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jefftriestoread 's review for:
Hell Is Empty
by Craig Johnson
**Update 7/22: this story and Walt’s thoughts, visions and need to complete this crucible have resonated well. I love when the fabric of a book and characters keep warm in your pocket. Upping to 4. I went and watched the related Longmire episode and it made me like the book more too. **
This story is a journey, a chase, not a mystery. That was fine, Walt is entitled to it I guess. The setup for the fugitive escape and ridiculous flight into the frozen hell and fervor of Walt’s doggedness could easily be considered contrived, to be generous. But I forgive much of that as there is some fate being fulfilled where both predator and prey are pawns. If as Virgil mentions we aren’t to be concerned with the moral of the story, why should coincidence be considered anything other than a whimsical tool of some other.
By the end, I did feel hit over the head with the references to Dante and Walt’s inner monologue/ dialogue and even the flashbacks. The play between Shades and Walt, the mountain lion and every scene with Virgil were great. But everyone not on the mountain were cardboard characters, often distracting in their monotonous chorus of “wait for backup”.
A shorter tale, with more Virgil and less reflection/repetition would have been better for me, but I still found it enjoyable.
This story is a journey, a chase, not a mystery. That was fine, Walt is entitled to it I guess. The setup for the fugitive escape and ridiculous flight into the frozen hell and fervor of Walt’s doggedness could easily be considered contrived, to be generous. But I forgive much of that as there is some fate being fulfilled where both predator and prey are pawns. If as Virgil mentions we aren’t to be concerned with the moral of the story, why should coincidence be considered anything other than a whimsical tool of some other.
By the end, I did feel hit over the head with the references to Dante and Walt’s inner monologue/ dialogue and even the flashbacks. The play between Shades and Walt, the mountain lion and every scene with Virgil were great. But everyone not on the mountain were cardboard characters, often distracting in their monotonous chorus of “wait for backup”.
A shorter tale, with more Virgil and less reflection/repetition would have been better for me, but I still found it enjoyable.