Scan barcode
A review by kcfromaustcrime
Origin by Aaron Sterns, Greg McLean
3.0
I've never seen the movie WOLF CREEK and undoubtedly never will. The idea of extreme violence, cruelty and madness on the page is one thing, visually another completely different for this reader anyway.
Had the books not been offered as review copies, it's doubtful I would ever have read either of them. They definitely aren't my preference, so it's only fair to say that ORIGIN was a struggle. The violence and deprivation are stark and very in your face. The book is a prequel to the movie, designed to introduce readers to the young boy that became the psychotic killer. So there's animal cruelty, deprivation, violence, dysfunctional families, bullying workmates, heaps of hiding out in the bush, and basically not a lot of hope anywhere you look.
Which is possibly exactly the sort of thing that readers of this style of book like. It did however contribute to making that struggle to read, not helped by some of the more predictable plot elements. Even without seeing the movie it's obvious that Taylor is the sort of character that can't sink much lower, so his journey there from childhood doesn't break new ground. In fact there wasn't much in the character "development" that surprised all that much. Having said that it's obvious that's not what these books are about (the second in the series is called DESOLATION GAME). They are filling in the background to one of the great psycho killers of Australian movie fame. They are fleshing out his journey from boy to killer, from human being to walking treat. Fortunately there's no attempt to justify, or explain, or soften the blow of what he has become. Given that the violence and depravity is graphic and explicit, this isn't a book for people who don't have very high tolerance levels. ORIGIN is most likely one for fans of horror, violence and absolutely, for fans of the movie.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/review-origin-greg-mclean-and-aaron-sterns
Had the books not been offered as review copies, it's doubtful I would ever have read either of them. They definitely aren't my preference, so it's only fair to say that ORIGIN was a struggle. The violence and deprivation are stark and very in your face. The book is a prequel to the movie, designed to introduce readers to the young boy that became the psychotic killer. So there's animal cruelty, deprivation, violence, dysfunctional families, bullying workmates, heaps of hiding out in the bush, and basically not a lot of hope anywhere you look.
Which is possibly exactly the sort of thing that readers of this style of book like. It did however contribute to making that struggle to read, not helped by some of the more predictable plot elements. Even without seeing the movie it's obvious that Taylor is the sort of character that can't sink much lower, so his journey there from childhood doesn't break new ground. In fact there wasn't much in the character "development" that surprised all that much. Having said that it's obvious that's not what these books are about (the second in the series is called DESOLATION GAME). They are filling in the background to one of the great psycho killers of Australian movie fame. They are fleshing out his journey from boy to killer, from human being to walking treat. Fortunately there's no attempt to justify, or explain, or soften the blow of what he has become. Given that the violence and depravity is graphic and explicit, this isn't a book for people who don't have very high tolerance levels. ORIGIN is most likely one for fans of horror, violence and absolutely, for fans of the movie.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/review-origin-greg-mclean-and-aaron-sterns