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A review by beau_reads_books
The Pale House Devil by Richard Kadrey
3.0
“Sooner or later, someone would come back. Sooner or later, someone would return to play.”
Fast, fun, freaky. Good banter between main characters, combines the better parts of dark noir and monster horror. Good/evil perspective flips are always an interesting mechanic. The action starts and never stops while leaving you wanting more which, unfortunately, held up most of the novella.
Vague city, population: this book. The creature just…creatured. The main antagonist was laughably bad, the edgy dialogue created a caricature of villainy. We know the MC’s heights. And…that’s about it. Very little character depth aside from a little background on Neuland and even that seemed out of place because of how barebones the plot was. The drawback of horror novellas is the small window for not only impact but also adequate definition. It’s a goal, not a shoo-in.
2.5/5 Points for concept and initiative, ironically needed more flesh.
Fast, fun, freaky. Good banter between main characters, combines the better parts of dark noir and monster horror. Good/evil perspective flips are always an interesting mechanic. The action starts and never stops while leaving you wanting more which, unfortunately, held up most of the novella.
Vague city, population: this book. The creature just…creatured. The main antagonist was laughably bad, the edgy dialogue created a caricature of villainy. We know the MC’s heights. And…that’s about it. Very little character depth aside from a little background on Neuland and even that seemed out of place because of how barebones the plot was. The drawback of horror novellas is the small window for not only impact but also adequate definition. It’s a goal, not a shoo-in.
2.5/5 Points for concept and initiative, ironically needed more flesh.