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A review by georgesreads
The Navajo Nightmare by David Sodergren, Steve Stred
2.0
I have very complex feelings about this book.
Starting with the positives:
1) The body horror is just immaculate. Having read The Haar by Sodergren and Mastodon by Steve Stred, I expected an absolute gore-fest, and this didn't disappoint in that department.
2) Especially with extreme horror, I appreciate a fast paced narrative.. and The Navajo Nightmare is action packed from beginning to end. The pacing here will keep you on the edge of your seat, and leave you with whiplash.
My issues were:
1) The writing for the first 20% really disappointed me, it felt clumsy and rushed. Having read both authors individually, I can vouch that they're both excellent at what they do.. but this one fell a bit flat for me. Luckily, a little later on this massively improves, and adheres more to what we KNOW Sodergren and Stred are capable of.
2) The characterisation. Again, this was a particular issue for me at the beginning of the story, and after a certain.. unfortunate event.. Charles (the main character) becomes much more enjoyable to read about. My problem was that it seemed the authors were trying to highlight the fact he was "Edgy," at every available opportunity. There's one line about every shirt he owns being covered in blood.. and it's just unnecessary (and also impractical) points like that that made Charles feel a little three dimensional.
PLEASE note that all opinions here are my own, and if you think differently that is OK. My overall feelings are that if the first 20-25% of the book was rewritten we would have a much more coherent and all-round satisfying story. Regardless, for the last 75% I largely enjoyed what I was reading, and this is by no means a deterrent.
Here's a brief synopsis in case you want to give this a go. Charles was once a hardened outlaw, and brutal killer- but three years after rescuing his wife Mary from a brothel, he has settled down and adjusted to family life in a quiet town. Life seems to be going well, until a group of bandits attempt to steal Charles' horses- a mistake that costs one thug two fingers. Whilst in a neighbouring town attempting to secure a loan, the bandits appear at Charles' home, and in place of two of his fingers... murder his wife, and three year old stepson Jack. Driven by hatred and revenge, Charles soon returns to his old ways, and the forces of pure evil are on his side this time.
Starting with the positives:
1) The body horror is just immaculate. Having read The Haar by Sodergren and Mastodon by Steve Stred, I expected an absolute gore-fest, and this didn't disappoint in that department.
2) Especially with extreme horror, I appreciate a fast paced narrative.. and The Navajo Nightmare is action packed from beginning to end. The pacing here will keep you on the edge of your seat, and leave you with whiplash.
My issues were:
1) The writing for the first 20% really disappointed me, it felt clumsy and rushed. Having read both authors individually, I can vouch that they're both excellent at what they do.. but this one fell a bit flat for me. Luckily, a little later on this massively improves, and adheres more to what we KNOW Sodergren and Stred are capable of.
2) The characterisation. Again, this was a particular issue for me at the beginning of the story, and after a certain.. unfortunate event.. Charles (the main character) becomes much more enjoyable to read about. My problem was that it seemed the authors were trying to highlight the fact he was "Edgy," at every available opportunity. There's one line about every shirt he owns being covered in blood.. and it's just unnecessary (and also impractical) points like that that made Charles feel a little three dimensional.
PLEASE note that all opinions here are my own, and if you think differently that is OK. My overall feelings are that if the first 20-25% of the book was rewritten we would have a much more coherent and all-round satisfying story. Regardless, for the last 75% I largely enjoyed what I was reading, and this is by no means a deterrent.
Here's a brief synopsis in case you want to give this a go. Charles was once a hardened outlaw, and brutal killer- but three years after rescuing his wife Mary from a brothel, he has settled down and adjusted to family life in a quiet town. Life seems to be going well, until a group of bandits attempt to steal Charles' horses- a mistake that costs one thug two fingers. Whilst in a neighbouring town attempting to secure a loan, the bandits appear at Charles' home, and in place of two of his fingers... murder his wife, and three year old stepson Jack. Driven by hatred and revenge, Charles soon returns to his old ways, and the forces of pure evil are on his side this time.