Look at Mr. King, going back to his roots! Who doesn't love a good, spooky, CLASSIC-STYLED Stephen King novel? It's like comfort food for the brain.Look at Mr. King, going back to his roots! Who doesn't love a good, spooky, CLASSIC-STYLED Stephen King novel? It's like comfort food for the brain....more
Dexter may be a dark and twisted serial killer, but what has made this series so compelling is that we as readers understand and connect with him on aDexter may be a dark and twisted serial killer, but what has made this series so compelling is that we as readers understand and connect with him on a very base level. This handsome and charming, yet inwardly awkward and oddly asexual, man intrigues us. We want to know what makes him tick, to hear what his sometimes-witty-sometimes-sinister inner voice reveals, because we see just a bit of him in ourselves.
Not so in this novel.
This time Dark, Darling Dexter displays all the immaturity, impulsiveness, immorality and shallowness of a fourteen year old hormone-imbalanced boy. He is a wholly unlikable douchebag, though for what it's worth there isn't a single likable character in the bunch. The recurring characters seem to have become caricatures of themselves: Rita stammers and achieves ludicrous levels of bubbleheadedness, Astor is Satan's seething teen daughter, Cody's personality has all but dissolved into nothingness, Debra is f*cking background noise, etc.
Even the plot seems formulaic, practically tedious, this time around. Everything is flat at best, annoying and cloying at worst. There are glimpses of decent writing -- nothing bordering on the garish grammar and awkward writing you may see in a one-star indie novel -- but I can't give this book more than two stars, and only then to acknowledge the decent polish from an experienced writer. The novel, overall, pretty much sucked.
A light bulb came on in my head when Dexter admitted at one point that his predicament resembled an "absurd teen fantasy". Indeed. I concur.
If Dexter's Final Cut is supposed to wrap things up, I wholeheartedly agree it's time to stop beating this dead, bloated and rotting horse, and move on.
As an aside, and to make matters worse, I listened to the Audible.com version, which once again, was tragically read by the author. Whatever happened to Nick Landrum, the guy who read the first few in the series? He gave Dexter a superbly intriguing and potent voice! The author, on the other hand, has been panned repeatedly for his dweeby, flimsy, breathy and weak readings, yet he keeps on keeping on, in this case hurling an otherwise barely mediocre book to the jagged rocks below....more
First and foremost, I found this to be a compelling and thoroughly engaging novel. Especially notable was the narration in the Audible.com version. KaFirst and foremost, I found this to be a compelling and thoroughly engaging novel. Especially notable was the narration in the Audible.com version. Karen Cass gave a perfectly endearing voice and personality to Cathy, the main character. I will certainly seek out other books read by her.
All glory aside, this novel was not without flaws. Some of these puzzled me from beginning to end, and still have me scratching my head. Perhaps I have not read enough of this genre to understand where I must attempt to suspend disbelief and unquestioningly forge ahead?
Here are two examples:
Cathy mentions she never believed that it took being in an abusive situation to understand why an abused person doesn't simply leave a bad relationship...until she herself was drowning in one. I tried desperately to understand, through her eyes, but I still can't quite grasp how things escalated the way they did, when the signs the new boyfriend was creepy and controlling were evident from the beginning. (Yes, it would have made for a boring book had she run at the first sign of ickiness, but I do still wonder.)
Also difficult for me to grasp: knowing the real and present threat of her abuser being released from prison, Cathy 1) hides details of the previous abuse from her loved ones and therapist, which can help others understand her current fears, 2) hides clear signs that her abuser is likely messing with her currently, and 3) makes concerted efforts toward progress on relieving her PTSD/OCD symptoms when the time has finally come for the fear-driven activities to reap some actual benefit. Why would she think desensitizing herself to things that seem off or threatening would be helpful, at the very time her abuser is able be a real threat again?...more
Edit: I DID finish, and have decided I will not continue the series. I have been told the movies have tempered the misogyny, so I may watch to see if Edit: I DID finish, and have decided I will not continue the series. I have been told the movies have tempered the misogyny, so I may watch to see if I can finally discover the appeal of the novel without the women-are-merely-objects irritation.
