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A review by adperfectamconsilium
Cursed Legacy by H. Everend
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I liked the premise of this one. A story following generations of four families over more than four centuries. A growing evil cursing the families and using them and a house to build its power and unleash itself upon the world.
Unfortunately it just didn't click with me.
The positive side is the general idea, the writing style is easy to read, there are nice illustrations at the beginning of each chapter and there are some good set pieces with multiple character deaths, demonic creatures and artifacts and diabolical possession.
Each chapter is in a different time period. We start in the 1600s and then follow successive generations in following chapters until we get close to the present day and the big finale.
While this style seemed a good idea I found it didn't give enough time to get to know any of the characters. It was much more plot focused.
By the time I'd got a third of the way through the book I found it confusing as to who was related to each other and how they linked to their ancestors.
No one is safe. There are many gruesome deaths to please horror fans but with trying to keep straight who everyone was I was bewildered by how there were enough family members left alive for there to be further generations. I needed a score sheet.
I also found it repetitive. New chapter, new POV, family members brought together to either fight or feed the evil, possession and betrayal, death and destruction and horror and fade out and repeat. The horror was no longer a surprise, the characters had no time to react and I began to feel a little bored. It didn't help that there were lots of typos, wrong words and grammatical errors. I think I started noticing them more as the story wasn't engaging me.
Great idea but I think a fantastic novel could have been made from expanding the first and last generations and their stories and missing out everything in the middle.
Unfortunately it just didn't click with me.
The positive side is the general idea, the writing style is easy to read, there are nice illustrations at the beginning of each chapter and there are some good set pieces with multiple character deaths, demonic creatures and artifacts and diabolical possession.
Each chapter is in a different time period. We start in the 1600s and then follow successive generations in following chapters until we get close to the present day and the big finale.
While this style seemed a good idea I found it didn't give enough time to get to know any of the characters. It was much more plot focused.
By the time I'd got a third of the way through the book I found it confusing as to who was related to each other and how they linked to their ancestors.
No one is safe. There are many gruesome deaths to please horror fans but with trying to keep straight who everyone was I was bewildered by how there were enough family members left alive for there to be further generations. I needed a score sheet.
I also found it repetitive. New chapter, new POV, family members brought together to either fight or feed the evil, possession and betrayal, death and destruction and horror and fade out and repeat. The horror was no longer a surprise, the characters had no time to react and I began to feel a little bored. It didn't help that there were lots of typos, wrong words and grammatical errors. I think I started noticing them more as the story wasn't engaging me.
Great idea but I think a fantastic novel could have been made from expanding the first and last generations and their stories and missing out everything in the middle.