in the head. Uh....what are you doing? Why? Especially when it is explained that none of them have had to shoot any real person before. No way in hell are you looking at someone with heart eyes when you just saw someone's brain matter burst from their skull with a bullet you shot.
I'm sad I didn't like this book more. It was pretty middle of the road until the last half of the book when inconsistencies with plot/timelines started to get VERY common and the obvious struggle to maintain a good tone.
There were some pretty obvious sexist points in this book too that made it very clear that this was written by a man, who doesn't know how to write women. There are some really weird sections discussing a girl on her period that was confusing. Why are we including this? It didn't further the plot or the character at all.
Oh and the ending. All of a sudden there's this random fantasy element that just pops up out of nowhere, it's clearly a deus ex machina. After this random fantasy element, there's no resolution for the missing/dead miners at all. The crew walks through the mine, experiences all the paranormal stuff and then they leave. Like they looked at each other and said, "That's why it happened. Let's get out of here. Deuces."
I can't. I just can't like this book. I tried. I read the whole dang book, even though I was ready to be done halfway. It needs a good story/concept editor and then I think it would be good. There's a lot of potential here. Ghostbusters in space is a good concept.
I would not recommend this book at all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Murder
Moderate: Sexual content
This space sci-fi/horror/mystery genre mash-up has a fun premise, an exciting/frightening big bad, and some really fun action/horror set pieces. The writing is compelling, leaving almost each chapter with the kind of cliffhanger that really pushes the reader forward but doesn’t feel forced, and ultimately is a quick, fun read. I like that this is a near future (around 2050 CE, it seems) where humanity has the technological breakthroughs to conquer various solar systems, and yet we still find Christian missionaries trying to convert indigenous interstellar populations, and all of this is combined with more or less acceptance that ghosts and demons and other supernatural entities simply exist. That presents an interesting world-building that seems like it could be full of engaging internal contradictions, unfortunately this story doesn’t really explore those in very interesting ways, it simply presents this jumbled assortment of world-building ephemera without too much critical analysis from any of our characters.
While fun, there are a few things that hold it back from being great, though. The characters and story feel both heavy-handed and underwritten at the same time. There is nothing particularly interesting or inventive about the characters. A gruff, brooding FBI agent with recent trauma who may be learning to trust and feel again? An incompetent local cop who is of course overweight and slobbish, because that is easy code for unlikeable. Female character with tattoos, mental-health struggles, and mommy issues? Of course she is queer, and immediately falls for the other conveniently queer character, the rainbow-mohawked anarcho-punk who is also the head of security. There is an indigenous leader who is educated enough to scoff at his peoples’ traditional customs and ways, and a priest who is a bumbling alcoholic and constant punchline. Every character just feels worn out, totally expected. I appreciate that to have a mission with this large of a cast you need various character traits to make a compelling story, and I also appreciate the attempt at inclusivity, but everyone felt pretty cookie-cutter. That said, the personality traits do work well together to keep tension high at things moving. Similarly, there are weird things with the world-building that just leave something desired, like the numerous contemporary pop culture references (of course the FBI agent likes Star Wars and the queer chick likes Gwar, because that makes sense for this future world?), or the kind of lazy way the paranormal is discussed, with EMF readings being paramount and iron, salt, and sage being pretty much super weapons, without any sort of rationale or explanation (even when another character asks for it!). It feels uninspired. Add to that what feels like a little bit of a deus-ex-machina ending and the decision to just ignore numerous and character threads, leaving them unresolved, and not in a “maybe we will find out more in a new installment” kind of way but more of a “these were convenient things for me to use to push the narrative forward earlier in the book but I don’t really care enough to do anything with these ideas now” kind of way. We get reminded of our central character’s recent trauma on what feels like every other page and yet none of it goes anywhere or pays off in any interesting way. Even a brief epilogue could have at least tried to tie up loose ends but instead everything just feels incomplete.
