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A review by lilyn_g
Blackout by Tim Curran
3.0
Blackout had been on my TBR for what seemed like forever. I’d read the synopsis somewhere a couple years ago, and was fascinated, but I could never find the book in any of the stores or library around me. So, when I finally discovered it in the Kindle Unlimited selection, I was over-the-moon happy. I grabbed a drink, curled up in my reading spot on the couch, and prepared to immerse myself in potential greatness.
Curran has a serious talent for painting a creepy, utterly disturbing picture. He makes you believe that it could happen. You feel the disorientation of the main character as his whole world is flipped upside down. You’re thrown off balance by the behavior of the tentacles, as something about them just doesn’t quite make sense. However, settings and atmosphere aside, his characters could use a little work. Some of the reactions and general behaviors just really did not seem correct.
Blackout actually borders on being ‘too much’, but never quite crosses the line into outright campiness. I thoroughly enjoyed 90 percent of the story, engrossed in this nightmarish situation that had developed for the residents of Piccamore way, and was looking forward to an absolutely epic ending that would would finish off this horror tale with a dramatic flourish. I mean, its this beautifully creepy mix of The Mist and War of the Worlds, so I just expected something awesome.
…and then I actually read the ending. There wasn’t anything necessarily wrong with the ending, mind you. The twist at the end was actually kind of unsettling and definitely gross and added a new level of nightmarish to the tale. It was, however, a little empty. I felt like I’d been drug through the mud along with the main character, only to suddenly be thrust out of the story right at the best part and forced to watch how it ended from a distance. It was one of those endings that leave you feeling completely unsatisfied and vaguely disgruntled as you close the book. It brought my overall opinion of the book down significantly.
I still intend to read more of Curran’s work though. So I guess that says something!
Curran has a serious talent for painting a creepy, utterly disturbing picture. He makes you believe that it could happen. You feel the disorientation of the main character as his whole world is flipped upside down. You’re thrown off balance by the behavior of the tentacles, as something about them just doesn’t quite make sense. However, settings and atmosphere aside, his characters could use a little work. Some of the reactions and general behaviors just really did not seem correct.
Blackout actually borders on being ‘too much’, but never quite crosses the line into outright campiness. I thoroughly enjoyed 90 percent of the story, engrossed in this nightmarish situation that had developed for the residents of Piccamore way, and was looking forward to an absolutely epic ending that would would finish off this horror tale with a dramatic flourish. I mean, its this beautifully creepy mix of The Mist and War of the Worlds, so I just expected something awesome.
…and then I actually read the ending. There wasn’t anything necessarily wrong with the ending, mind you. The twist at the end was actually kind of unsettling and definitely gross and added a new level of nightmarish to the tale. It was, however, a little empty. I felt like I’d been drug through the mud along with the main character, only to suddenly be thrust out of the story right at the best part and forced to watch how it ended from a distance. It was one of those endings that leave you feeling completely unsatisfied and vaguely disgruntled as you close the book. It brought my overall opinion of the book down significantly.
I still intend to read more of Curran’s work though. So I guess that says something!