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A review by frombethanysbookshelf
The Daves Next Door by Will Carver
5.0
In July 2022, a terror attack send shockwaves through London. Now, the ICS are trying to examine the evidence, find out what actually happened that day and everything that led to that moment. Could it have been prevented? Was it inevitable? And what really is the start of a story?
We explore the intertwined lives and deaths of perfect strangers as they orbit each other, waiting for collision. The nurse who has lost her humanity, the young man waking up in hospital to a world of black and white, the widower seeing angels, the con artists who might be murderers, the commuter reading on the train, two men named Dave who may have a brain tumour - and the potential terrorist, riding the same train every day, watching and waiting. But waiting for what, exactly?
"If a butterfly can cause a tornado, if something so small can have such a giant effect, what, then, is the effect of the tornado? What happens when I blow up everybody on this train? Could I make the world end? Would that be such a bad thing?"
This isn't a book about terrorists, there's just terrorism in it. It's a book about the curiosity of the human condition. About true horror, the kind not on a screen but hidden in the people we know. About the countless sides of a single story, and the strange intricacies of what it means to be human.
Will Carver has a style like no other - truly intense and absorbing. With swift, jarring changes between unique perspectives each with a distinct voice and intriguing visual style. Each story moves quickly, but still manages to give intricate details for each and not push any to the side.
This is a mystery like no other - our narrator is almost ethereal and strange. With an unnerving otherness that makes it seem like our potential terrorist is reading along with us, watching in a morbid curiosity as hellish dreamscapes play out on each page.
This book offers no real answers - but leaves a thousand questions. If you want something neatly wrapped up and explained, put this book down and walk away. However, if you're ready to be challenged, confused, and chaotic - this is for you, dear reader.
Thank you to Karen at Orenda Books and Anne at Random Things for inviting me to take part in this tour. I was gifted an advanced reviewers copy of this title in return for an honest review.
We explore the intertwined lives and deaths of perfect strangers as they orbit each other, waiting for collision. The nurse who has lost her humanity, the young man waking up in hospital to a world of black and white, the widower seeing angels, the con artists who might be murderers, the commuter reading on the train, two men named Dave who may have a brain tumour - and the potential terrorist, riding the same train every day, watching and waiting. But waiting for what, exactly?
"If a butterfly can cause a tornado, if something so small can have such a giant effect, what, then, is the effect of the tornado? What happens when I blow up everybody on this train? Could I make the world end? Would that be such a bad thing?"
This isn't a book about terrorists, there's just terrorism in it. It's a book about the curiosity of the human condition. About true horror, the kind not on a screen but hidden in the people we know. About the countless sides of a single story, and the strange intricacies of what it means to be human.
Will Carver has a style like no other - truly intense and absorbing. With swift, jarring changes between unique perspectives each with a distinct voice and intriguing visual style. Each story moves quickly, but still manages to give intricate details for each and not push any to the side.
This is a mystery like no other - our narrator is almost ethereal and strange. With an unnerving otherness that makes it seem like our potential terrorist is reading along with us, watching in a morbid curiosity as hellish dreamscapes play out on each page.
This book offers no real answers - but leaves a thousand questions. If you want something neatly wrapped up and explained, put this book down and walk away. However, if you're ready to be challenged, confused, and chaotic - this is for you, dear reader.
Thank you to Karen at Orenda Books and Anne at Random Things for inviting me to take part in this tour. I was gifted an advanced reviewers copy of this title in return for an honest review.