Scan barcode
A review by ravag3
Every Dead Thing by John Connolly
3.0
Fantastic writing style with well developed supporting characters, a believable lead and a truly disturbing villain. Connolly manages to keep you turning pages and desperate to finish that last paragraph of a chapter before stepping off the train.
It's hamstrung a little by the massive body-count. At one point I was convinced that scientists were forced to enact illegal cloning procedures to supplement the production of more humans to keep up with the massive reaping of lives seen in this book; natural birthrates would simply not suffice. I would have enjoyed the book much more if it had been a bit more restrained.
I picked the climax fairly early, which is not a criticism worth noting; one complains if ones doesn't have enough information to resolve a mystery but also feels the bittersweet joy and disappointment in guessing it before arriving at the end.
I'm not sure if I'll continue reading the series, the slightly absurd number of deaths was a pulsing suspension of disbelief blocker; every time another person died I stopped to pause and boggle at the author's casual erasure of life. It's real pity because Connolly's prose is top tier, his characters well-fleshed and his locations teeming with detail, life and authenticity. If you can look past the near-human-extinction levels of mayhem, and enjoy a bit of serial killer / detective fiction then I highly recommend Every Dead Thing.
It's hamstrung a little by the massive body-count. At one point I was convinced that scientists were forced to enact illegal cloning procedures to supplement the production of more humans to keep up with the massive reaping of lives seen in this book; natural birthrates would simply not suffice. I would have enjoyed the book much more if it had been a bit more restrained.
I picked the climax fairly early, which is not a criticism worth noting; one complains if ones doesn't have enough information to resolve a mystery but also feels the bittersweet joy and disappointment in guessing it before arriving at the end.
I'm not sure if I'll continue reading the series, the slightly absurd number of deaths was a pulsing suspension of disbelief blocker; every time another person died I stopped to pause and boggle at the author's casual erasure of life. It's real pity because Connolly's prose is top tier, his characters well-fleshed and his locations teeming with detail, life and authenticity. If you can look past the near-human-extinction levels of mayhem, and enjoy a bit of serial killer / detective fiction then I highly recommend Every Dead Thing.