originalhal's reviews
10 reviews

Suttree by Cormac McCarthy

dark emotional funny reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Pure McCarthy. Not as prosaically perfect as Blood Meridian, but still a magnificent and indulgent read into the depths of 1950s Tennessee. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Self harm, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, and Violence

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

dark informative reflective tense 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? Yes

3.0

The prose, in my opinion, is not very interesting, and I felt like I was just slogging through it. But the ideas touched on - ethics in science, hubris, etc - are profound and done well.

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I found the prose plodding and a little lacking, but the character writing of Toru Watanabe is superb: a man caught between his mistakes and continuing to make mistakes; a man who does not know what he wants, really. The women in the novel are not written with much complexity, but I feel this is acceptable as the protagonist - whose perspective we see from - is a subtle misogynist who does not see women as complex people.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual content and Suicide

Communion by Whitley Strieber

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Well-written psychological horror/thriller. Strieber’s imagination is vast and he captures the tension of nightmares, past and present, wonderfully.

The Black Company by Glen Cook

adventurous dark funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Well-written dark fantasy, done without relying on the tropes of baroquely written sex and violence. There is a tight perfunctoriness to Cook’s writing style that provides the perfect platform on which imagine the scene; the prose Spartan but not lazy.

There’s something refreshing about how Cook captures the atmosphere and dynamics of young men in a company stuck together, namely the gallows humour and reluctant affection they have for one another. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to read a more refined ASOIAF.

The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy

dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Pure, undiluted McCarthy. It falters in places - the structure is essentially the protagonist going from conversation to conversation with little exposition, there’s a strange interlude about the JFK assassination that doesn’t really fit in anywhere, and the sequences with the Thalidomide Kid are a combination of dull and annoying - but outside of that, it is as impeccably written as we have come to expect from McCarthy, especially the very last couple of pages.

I cannot help but feel, however, that this is a book that requires reading at least three or four times before I can completely grasp it. So take this review with a pinch of salt.

The Poincaré Conjecture: In Search of the Shape of the Universe by Donal O'Shea

informative inspiring medium-paced

4.0

A good, accessible breakdown for the layman and academic alike of what is a very complex, almost arcane scientific field. I would recommend this even if you aren’t particularly interested in the sciences, as the historical thread running through the book is interesting on its own.  

The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy

challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The ending is absolutely wonderful, but it comes after what I found to be a very, very slow and plodding book that was not particularly McCarthyian nor particularly engaging. 

All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A beautifully written exploration of the intensity of love when you’re a teenager, and the way it can drag you into reality as much as it takes you out of it.

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A gripping, beautifully written exploration of the inherent nature of man, his capacity to change, and whether he has that capacity at all.

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Content Warnings

If you have any triggers whatsoever, for God’s sake, don’t read this book.