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A review by reads_vicariously
The Blackening by Seán O'Connor
2.0
Man, I really wanted to like this book. I loved the setting and all the descriptive imagery made it easy to picture myself strolling on that black sand beach or cowering in fear in those dark underground tunnels. I also thought the "creature" design was compelling and it had some cool moments. And that one jolting, brutal massacre scene? *chefs kiss*
With its emphasis on cults and cosmic horror, this book should have been right up my alley. Unfortunately, I found myself struggling to enjoy it. Sure there's flat, cliche dialogue and various plot holes, but I can overlook those to some degree if I care about the characters. And I think that's where the book lost me the most. I didn't like or empathize with anyone in the story. They're just too much like cardboard cutouts from other sci-fi/action stories and that, along with the stilted dialogue and nonsensical decision-making, is why even when the story ramps up in the second half I found it hard to get excited.
Honestly, I enjoyed the book more in the second half for sure, especially when I began to re-frame it as a cheesy B-movie flick. I kept wanting to yell at the screen/page "why are you doing that?" and "why are you saying it that way?". So in that way it was kind of fun, but I also don't think that's what the author was going for. There's definitely a good story outline and character types here, but for me the execution just didn't make them any more than that.
With its emphasis on cults and cosmic horror, this book should have been right up my alley. Unfortunately, I found myself struggling to enjoy it. Sure there's flat, cliche dialogue and various plot holes, but I can overlook those to some degree if I care about the characters. And I think that's where the book lost me the most. I didn't like or empathize with anyone in the story. They're just too much like cardboard cutouts from other sci-fi/action stories and that, along with the stilted dialogue and nonsensical decision-making, is why even when the story ramps up in the second half I found it hard to get excited.
Honestly, I enjoyed the book more in the second half for sure, especially when I began to re-frame it as a cheesy B-movie flick. I kept wanting to yell at the screen/page "why are you doing that?" and "why are you saying it that way?". So in that way it was kind of fun, but I also don't think that's what the author was going for. There's definitely a good story outline and character types here, but for me the execution just didn't make them any more than that.