Book Review - The Only Child

The Only Child by Andrew Pyper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The book follows Lily as she learns the truth of her father, her mother, and her mother's murder at the hands of a monster - all linked to the man claiming to be the inspiration for the characters of Frankenstein's monster, Dracula, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

I loved this book. However, there are definite issues with it that I'm not going to ignore. First, though, the good.

This is a dark book, for starters, and while it does have gore, the visceral side of horror enhanced instead of took away from the psychological aspects, in my opinion.

I have a love for dark characters with their own moral code that doesn't go off of conventional human morality, and the man claiming to be Lily's father delivers such a delightfully dark mindset I couldn't help but enjoy him.

As some reviewers have pointed out, at times (but not throughout) there's an attraction bordering incest between Lily her father that could be uncomfortable for some. I thought it added to the complexity of his character, and of their relationship, so while it was a creep factor (which seems like it was meant to be) it didn't put me off.

The stories and mystery behind the man claiming to be Lily's father. I loved how the author weaved in his past with the present happenings, and how he pushes Lily to find out more. Forcing her, even as she wants to find out herself.

Some reviewers did not like Lily's emotional distance. I found it consistent enough, and established from the beginning, that it didn't bother me. I feel for the story to happen the way it did, she HAD to be more emotionally distant.

The ending. I loved the ending, how things came together, and just all around how the characters developed. Loved it!

BUT, like I mentioned, there are a few issues:

Sentence level - the style is a bit hard to follow at times, with how sentences are constructed. For example: sentences ending, then a new one starting that should have probably been attached to the prior.

Event-logic: I had to just go with a few things that happened, and not question it too much. Some events are answered logically by the ending, but - frankly - the first event with how Lily meets this man is still a WTF for me. The 'why' behind a lot of things needed to be strengthened, which hurt the story. This is probably the biggest issue I had with it all around.

Distinguishing between Lily's thoughts, the thoughts of her 'other' voice, and other thoughts I can't mention without spoiling were hard for me to differentiate at times. Perhaps this was the author's intent, but it became a point of confusion for me.

I would recommend this book to those who have an attachment to the monsters of the Classics, a love of twisted characters, and an interest in a book that doesn't quite have a typical happy ending.

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Book Review - Chapelwood

Chapelwood by Cherie Priest
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cherie Priest takes us back into the world of Lizzie (Borden) where once more the horrors of otherworldly things must be confronted and overcome, this time in Alabama.

This is the second book in the series, and the first should be read in order to understand the story line, characters, and references.

I felt this one was much more in line with Lovecraftian horror in the way the horror elements were handled, which I enjoyed. There were few times where visceral gore was used to create the creepy vibe, and I can't recall any cheap jump tactics. This was about atmosphere, how far someone will go to save or damn the world, the loss of people who were important, and fates worse than death. The author's skill in relating the atmosphere, characters, and events were a noticeable improvement from the first book. While that doesn't mean the first book is terrible by any means, it is nice to see an author improving their craft from one book to another.

I liked the characters, new and old, and while none held my fascination quite like Maplecroft did with its antagonist, they were each interesting spins and insights for the story. I enjoyed getting to know them and their motivations.

One of my frustrations - and yet part of the appeal of this series - is the lack of total understanding of the 'other' side. You are given teases and hints of what they are, but never the whole story. You aren't meant to have the whole story. Which is aggravating and fascinating at the same time.

For anyone of the democratic or liberal persuasion with strong feelings about the 2016 USA elections I will caution that some of the story deals with an election that might hit a little close to home with the events and reasons.

The reason I gave this four stars instead of five were the following:

1. The journal/letter format was too detailed without a reasonable explanation to suspend my disbelief. I kept wondering to myself why they would bother describing rooms and how they walked so vividly to the 'reader'. It also made if difficult to believe certain character's demises when they'd just written ridiculously near the events that killed them.

2. There is a plot trope used that I can't get over because it seems like such a...lazy plot device. To not spoil anything I'll refrain from ranting in detail here, but it was impacting enough to me as a reader that it left a bad taste in my mouth that stayed with me through the rest of the book. And, no, it has nothing to do with triggers or sensitive subjects.

The book leaves plenty open to continue the series in spirit, if not with the exact same characters. I would recommend this series to anyone with an interest in Lovecraft-esque horror and Gothic tones without being a scary read.

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