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mfrown's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
judithdcollins's review against another edition
4.0
The author of the award-winning novel (2016)[b:Solar Bones|122146637|Solar Bones (Modern Plays)|Mike McCormack|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1681654283l/122146637._SY75_.jpg|143470598], Mike McCormack, returns with THIS PLAGUE OF SOULS, a haunting literary/noirish metaphysical suspense novel of a man whose past comes back to haunt him when he returns to his rural Ireland home.
This Plague of Souls is also set in County Mayo, Ireland, in an isolated cottage in the shadow of Mweelrea Mountain.
Nealson (an artist) is returning to his home after being away in prison. His wife and son are gone. The house he grew up in with his father and never knew his mother. We do not know exactly at first what Nealon has done, but it was crime-related and possible insurance fraud, skimming insurance policies to fund altruistic works.
It is dark and empty. His wife, Olwyn, and son, Cuan, are missing. We get flashbacks from their earlier life. Memories...What has gone on, and what is happening?
But now the only voice he hears is a mystery man. He has been incarcerated for some time but was released following the collapse of his trial. He was not found innocent, and now, there was a strange phone call.
The anonymous caller knows who Nealon is and where the main switch is in his house. He wants to meet. He is drawn into a sinister game of cat and mouse with the mysterious cryptic caller.
The stranger on the phone claims to know where Olwyn and Cuan are but will only reveal their whereabouts if Nealon meets him in person.
Why meet, and what is this about? But the person seems to know things. Then begins sort of a pre-apocalyptic or supernatural flow.
Even though THIS PLAGUE OF SOULS is a standalone , it connects with his previous book. Both books reference corruption, mortality, disease, plagues, terrorist events, wars, power, coercion, activism, and signs of what will come— from heartbreak, terror, and menace to the possible world collapse.
The novel is difficult to describe without giving too much away, but it crosses genres from literary suspense and thriller to dystopian as the book progresses. Things are beyond the MC's control as he considers fatherhood and family.
The prose and writing are evocative, beautiful, and spellbinding, as is the audiobook narrator's performance by Dan Murphy, which draws you into the vivid landscape of the Irish countryside.
Divided into three parts, the last third part gives you the creeps. The novel's third part features the other version of the world, which is in crisis—a descent into darkness. Do not expect to tie up all loose ends, but a fitting ending.
A talented author, THIS PLAGUE OF SOULS is haunting, eerie, and sinister —an unsettling noir, philosophical, and thought-provoking as much as lyrical and mesmerizing. I look forward to reading more of this author's work.
Thanks to Recorded Books and NetGalley for the pleasure of a gifted ALC in exchange for an honest opinion. I recommend the audiobook, which transports you!
Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Jan 2, 2024
My Rating: 4 Stars
Jan 2024 Must-Read Books
Jan Newsletter
This Plague of Souls is also set in County Mayo, Ireland, in an isolated cottage in the shadow of Mweelrea Mountain.
Nealson (an artist) is returning to his home after being away in prison. His wife and son are gone. The house he grew up in with his father and never knew his mother. We do not know exactly at first what Nealon has done, but it was crime-related and possible insurance fraud, skimming insurance policies to fund altruistic works.
It is dark and empty. His wife, Olwyn, and son, Cuan, are missing. We get flashbacks from their earlier life. Memories...What has gone on, and what is happening?
But now the only voice he hears is a mystery man. He has been incarcerated for some time but was released following the collapse of his trial. He was not found innocent, and now, there was a strange phone call.
The anonymous caller knows who Nealon is and where the main switch is in his house. He wants to meet. He is drawn into a sinister game of cat and mouse with the mysterious cryptic caller.
The stranger on the phone claims to know where Olwyn and Cuan are but will only reveal their whereabouts if Nealon meets him in person.
Why meet, and what is this about? But the person seems to know things. Then begins sort of a pre-apocalyptic or supernatural flow.
Even though THIS PLAGUE OF SOULS is a standalone , it connects with his previous book. Both books reference corruption, mortality, disease, plagues, terrorist events, wars, power, coercion, activism, and signs of what will come— from heartbreak, terror, and menace to the possible world collapse.
