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A review by sipping_tea_with_ghosts
Awakened by James S. Murray, Darren Wearmouth
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I had fun with this book, but I'd be lying if I said if it was anything but aggressively ok. Awakened plays out like an action-horror movie from the early 2000s that no one but FX or those dedicated rerun channels remembers fondly. There's nothing wrong with just being ok, it's just that if you're looking for something that has a grounded plot, fleshed out characters, the usual - you won't find that here.
First off, what I liked - the setup: during the lavish reveal of a subway line, the train meant to crown the achievement never reaches its destination. Upon further investigation, the train was stopped before leaving the subway roof and is covered in blood, not a body in sight. The initial classification of this is a particularly sadistic terrorist attack and we spend a fair amount of time investigating and revealing the true foe that everyone is up against.
There are some good and genuinely creepy moments throughout the story involving the many disposable characters, but as time goes on andconspiracy nonsense starts taking the front seat, that's when I started to check out of the plot. Again, if it's deliberately trying to evoke that old action-horror vibe of Hellboy derivatives, that's fine but it feels like it tries to overcomplicate itself and has some very sudden character developments.
The characters in this story are also very one note and feel more like they're simply programs meant to further along the plot. What character traits you can surmise from these people boils down to Generic Man Who is Determined or fun facts such as Firefly T-Shirt ex-con and Aggressively French.
The last act confrontations and resolution admittedly didn't sell me on diving into the next book right away, but like I said, I enjoyed myself. On the whole, Awakened's plot is bonkers but in a way you've probably seen before if you were born in the 90s. The humor can be very hit and miss, and the characters are fading from my memory already. However, the action is fun and intense, the monsters are simple yet effective and there is a morbid curiosity in seeing how far this can go - like a Resident Evil level of disaster.
First off, what I liked - the setup: during the lavish reveal of a subway line, the train meant to crown the achievement never reaches its destination. Upon further investigation, the train was stopped before leaving the subway roof and is covered in blood, not a body in sight. The initial classification of this is a particularly sadistic terrorist attack and we spend a fair amount of time investigating and revealing the true foe that everyone is up against.
There are some good and genuinely creepy moments throughout the story involving the many disposable characters, but as time goes on and
The characters in this story are also very one note and feel more like they're simply programs meant to further along the plot. What character traits you can surmise from these people boils down to Generic Man Who is Determined or fun facts such as Firefly T-Shirt ex-con and Aggressively French.
The last act confrontations and resolution admittedly didn't sell me on diving into the next book right away, but like I said, I enjoyed myself. On the whole, Awakened's plot is bonkers but in a way you've probably seen before if you were born in the 90s. The humor can be very hit and miss, and the characters are fading from my memory already. However, the action is fun and intense, the monsters are simple yet effective and there is a morbid curiosity in seeing how far this can go - like a Resident Evil level of disaster.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Death, and Gore
Minor: Pregnancy