Not certain if I have the will to finish this novel, though there is only a short bit left to go. Just as it was with Stranger in a Strange Land, I have found the glaring and matter-of-fact misogyny in this book to be both repellent and a distraction from the (perhaps decent?) story itself.
While I realize this is supposed to be a reflection of a culture 60-70-80-90 years ago, the dated mistreatment of women is so very difficult to stomach. Women are objectified continually in all ways imaginable: beaten, "banged", imprisoned within family homes, etc. This is presented like it's expected, like it's the only way, and (most absurdly) like women crave this as the sole type of attention they can handle. Women are possessions, only useful and fulfilled when they are possessed, usually violently, by men.
I can understand why men may find this book so intriguing, but I hope they can also understand why women find it so demoralizing and disturbing. It's like reading a book that makes slavery sound useful, reasonable and justifiable. There may be a solid story line underneath, but all I can see on the page is humiliation, agony and degradation....more
I listened to the Audible.com reading of this wonderfully honest and hilarious book. It held, BY AND FAR, the best and most genuine narration I have eI listened to the Audible.com reading of this wonderfully honest and hilarious book. It held, BY AND FAR, the best and most genuine narration I have ever encountered in an audio book. Even though I often proclaim this type of book is "not my thing" -- I typically go for scifi and anything with lots of action -- I was spellbound by the story, the characters and the authenticity of every detail of this novel. The Help was a thrill to read and I was thoroughly disappointed when it ended....more
The made-for-the-maze lingo seemed a bit forced, but otherwise this was a fun summer read: fast-paced, lots of action and adventure, just enough scifiThe made-for-the-maze lingo seemed a bit forced, but otherwise this was a fun summer read: fast-paced, lots of action and adventure, just enough scifi hints to keep me intrigued. The Maze Runner should translate well for the big screen, and I look forward to September when the movie comes out....more
I'm proud of myself for not tossing this book within the first 30 pages, because until the story started to gel, it seemed all too much like one of GaI'm proud of myself for not tossing this book within the first 30 pages, because until the story started to gel, it seemed all too much like one of Gaiman's nonsensical fantasies. (Clearly I'm not a fan.) I love scifi, but there is very little science and an awful lot of YA fantasy in here.
I stuck with it, and though I never found the scifi adventure I was hoping to uncover, it wasn't bad. It wasn't great either. It was a fairly drawn-out exploration of one young man's existential crisis, which was interesting but far from compelling.
Will I read the next in the series? Perhaps, but only if I trip over a copy in the library while looking for something, anything, to read....more
What a colossal waste. I wanted a thrilling sci-fi story to capture me and instead I was bored out of my skull while nothing in particular happened anWhat a colossal waste. I wanted a thrilling sci-fi story to capture me and instead I was bored out of my skull while nothing in particular happened and a ridiculous multitude of characters never managed to spring to life. (The entire time I felt like I was watching them through a stolid man's eyes, and never got to truly engage with any of them)
I guess not every 4+ rated book can be a winner, but this was a huge time investment to make for...well, tedium. I don't know what I missed, because some people I truly respect claim to have loved this novel, but I'd give anything to get back the hours and hours I spent waiting and hoping it would get better....more
Part 'Micro' (Crichton), part 'Lord of the Flies', all kinds of cool and original, but definitely missing some meat in the middle.
I would love to see Part 'Micro' (Crichton), part 'Lord of the Flies', all kinds of cool and original, but definitely missing some meat in the middle.
I would love to see a rewrite of Halfway Home, as there exists fantastic potential in it, but it seems to build and build to...a quick and anticlimactic wrap up, the sort for which Stephen King is famous. I can't help thinking there were five extra chapters missing 4/5 of the way through, where Howey enriches the characters and their dynamics, explores the oddities of a new and unfriendly world and enhances the "we got screwed by our home world" theme....more
I read this book on the recommendation of my cousin's 11 year old step-daughter. If I had been eleven and reading this, I would have liked it quite a I read this book on the recommendation of my cousin's 11 year old step-daughter. If I had been eleven and reading this, I would have liked it quite a bit. As an adult, not so much. The story was inventive and cute, but the writing was neither stylistic nor interesting. Even at eleven years, I would have noticed this Colfer guy is not a talented writer. He needs a good editor to salvage this series, and then to find a day job suited to a talent he actually possesses. ...more
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