The novel is difficult to describe without giving too much away, but it crosses genres from literary suspense and thriller to dystopian as the book progresses. Things are beyond the MC's control as he considers fatherhood and family.
The prose and writing are evocative, beautiful, and spellbinding, as is the audiobook narrator's performance by Dan Murphy, which draws you into the vivid landscape of the Irish countryside.
Divided into three parts, the last third part gives you the creeps. The novel's third part features the other version of the world, which is in crisis—a descent into darkness. Do not expect to tie up all loose ends, but a fitting ending.
A talented author, THIS PLAGUE OF SOULS is haunting, eerie, and sinister —an unsettling noir, philosophical, and thought-provoking as much as lyrical and mesmerizing. I look forward to reading more of this author's work.
Thanks to Recorded Books and NetGalley for the pleasure of a gifted ALC in exchange for an honest opinion. I recommend the audiobook, which transports you!
Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Jan 2, 2024
My Rating: 4 Stars
Jan 2024 Must-Read Books
Jan Newsletter
makotach's review
1.0
Written nicely enough, but an ultimately hollow experience. When the cards are all on the table, it seems that there really wasn’t all that much that This Plague Of Souls had to say.
sharonleavy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
This Plague of Souls by Mike McCormack
Nealon returns to his dark, cold, empty house after spending some time in prison. His crime? We don't know. His family? Nowhere to be seen. Nealon thinks he's all alone - but soon realises, by way of several anonymous phone calls, that someone is watching him...
I find this one hard to review. The writing is great, the atmosphere is perfect, and the first part of the book, while I didn't appreciate the drip-feeding of information, worked well to build tension as we found out more about Nealon.
Therein lay the problem for me - I'm still not sure I know anything about Nealon. Flashback scenes were unclear, his history revealed by someone I don't know if we should believe or not, and the additional large-scale background events lent an eeriness that I felt took away from Nealon's story (or non-story), rather than added to it.
I appreciate that this author has an experimental style - I absolutely adored "Solar Bones", and there are some absolutely gorgeous phrases in here ("A couple of minutes adrift in himself would make all the difference")- I just wasn't quite sure what was going on overall and how the two narratives fit together. I felt like I read two halves of two different books. It was like being given a bite of a delicious cake and then having the rest taken away from you. I Just wanted to finish the cake?!
Sincere thanks to Canongate for the ARC via Netgalley, I had also pre-ordered a hardback copy from Kennys based on my love of the authors debut. A disappointing one for me, unfortunately, but I will still look forward to reading whatever this author puts out next.
Nealon returns to his dark, cold, empty house after spending some time in prison. His crime? We don't know. His family? Nowhere to be seen. Nealon thinks he's all alone - but soon realises, by way of several anonymous phone calls, that someone is watching him...
I find this one hard to review. The writing is great, the atmosphere is perfect, and the first part of the book, while I didn't appreciate the drip-feeding of information, worked well to build tension as we found out more about Nealon.
Therein lay the problem for me - I'm still not sure I know anything about Nealon. Flashback scenes were unclear, his history revealed by someone I don't know if we should believe or not, and the additional large-scale background events lent an eeriness that I felt took away from Nealon's story (or non-story), rather than added to it.
I appreciate that this author has an experimental style - I absolutely adored "Solar Bones", and there are some absolutely gorgeous phrases in here ("A couple of minutes adrift in himself would make all the difference")- I just wasn't quite sure what was going on overall and how the two narratives fit together. I felt like I read two halves of two different books. It was like being given a bite of a delicious cake and then having the rest taken away from you. I Just wanted to finish the cake?!
Sincere thanks to Canongate for the ARC via Netgalley, I had also pre-ordered a hardback copy from Kennys based on my love of the authors debut. A disappointing one for me, unfortunately, but I will still look forward to reading whatever this author puts out next.
jdesarbo's review against another edition
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
2.75
nosferatoo's review against another edition
3.0
The pacing felt so uneven at times. I would hit a run if about 20 pages where I couldn’t put it down and then the narration would meander over to something I didn’t care about and I would have to force myself to skim the pages.
Still trying to find a book by an Irish author that I like without major stylistic criticisms.
