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Niceville #1
Niceville
Something is wrong in Niceville. . .
A boy literally disappears from Main Street. A security camera captures the moment of his instant, inexplicable vanishing. An audacious bank robbery goes seriously wrong: four cops are gunned down; a TV news helicopter is shot and spins crazily out of the sky, triggering a disastrous cascade of events that ricochet across twenty different lives over the course of just thirty-six hours.
Nick Kavanaugh, a cop with a dark side, investigates. Soon he and his wife, Kate, a distinguished lawyer from an old Niceville family, find themselves struggling to make sense not only of the disappearance and the robbery but also of a shadow world, where time has a different rhythm and where justice is elusive.
. . .Something is wrong in Niceville, where evil lives far longer than men do.
Compulsively readable, and populated with characters who leap off the page, Niceville will draw you in, excite you, amaze you, horrify you, and, when it finally lets you go, make you sorry you have to leave.
Read the first thirty-five pages. Find out why Harlan Coben calls Carsten Stroud the master of “the nerve-jangling thrill ride.”
A boy literally disappears from Main Street. A security camera captures the moment of his instant, inexplicable vanishing. An audacious bank robbery goes seriously wrong: four cops are gunned down; a TV news helicopter is shot and spins crazily out of the sky, triggering a disastrous cascade of events that ricochet across twenty different lives over the course of just thirty-six hours.
Nick Kavanaugh, a cop with a dark side, investigates. Soon he and his wife, Kate, a distinguished lawyer from an old Niceville family, find themselves struggling to make sense not only of the disappearance and the robbery but also of a shadow world, where time has a different rhythm and where justice is elusive.
. . .Something is wrong in Niceville, where evil lives far longer than men do.
Compulsively readable, and populated with characters who leap off the page, Niceville will draw you in, excite you, amaze you, horrify you, and, when it finally lets you go, make you sorry you have to leave.
Read the first thirty-five pages. Find out why Harlan Coben calls Carsten Stroud the master of “the nerve-jangling thrill ride.”
385 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
235 people are currently reading
4892 people want to read
About the author
Carsten Stroud
38 books173 followersCarsten Stroud is the author of the New York Times bestseller Close Pursuit, and the award-winning Sniper's Moon, both set in the New York City Police Department. He lives and writes in Thunder Beach, Ontario, Canada.
Awards:
* Arthur Ellis Award Best First Novel (1991): Sniper's Moon
* Arthur Ellis Award Best Novel (1993): Lizardskin
Awards:
* Arthur Ellis Award Best First Novel (1991): Sniper's Moon
* Arthur Ellis Award Best Novel (1993): Lizardskin
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 550 reviews
May 5, 2019
a canadian writing southern gothic?? i am there. with bells on.
so you have a town that is smalltown, but not as inbreed-y/insular as, say,in Your House Is on Fire, Your Children All Gone. niceville is one of those southern historically-respectful towns, with its long memory of its "four families" and the war of northern aggression, and its squinty-eyed suspicion of "the outside." oh, and it might have a haunted lake and some native american curses at work.
it is a ghost story clomped together with a bank robbery storyline, some corporate espionage and an affronted blackmailer lashing out in impotent rage. and it is like overhearing four different conversations that eventually all come together into a novel that i found very satisfying, but others thought was "too much."
but it's not.
you know how infinite jest is like a million different stories all smooshed together in this wicked detailed tapestry with its damaged, unusually-named characters, but each storyline eventually affects the others in surprising ways? this is similar, and stroud even uses a couple of dfw-esque writing flourishes, which is not to say that it is as good as IJ, nor trying to be, but the way the stories react with each other is fun and pleasing and unexpected.
i mean, pay attention, because there are a lot of characters here, and there's that "what is reeeeeal and what is ghoooostly???" thing happening, like in stephen king when he is trying. it is not a difficult book, but it is a fun and spooky read with good momentum and well-written characters.
also, a big fat cat.
come to my blog!
so you have a town that is smalltown, but not as inbreed-y/insular as, say,in Your House Is on Fire, Your Children All Gone. niceville is one of those southern historically-respectful towns, with its long memory of its "four families" and the war of northern aggression, and its squinty-eyed suspicion of "the outside." oh, and it might have a haunted lake and some native american curses at work.
