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A review by mikekaz
Depraved by Bryan Smith
4.0
I'm a late arrival to the Bryan Smith Fan Club but I'm quickly embracing him. This book and the previous one I read by him have both been intense, graphic and very violent. At times, so casually factual with the violence that I would stop and have to re-read the last paragraph just to make sure I read what I did and to let it sink in. I've already added seven of his books to my "to read" list and I'm sure I'll be adding more. Like the two sequels to this book.
The story focuses on the town of Hopkins Bend and a large cast of characters. I'm not even going to try to detail all of them. Basically multiple individuals and couples end up being abducted and held by the citizens of Hopkins Bend. Reasons for the abduction include as prisoners for the town's annual Holiday Feast, as sex slaves, as goods to be sold in order to make money, and as a vessel. While the bulk of the horrors perpetrated are based upon human debauchery and survival, there is also a supernatural element to the happenings. In all, there is a lot happening and the journey is fun.
One of the things that was kind of amazing was how well Smith weaved the different plot lines together. Normally in a novel like this, the characters all start together and then separate as disasters occur. Or the reverse as different characters all come together in the final act to help defeat the Big Bad. This time though, there are at least five distinct plot lines that only have a minimal amount of overlap. Everything happens in the same twenty-four hour period and in the same town, so it's not as disconnected as it seems. The only negative for me was that I ended up reading the book in short batches. Thirty pages here. Twenty pages a week later. Another twenty a week later. I lost some of the impact by doing this, especially since I had to keep remembering who was in which plot line. "Oh yeah, Megan is Pete's girlfriend who was captured by the deputy. Michelle is the one trapped in Abby's basement." It would have been better if I could have binge read the book in one or two sessions instead. I will be grabbing a Bryan Smith novel the next time I have a ten hour International flight to take.
The story focuses on the town of Hopkins Bend and a large cast of characters. I'm not even going to try to detail all of them. Basically multiple individuals and couples end up being abducted and held by the citizens of Hopkins Bend. Reasons for the abduction include as prisoners for the town's annual Holiday Feast, as sex slaves, as goods to be sold in order to make money, and as a vessel. While the bulk of the horrors perpetrated are based upon human debauchery and survival, there is also a supernatural element to the happenings. In all, there is a lot happening and the journey is fun.
One of the things that was kind of amazing was how well Smith weaved the different plot lines together. Normally in a novel like this, the characters all start together and then separate as disasters occur. Or the reverse as different characters all come together in the final act to help defeat the Big Bad. This time though, there are at least five distinct plot lines that only have a minimal amount of overlap. Everything happens in the same twenty-four hour period and in the same town, so it's not as disconnected as it seems. The only negative for me was that I ended up reading the book in short batches. Thirty pages here. Twenty pages a week later. Another twenty a week later. I lost some of the impact by doing this, especially since I had to keep remembering who was in which plot line. "Oh yeah, Megan is Pete's girlfriend who was captured by the deputy. Michelle is the one trapped in Abby's basement." It would have been better if I could have binge read the book in one or two sessions instead. I will be grabbing a Bryan Smith novel the next time I have a ten hour International flight to take.