Scan barcode
A review by elisquared
Harrison Squared by Daryl Gregory
5.0
This book was unlike anything I have ever read. I am not a Lovecraft lover; I find his books to be just on the side of too weird for me. That being said, the summary of Harrison Squared pulled me in and I signed up for the blog tour. I am so glad I did, because I really loved this book. Daryl Gregory managed to imbue both humor and terror in equal doses within the pages, creating a town which I never want to visit, but that I didn't want to leave.
Harrison Harrison (or H2 as his Mom calls him), is just your average 17 year old with a prosethtic leg that was a result of a tragic boating accident. Now the real question is, was this boating accident from a storm or a monstrous creature? Either way, H2 lost his father to the accident, and it's just been him and his absentminded marine biologist mother ever since. Now, in the middle of his Junior year, his mother moves across the country in search of giant squids, and H2 must deal with the very strange town of Dunnsmouth in the deal.
H2 is a good, solid protagonist. I immediately like him for his snark and his heart. He loves his mother dearly, and works to help her keep their little family together. But at the same time, he gets angry when her "science-brain" takes over and she forgets things. Their relationship is a very normal one, and that helps off-set the very weird events that take place in the dismal fishing town of Dunnsmouth, Massachusetts. From the very beginning the reader is given little clues as to the true nature of the town, with it's high school at the epicenter of the weird.
The type of monster in the story is definitely a homage to Lovecraft, as it has a marine-dwelling kraken/squid type beasty, a cult, and some very shady characters. But while there is obvious horror in the book, I feel that the story overall was still much more hopeful than anything Lovecraft wrote.
Without the setting, the book would have such a different feel. It had to be in a fishing village, and it had to be in some whole in the wall town. The reader saw everything through a screen of ageing, making you feel as if there characters were straddling both the present day and the 1800s. But my favorite part of the whole book had to be the characters. H2, Lydia, Lub, and Aunt Sel are all great, and bring another aspect to the story that was really necessary. H2 is the "hero" and demonstrates this well. He stands up to people, he fights for what needs to be done, and he really cares about what happens to everyone else (well at least the good guys). Lydia is like the commander of the operation, showing wisdom way beyond her years and a knack for getting the job done. Lub is the comic relief, but is integral to solving the mystery; without him the whole thing would have never come together. Finally, Aunt Sel is by no means a parent, but she is exactly the type of "authority figure" H2 needs when his mother goes missing; loving without being motherly, she allows him to do what he needs to do.
When I started Harrison Squared, I had no idea that it was a kind of prequel to one of Daryl's previous books We Are All Completely Fine, but I will be sure to read that book and all of Daryl's other books; maybe I will see Lovecraft in a new light after delving deeper into them! Harrison Squared is fun, frightening, and delivers a punch at the end. I suggest, even if you're not a "fan" of the horror/supernatural genre, you give this book a chance; it is well worth it!
Harrison Harrison (or H2 as his Mom calls him), is just your average 17 year old with a prosethtic leg that was a result of a tragic boating accident. Now the real question is, was this boating accident from a storm or a monstrous creature? Either way, H2 lost his father to the accident, and it's just been him and his absentminded marine biologist mother ever since. Now, in the middle of his Junior year, his mother moves across the country in search of giant squids, and H2 must deal with the very strange town of Dunnsmouth in the deal.
H2 is a good, solid protagonist. I immediately like him for his snark and his heart. He loves his mother dearly, and works to help her keep their little family together. But at the same time, he gets angry when her "science-brain" takes over and she forgets things. Their relationship is a very normal one, and that helps off-set the very weird events that take place in the dismal fishing town of Dunnsmouth, Massachusetts. From the very beginning the reader is given little clues as to the true nature of the town, with it's high school at the epicenter of the weird.
The type of monster in the story is definitely a homage to Lovecraft, as it has a marine-dwelling kraken/squid type beasty, a cult, and some very shady characters. But while there is obvious horror in the book, I feel that the story overall was still much more hopeful than anything Lovecraft wrote.
Without the setting, the book would have such a different feel. It had to be in a fishing village, and it had to be in some whole in the wall town. The reader saw everything through a screen of ageing, making you feel as if there characters were straddling both the present day and the 1800s. But my favorite part of the whole book had to be the characters. H2, Lydia, Lub, and Aunt Sel are all great, and bring another aspect to the story that was really necessary. H2 is the "hero" and demonstrates this well. He stands up to people, he fights for what needs to be done, and he really cares about what happens to everyone else (well at least the good guys). Lydia is like the commander of the operation, showing wisdom way beyond her years and a knack for getting the job done. Lub is the comic relief, but is integral to solving the mystery; without him the whole thing would have never come together. Finally, Aunt Sel is by no means a parent, but she is exactly the type of "authority figure" H2 needs when his mother goes missing; loving without being motherly, she allows him to do what he needs to do.
When I started Harrison Squared, I had no idea that it was a kind of prequel to one of Daryl's previous books We Are All Completely Fine, but I will be sure to read that book and all of Daryl's other books; maybe I will see Lovecraft in a new light after delving deeper into them! Harrison Squared is fun, frightening, and delivers a punch at the end. I suggest, even if you're not a "fan" of the horror/supernatural genre, you give this book a chance; it is well worth it!