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A review by writerdgabrielle
Hemlock Grove by Brian McGreevy
3.0
Let me begin by saying if you are, as I am, averse to the placation of an epilogue, the nice, neat tying up of loose ends, you can stop reading once you have finished the chapter titled Peripeteia, Redux, following the second scene in the chapel. While they are not labeled as such the final two chapters function as an epilogue (Six months after the melee, here is where we find our cast . . .). There are a few useful morsels, one of which is left vague enough to actually create new questions, but I am not certain, beyond confirmation of suspicions raised in the active text, any of the information was crucial to my understanding of events. In fact, as is often the case with epilogues, I felt it dumbed down what was an otherwise decent story.
That said . . .
If you are coming into this book because you the Netflix series (which is no longer on Netflix; sorry), you will enjoy the book. Enjoy, maybe not love. I think there is a richness of character to be found in the adaptation that we don't always get from McGreevy's descriptions. Perhaps they are intentionally vague, outside of Olivia Godfrey, who is described nearly every time she enters a scene. Perhaps that is done to add an extra layer to her conceit. Perhaps it is done because she is the true star of the story even though we are made to believe through the cover art and throughout the story that it is Peter Rumancek, the Romani boy alleged to be a werewolf.
Others have mentioned the characters names, how they tell us upfront what we are to expect from those characters. Peter (and the Wolf), Roman (who is eccentric and prone to excess and indulgence as is often the portrayal of ancient Rome, plus there is the Godfrey empire to consider), Letha (an alternate spelling of Lethe, the river to the Greek Underworld), Shelley (a docile creature who loves to a destructive end, seen as a monster by most, brought back from the dead by science, an allusion to Mary Shelley) . . . As an author myself, I am drawn to the science and art of character naming and as such, this clever, sometimes over-the-top, machination sends my little heart a-flutter. I love the thought and consideration that went into naming these characters, because names are a thing for which I have great attention and admiration.
All in all, as I mentioned before, if you are—as I suspect after this amount of time—picking up this book because you enjoyed the series, I might say, be prepared for a page turner but also be prepared to potentially file this in the rare category of "Maybe the adaptation was better," if simply for the perfect embodiments from the chosen cast. Beyond Landon Liboiron and Bill Skarsgard, Peter and Roman, respectively, which is where so many adaptations stop. Even in the smallest roles—Lili Taylor as Peter's mother Lynda, who is present for a cumulative total of maybe five of the book's 318 pages—the casting was exquisite. And that, dear reader, I feel added to the reading experience in ways I think may have detracted from my enjoyment, had I found the book first.
One final thought: While possessing horrific elements (werewolves, vampires, there is some gore, and a couple potentially triggering scenes of assault and animal death), I feel—between the use of monsters as regular people and regular people as monsters and the mystery/amateur crime solver element—urban fantasy is a closer representation of the genre for this book. Perhaps a darker urban fantasy, or a hybrid urban fantasy horror, but I don't believe it is rooted firmly enough in the horrific to be labeled strictly as horror. In other words, I wouldn't recommend going into this with the hope of sleeping with the lights on. It is not that kind of story.
That said . . .
If you are coming into this book because you the Netflix series (which is no longer on Netflix; sorry), you will enjoy the book. Enjoy, maybe not love. I think there is a richness of character to be found in the adaptation that we don't always get from McGreevy's descriptions. Perhaps they are intentionally vague, outside of Olivia Godfrey, who is described nearly every time she enters a scene. Perhaps that is done to add an extra layer to her conceit. Perhaps it is done because she is the true star of the story even though we are made to believe through the cover art and throughout the story that it is Peter Rumancek, the Romani boy alleged to be a werewolf.
Others have mentioned the characters names, how they tell us upfront what we are to expect from those characters. Peter (and the Wolf), Roman (who is eccentric and prone to excess and indulgence as is often the portrayal of ancient Rome, plus there is the Godfrey empire to consider), Letha (an alternate spelling of Lethe, the river to the Greek Underworld), Shelley (a docile creature who loves to a destructive end, seen as a monster by most, brought back from the dead by science, an allusion to Mary Shelley) . . . As an author myself, I am drawn to the science and art of character naming and as such, this clever, sometimes over-the-top, machination sends my little heart a-flutter. I love the thought and consideration that went into naming these characters, because names are a thing for which I have great attention and admiration.
All in all, as I mentioned before, if you are—as I suspect after this amount of time—picking up this book because you enjoyed the series, I might say, be prepared for a page turner but also be prepared to potentially file this in the rare category of "Maybe the adaptation was better," if simply for the perfect embodiments from the chosen cast. Beyond Landon Liboiron and Bill Skarsgard, Peter and Roman, respectively, which is where so many adaptations stop. Even in the smallest roles—Lili Taylor as Peter's mother Lynda, who is present for a cumulative total of maybe five of the book's 318 pages—the casting was exquisite. And that, dear reader, I feel added to the reading experience in ways I think may have detracted from my enjoyment, had I found the book first.
One final thought: While possessing horrific elements (werewolves, vampires, there is some gore, and a couple potentially triggering scenes of assault and animal death), I feel—between the use of monsters as regular people and regular people as monsters and the mystery/amateur crime solver element—urban fantasy is a closer representation of the genre for this book. Perhaps a darker urban fantasy, or a hybrid urban fantasy horror, but I don't believe it is rooted firmly enough in the horrific to be labeled strictly as horror. In other words, I wouldn't recommend going into this with the hope of sleeping with the lights on. It is not that kind of story.