I care a lot about character and world-building, which is why I felt a little let down. And in fact the weakness of the story probably would have been naturally solved by more complex, less expected characters. So, I had fun with this, but it felt like there was a whole lot left on the table that was just ignored. I will again say I thought the writing style was efficient, if a bit heavy-handed at times, but it did streamline the action and kept my attention. At some point as our group begins their investigation they split into two (for pretty unconvincing reasons, but that’s always the case, no one in any horror story splits into smaller groups or goes on their own for good reasons, so it didn’t bother me), and subsequent chapters switched back and forth between the two groups. This was used to good effect, with each chapter ending in some bit of excitement or intrigue only to be torn away to visit the other group, and yet both groups were equally interesting and fun to follow. So, this does squander some potential, and if you really care about interesting, unique characters you might find this a little short. If you are just looking for the fun balance of chaos and order that any ensemble cast needs, without worrying too much on the individuality of the actual characters, this fits the bill. This did keep me engaged and over all I thought it has enough interesting going on to let me read past the bits that were less compelling. If you like space horror then this is a fun, quick read.
I want to thank the author, the publisher Flame Tree Press, and NetGalley, who provided a complimentary eARC for review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
While fun, there are a few things that hold it back from being great, though. The characters and story feel both heavy-handed and underwritten at the same time. There is nothing particularly interesting or inventive about the characters. A gruff, brooding FBI agent with recent trauma who may be learning to trust and feel again? An incompetent local cop who is of course overweight and slobbish, because that is easy code for unlikeable. Female character with tattoos, mental-health struggles, and mommy issues? Of course she is queer, and immediately falls for the other conveniently queer character, the rainbow-mohawked anarcho-punk who is also the head of security. There is an indigenous leader who is educated enough to scoff at his peoples’ traditional customs and ways, and a priest who is a bumbling alcoholic and constant punchline. Every character just feels worn out, totally expected. I appreciate that to have a mission with this large of a cast you need various character traits to make a compelling story, and I also appreciate the attempt at inclusivity, but everyone felt pretty cookie-cutter. That said, the personality traits do work well together to keep tension high at things moving. Similarly, there are weird things with the world-building that just leave something desired, like the numerous contemporary pop culture references (of course the FBI agent likes Star Wars and the queer chick likes Gwar, because that makes sense for this future world?), or the kind of lazy way the paranormal is discussed, with EMF readings being paramount and iron, salt, and sage being pretty much super weapons, without any sort of rationale or explanation (even when another character asks for it!). It feels uninspired. Add to that what feels like a little bit of a deus-ex-machina ending and the decision to just ignore numerous and character threads, leaving them unresolved, and not in a “maybe we will find out more in a new installment” kind of way but more of a “these were convenient things for me to use to push the narrative forward earlier in the book but I don’t really care enough to do anything with these ideas now” kind of way. We get reminded of our central character’s recent trauma on what feels like every other page and yet none of it goes anywhere or pays off in any interesting way. Even a brief epilogue could have at least tried to tie up loose ends but instead everything just feels incomplete.
I care a lot about character and world-building, which is why I felt a little let down. And in fact the weakness of the story probably would have been naturally solved by more complex, less expected characters. So, I had fun with this, but it felt like there was a whole lot left on the table that was just ignored. I will again say I thought the writing style was efficient, if a bit heavy-handed at times, but it did streamline the action and kept my attention. At some point as our group begins their investigation they split into two (for pretty unconvincing reasons, but that’s always the case, no one in any horror story splits into smaller groups or goes on their own for good reasons, so it didn’t bother me), and subsequent chapters switched back and forth between the two groups. This was used to good effect, with each chapter ending in some bit of excitement or intrigue only to be torn away to visit the other group, and yet both groups were equally interesting and fun to follow. So, this does squander some potential, and if you really care about interesting, unique characters you might find this a little short. If you are just looking for the fun balance of chaos and order that any ensemble cast needs, without worrying too much on the individuality of the actual characters, this fits the bill. This did keep me engaged and over all I thought it has enough interesting going on to let me read past the bits that were less compelling. If you like space horror then this is a fun, quick read.
