Take a photo of a barcode or cover
emilycombs 's review for:
Everything the Darkness Eats
by Eric LaRocca
Based on the description, this sounded like a story I’d find fascinating. There’s lots to be said about small towns, bigotry, the way humans behave when they feel trapped or a cult is influencing their thinking. And, in general, I’m a sucker for stories with supernatural elements.
But there was far too much left out to justify vivid use of bigotry and its resulting violence—especially the graphic rape of Malik. What point did that traumatic scene serve? Why did that get such attention to detail, of all things? No part of this book helps clarify what the author is hoping to contribute as a storyteller who is wielding highly sensitive topics like homophobia, ableism, sexual assault, etc. All that, plus the dialogue and internal monologues were clunky as hell, and the characters flat.
It felt like a very early draft to pitch a concept, though I’m still not sure what it hoped to achieve. God saves, was that the message? If a god (or something like it) that never asks your consent to change your life but does anyway, you can finally forget all your troubles and be protected from harm? I don't even know. Truly can't recommend it.
But there was far too much left out to justify vivid use of bigotry and its resulting violence—especially the graphic rape of Malik. What point did that traumatic scene serve? Why did that get such attention to detail, of all things? No part of this book helps clarify what the author is hoping to contribute as a storyteller who is wielding highly sensitive topics like homophobia, ableism, sexual assault, etc. All that, plus the dialogue and internal monologues were clunky as hell, and the characters flat.
It felt like a very early draft to pitch a concept, though I’m still not sure what it hoped to achieve. God saves, was that the message? If a god (or something like it) that never asks your consent to change your life but does anyway, you can finally forget all your troubles and be protected from harm? I don't even know. Truly can't recommend it.