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pleasereadittome 's review for:
The Bright Lands
by John Fram
“The Bright Lands” was the thriller/horror/mystery I had been waiting for all year!
Combining bonkers plot twists with social commentary and a truly unsettling last act, the novel is an excellent introduction to the talent of John Fram, who with a little more development, could become the next big thing in horror.
All that to say, the novel is far from perfect.
It’s a tad long and there are too many characters contributing to the alternating POVs to sometimes keep track of where one person’s narrative ends and the other’s picks up. The writing is mostly matter of fact and fragmented at times, but Fram keeps the plot chugging along even as it veers from the natural to the supernatural.
And, about that plot, well, it’s a doozy. I won't give too much away, but let's say it covers everything from drug abuse, racism, self-hatred and exploitation to dream-dwelling demons.
Given the subject matter, this won’t be a story everyone will like, but I appreciate that Fram doubled down on some unpopular topics the last 100-pages instead of playing it safe.
Throughout “Lands” I was reminded of early works by Blake Crouch – specifically “Abandon” and “Run” – that were high on originality, but a little low on plotting, character development and writing. I think Fram will evolve much in the way Crouch has, and I can’t wait to see what he does next.
Combining bonkers plot twists with social commentary and a truly unsettling last act, the novel is an excellent introduction to the talent of John Fram, who with a little more development, could become the next big thing in horror.
All that to say, the novel is far from perfect.
It’s a tad long and there are too many characters contributing to the alternating POVs to sometimes keep track of where one person’s narrative ends and the other’s picks up. The writing is mostly matter of fact and fragmented at times, but Fram keeps the plot chugging along even as it veers from the natural to the supernatural.
And, about that plot, well, it’s a doozy. I won't give too much away, but let's say it covers everything from drug abuse, racism, self-hatred and exploitation to dream-dwelling demons.
Given the subject matter, this won’t be a story everyone will like, but I appreciate that Fram doubled down on some unpopular topics the last 100-pages instead of playing it safe.
Throughout “Lands” I was reminded of early works by Blake Crouch – specifically “Abandon” and “Run” – that were high on originality, but a little low on plotting, character development and writing. I think Fram will evolve much in the way Crouch has, and I can’t wait to see what he does next.