I want to thank the author, the publisher Flame Tree Press, and NetGalley, who provided a complimentary eARC for review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
A huge thank you to the author, Netgalley, and Flame Tree Press for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
DNF 23%. I think this could be an interesting book for someone who can ignore some of the more typical pitfalls of sexism and overly-flowery language found in this book, but personally I could not. The concept drew me in with paranormal investigations in space, but unfortunately for me personally it wasn’t enough to get me to force myself to read more than what I already have.
If you like more typical cop dramas, and “ghost investigation” shows like Ghost Adventures, then I’d say to give this book a chance to see if it hooks you. Unfortunately, it did not click with me at all.
Also, be warned that there is suicide and depression mentioned and explicitly shown in this book very early on, and the theme continues as it progresses.
—
The rest of my review will contain spoilers and I’ll be a little meaner. If you want to avoid spoilers, and/or you liked this book I wouldn’t bother continuing to read. I just need to nitpick because never have I made so many little notes in my phone’s kindle.
–
I’m serious. It’s mean.
–
The main character Kendra is self-obsessed to the extreme, with everything happening causing her to go “but woe is me! My family died mysteriously!! No one could ever understand my pain!!!” Normally I’d be more willing to take into account her emotions, but when this is accompanied by people experiencing real trauma - INCLUDING someone dying violently because they slit their own throat - then I lose my patience.
Also the ghost investigator is very annoying, and after I saw a comment saying that him being named “Zak” and having every single mannerism as Zak Bagans from Ghost Adventures - I couldn’t unsee it. I’m also supposed to feel like there’s some kind of attraction between them, but neither character is compelling enough to both feel that way, nor for me to see it progress.
He “investigates” by feeling for EMF - but with his hands. By himself. He just goes off of vibes, I guess.
“Zak felt the EMF with his body, and I confirmed with my Mel-meter. It really validates the scientific method.”
It does not.
I mentioned earlier that there was quite a bit of sexism present in this book, and after one specific line I even went “this HAD to have been written by a man,” and lo and behold I was correct. There’s also quite a bit of fatphobia present, which does not in any way need to be present other than to simply make the joke “The cop is racist, a creep, and fat! Him being fat is part of why he’s a bad person.” Over. And Over.
This book starts off with Kendra being awoken to investigate a situation in the infirmary. (She did not need to be present at all during this scene, by the way.)
A character has decided to commit suicide by slitting her own throat (surely there’s easier ways?) because of a scary vision she psychically had. Sure, but then Kendra asks her questions and she seems coherent enough to be able to respond and shake her head with little issues, despite her throat being so cut that the doctor can barely stop it from bleeding out AND her dying soon after.
Kendra responds to being told what this horrible vision is by assuming it couldn’t be worse than what she’s dealing with. Also, Kendra says to the dying woman when asking her questions, “If you plan on living, you can tell me later. But if you’re gonna check out, at least tell me what drove you to this.” Completely normal way to ask someone violently dying by suicide what happened.
And then, when she sees the woman coworker of the woman who quite literally killed herself less than an hour ago, she describes her as:
“Men probably found her attractive but only those who could get by her morose disposition.”
Did I imagine the scene of the bloody suicide where she saw a coworker kill herself? Or?
Also, the next line is “Her chest heaved with an anxiety she kept very much to herself,” which is what prompted me to go “Oh a man definitely wrote this”. Cannot escape the “she breasted boobily down the stairs” cliche, can we? Also, the main woman character describes hearing a woman yell, as “a female,” and not a woman. Yikes.
Kenra then proceeds to examine every emotion this woman has, up to and including finding her suspicious for being so upset. But no worries! There’s a reason she’s so upset!! It’s not that that was traumatic, oh no, it’s because she has depression!! I wish I was joking.