Still trying to find a book by an Irish author that I like without major stylistic criticisms.
sb1500's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
serendipitysbooks's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This Plague of Souls won’t be a book for every reader but I really enjoyed the reading experience. The book opens with Nealon returning home after a long absence to discover no sign of his wife and young son. He then starts receiving phone calls from a stranger who seems to know a lot about Nealon’s life and keeps insisting they meet up. The story is told in three distinct sections. Each has a different focus but revels more about who Nealon is as well as a national emergency which is unfolding. I found the story to be quiet yet compelling. It is the sort of book that you read for the vibes, especially the mysterious atmosphere and the tension which McCormack artfully ramps up. It’s also a great book to read if you admire the craft of writing. McCormack excels at it. I’d add that you need to be comfortable with ambiguity and crypticness. If you need definitive clear-cut answers this is probably not the book for you. I won’t claim to have figured out everything that was going on but I certainly enjoyed the process of fitting together those pieces that I could. This is definitely a book that would reward a reread. I did note the nods and references to Solar Bones - particularly the peal of the angelus bell - and look forward to the third book in this planned triptych. While the first two can be read as standalones I just know there will be meaningful connections linking all three waiting to be discovered.
mel_books's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Format: audiobook ~ Narrator: Dan Murphy
Content: 4 stars ~ Narration: 5 stars
Complete audiobook review
Nealon returns home from the prison and finds his house empty. No sign of his wife and son. As soon as he enters his home, the phone rings. He is called by a stranger who knows a lot about him. There are even more calls throughout the book. Who is the stranger calling him? Where are his wife and child?
I don’t know how I feel about the ending (I believe this is the primary reason for some negative reviews). But I can honestly say I enjoyed the writing, the suspense, and the mystery for at least three-quarters of the novel. The ending was a little baffling, but still, I wouldn’t exactly say it was bad.
This novel is the second part of a triptych. But it is a standalone novel. The first novel in the triptych is Solar Bones, which won The Goldsmiths Prize in 2016. I haven’t read it yet, but I’m very tempted to read it right away.
This Plague of Souls is a very atmospheric read. The author is very sparse with details and builds tension with his writing. There’s not much plot, not much is going on. At the same time, it’s pretty tense. The sentences are perfected, and the writing sounds poetic.
I would recommend the audio format because the narrator, Dan Murphy, is excellent.
Thanks to Recorded Books for the advance copy and this opportunity! This is a voluntary review and all opinions are my own.
Content: 4 stars ~ Narration: 5 stars
Complete audiobook review
Nealon returns home from the prison and finds his house empty. No sign of his wife and son. As soon as he enters his home, the phone rings. He is called by a stranger who knows a lot about him. There are even more calls throughout the book. Who is the stranger calling him? Where are his wife and child?
I don’t know how I feel about the ending (I believe this is the primary reason for some negative reviews). But I can honestly say I enjoyed the writing, the suspense, and the mystery for at least three-quarters of the novel. The ending was a little baffling, but still, I wouldn’t exactly say it was bad.
This novel is the second part of a triptych. But it is a standalone novel. The first novel in the triptych is Solar Bones, which won The Goldsmiths Prize in 2016. I haven’t read it yet, but I’m very tempted to read it right away.
This Plague of Souls is a very atmospheric read. The author is very sparse with details and builds tension with his writing. There’s not much plot, not much is going on. At the same time, it’s pretty tense. The sentences are perfected, and the writing sounds poetic.
I would recommend the audio format because the narrator, Dan Murphy, is excellent.
Thanks to Recorded Books for the advance copy and this opportunity! This is a voluntary review and all opinions are my own.
lomedae's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
After an initial promise awakened by the great prose the novel fails to deliver a statisfactory conclusion. The wilful obtuseness of the author is a consistant yet annoying style form that leaves the reader wishing for some sort of handhold.
I can heartily recommend the first chapter, it's quite brilliant. The rest of the book, maybe not. There is something to be said for a satisfying narrative arch and a plot that resolves. This book has neither.
I can heartily recommend the first chapter, it's quite brilliant. The rest of the book, maybe not. There is something to be said for a satisfying narrative arch and a plot that resolves. This book has neither.