Nitpicking characters aside, here are a few lines that made me go “WTF does this even mean?”
“The glock in Kendra's shoulder holder slid out as if greased.”
“A bathroom with a sink and toilet, a powder room the Realtors would say.”
“His voice sounded soft and soothing like a therapist, perhaps a lover.”
“[ - ] visualized in colors, soft angles, conjectural shapes. That’s why she hated the dark.”
“It looked like a gigantic rough-cut cigar. Or a Cheech-and-Chong-worthy joint.”
DNF 23%. I think this could be an interesting book for someone who can ignore some of the more typical pitfalls of sexism and overly-flowery language found in this book, but personally I could not. The concept drew me in with paranormal investigations in space, but unfortunately for me personally it wasn’t enough to get me to force myself to read more than what I already have.
If you like more typical cop dramas, and “ghost investigation” shows like Ghost Adventures, then I’d say to give this book a chance to see if it hooks you. Unfortunately, it did not click with me at all.
Also, be warned that there is suicide and depression mentioned and explicitly shown in this book very early on, and the theme continues as it progresses.
—
The rest of my review will contain spoilers and I’ll be a little meaner. If you want to avoid spoilers, and/or you liked this book I wouldn’t bother continuing to read. I just need to nitpick because never have I made so many little notes in my phone’s kindle.
–
I’m serious. It’s mean.
–
The main character Kendra is self-obsessed to the extreme, with everything happening causing her to go “but woe is me! My family died mysteriously!! No one could ever understand my pain!!!” Normally I’d be more willing to take into account her emotions, but when this is accompanied by people experiencing real trauma - INCLUDING someone dying violently because they slit their own throat - then I lose my patience.
Also the ghost investigator is very annoying, and after I saw a comment saying that him being named “Zak” and having every single mannerism as Zak Bagans from Ghost Adventures - I couldn’t unsee it. I’m also supposed to feel like there’s some kind of attraction between them, but neither character is compelling enough to both feel that way, nor for me to see it progress.
He “investigates” by feeling for EMF - but with his hands. By himself. He just goes off of vibes, I guess.
“Zak felt the EMF with his body, and I confirmed with my Mel-meter. It really validates the scientific method.”
It does not.
I mentioned earlier that there was quite a bit of sexism present in this book, and after one specific line I even went “this HAD to have been written by a man,” and lo and behold I was correct. There’s also quite a bit of fatphobia present, which does not in any way need to be present other than to simply make the joke “The cop is racist, a creep, and fat! Him being fat is part of why he’s a bad person.” Over. And Over.
This book starts off with Kendra being awoken to investigate a situation in the infirmary. (She did not need to be present at all during this scene, by the way.)
A character has decided to commit suicide by slitting her own throat (surely there’s easier ways?) because of a scary vision she psychically had. Sure, but then Kendra asks her questions and she seems coherent enough to be able to respond and shake her head with little issues, despite her throat being so cut that the doctor can barely stop it from bleeding out AND her dying soon after.
Kendra responds to being told what this horrible vision is by assuming it couldn’t be worse than what she’s dealing with. Also, Kendra says to the dying woman when asking her questions, “If you plan on living, you can tell me later. But if you’re gonna check out, at least tell me what drove you to this.” Completely normal way to ask someone violently dying by suicide what happened.
And then, when she sees the woman coworker of the woman who quite literally killed herself less than an hour ago, she describes her as:
“Men probably found her attractive but only those who could get by her morose disposition.”
Did I imagine the scene of the bloody suicide where she saw a coworker kill herself? Or?
Also, the next line is “Her chest heaved with an anxiety she kept very much to herself,” which is what prompted me to go “Oh a man definitely wrote this”. Cannot escape the “she breasted boobily down the stairs” cliche, can we? Also, the main woman character describes hearing a woman yell, as “a female,” and not a woman. Yikes.
Kenra then proceeds to examine every emotion this woman has, up to and including finding her suspicious for being so upset. But no worries! There’s a reason she’s so upset!! It’s not that that was traumatic, oh no, it’s because she has depression!! I wish I was joking.
Nitpicking characters aside, here are a few lines that made me go “WTF does this even mean?”
“The glock in Kendra's shoulder holder slid out as if greased.”
“A bathroom with a sink and toilet, a powder room the Realtors would say.”
“His voice sounded soft and soothing like a therapist, perhaps a lover.”
“[ - ] visualized in colors, soft angles, conjectural shapes. That’s why she hated the dark.”
“It looked like a gigantic rough-cut cigar. Or a Cheech-and-Chong-worthy joint.”
Full Review
A few chapters in, the brand name dropping and pop culture references lead me to think that it was a much more near future setting than I'd imagined. The paranormal aspect was pretty cool. I enjoyed the magic, mechanics and framing of it. I did not find it scary, nor did I feel a lot of tension.
The references to menstruation and related products was so fucking weird. A) that's not how it works and B) it's doing nothing for the plot/character etc.
Overall, interesting concept, medium execution. The pacing of the book was a little off, the middle dragged and the ending came from nowhere. If this is the first in the series, it could just be a rough start to something that ends up being really well polished and presented.
A few chapters in, the brand name dropping and pop culture references lead me to think that it was a much more near future setting than I'd imagined. The paranormal aspect was pretty cool. I enjoyed the magic, mechanics and framing of it. I did not find it scary, nor did I feel a lot of tension.
The references to menstruation and related products was so fucking weird. A) that's not how it works and B) it's doing nothing for the plot/character etc.
Overall, interesting concept, medium execution. The pacing of the book was a little off, the middle dragged and the ending came from nowhere. If this is the first in the series, it could just be a rough start to something that ends up being really well polished and presented.
I was given an advance release copy via NetGallery for this book.
The premise of Hellwegs Keep is awesome. "FbI detective investigates crime in space."
After that great start the book goes downhill. I think a major flaw is splitting the main two characters. There isn't really a reason that the FBI agent could also not be a paranormal investigator.
Also the name of the character adds meaningless confusion, why call someone Lunar when you are on a space base?
There are some really clunky/chringy sentences in this novel
"One last thunderous clang, steel grating and screeching like the coitus between ship and station would destroy both.".
"The pilot informed Kendra that Lunar didn’t have room in her personal transport for their equipment so they’d waited for the bigger bird and Lunar would fly her own and meet them below.".
"The scent of thieves oil overpowered the bleachy smell.". I have no clue what thieves oil is.
I can honestly say that I recommend no one read this book, unless they are reading a weird book ironically.
The premise of Hellwegs Keep is awesome. "FbI detective investigates crime in space."
After that great start the book goes downhill. I think a major flaw is splitting the main two characters. There isn't really a reason that the FBI agent could also not be a paranormal investigator.
Also the name of the character adds meaningless confusion, why call someone Lunar when you are on a space base?
There are some really clunky/chringy sentences in this novel
"One last thunderous clang, steel grating and screeching like the coitus between ship and station would destroy both.".
"The pilot informed Kendra that Lunar didn’t have room in her personal transport for their equipment so they’d waited for the bigger bird and Lunar would fly her own and meet them below.".
"The scent of thieves oil overpowered the bleachy smell.". I have no clue what thieves oil is.
I can honestly say that I recommend no one read this book, unless they are reading a weird book ironically.
Reading the synopsis I was hopeful that I’d get a novel that would stick with me. For some reason I kept thinking it would go Event Horizon on me and just go completely crackers but that’s not what I got. This was not the best thing I’ve read all year. If I’m reading a novel that’s set in the future then why are there product placements that feel distinctly 20-years ago? Stereotyped characters. Bland writing. Difficult to finish.