it is a ghost story clomped together with a bank robbery storyline, some corporate espionage and an affronted blackmailer lashing out in impotent rage. and it is like overhearing four different conversations that eventually all come together into a novel that i found very satisfying, but others thought was "too much."
but it's not.
you know how infinite jest is like a million different stories all smooshed together in this wicked detailed tapestry with its damaged, unusually-named characters, but each storyline eventually affects the others in surprising ways? this is similar, and stroud even uses a couple of dfw-esque writing flourishes, which is not to say that it is as good as IJ, nor trying to be, but the way the stories react with each other is fun and pleasing and unexpected.
i mean, pay attention, because there are a lot of characters here, and there's that "what is reeeeeal and what is ghoooostly???" thing happening, like in stephen king when he is trying. it is not a difficult book, but it is a fun and spooky read with good momentum and well-written characters.
also, a big fat cat.
come to my blog!
July 18, 2022
Der kleine Rainey Teague verschwindet unter sehr merkwürdigen Umständen spurlos. Er ist nicht auffindbar, doch gute zehn Tage nach seinem Verschwinden taucht er wieder auf - in einer Gruft, zu der es eigentlich gar keinen Zugang gibt. Wie ist er dort hineingekommen? Nach seiner Rettung fällt er in ein Koma.
Auch andere seltsame Dinge geschehen in Niceville. Was ist los? Hat der geheimnisvolle Krater etwas damit zu tun? Die Leute sagen, dass etwas Unheilvolles von ihm ausgeht.
***
Meine Meinung **
Das Buch fing sehr stark an. Die Geschichte von Rainey und seinem Verschwinden war spannend und geheimnisvoll. Ich hatte gehofft, dass es so weitergeht und wir mehr von Rainey und den Hintergründen erfahren. Doch leider taucht er dann im Buch eine ganze Weile gar nicht mehr oder nur kurz und oberflächlich auf. Stattdessen kommen eine Menge weiterer Personen hinzu, es geht um einen Banküberfall und seine Folgen.
Leider muss ich sagen, dass bei mir das Interesse an dem Buch immer mehr nachgelassen hat. Die Figuren blieben irgendwie alle recht blass, hatten keine Tiefe und waren mir zudem unsympathisch.
Weitergelesen habe ich dennoch, denn ich habe darauf gehofft, mehr von Rainey und den Hintergründen um diesen seltsamen und unheimlichen Krater zu erfahren. Zum Ende des Buches wurde es dann für mich tatsächlich auch wieder interessant und spannend.
Leider konnte mich insgesamt gesehen das Buch aber nicht wirklich überzeugen. Ich bin mir noch nicht sicher, ob ich den zweiten Teil lesen möchte.
Auch andere seltsame Dinge geschehen in Niceville. Was ist los? Hat der geheimnisvolle Krater etwas damit zu tun? Die Leute sagen, dass etwas Unheilvolles von ihm ausgeht.
***
Meine Meinung **
Das Buch fing sehr stark an. Die Geschichte von Rainey und seinem Verschwinden war spannend und geheimnisvoll. Ich hatte gehofft, dass es so weitergeht und wir mehr von Rainey und den Hintergründen erfahren. Doch leider taucht er dann im Buch eine ganze Weile gar nicht mehr oder nur kurz und oberflächlich auf. Stattdessen kommen eine Menge weiterer Personen hinzu, es geht um einen Banküberfall und seine Folgen.
Leider muss ich sagen, dass bei mir das Interesse an dem Buch immer mehr nachgelassen hat. Die Figuren blieben irgendwie alle recht blass, hatten keine Tiefe und waren mir zudem unsympathisch.
Weitergelesen habe ich dennoch, denn ich habe darauf gehofft, mehr von Rainey und den Hintergründen um diesen seltsamen und unheimlichen Krater zu erfahren. Zum Ende des Buches wurde es dann für mich tatsächlich auch wieder interessant und spannend.
Leider konnte mich insgesamt gesehen das Buch aber nicht wirklich überzeugen. Ich bin mir noch nicht sicher, ob ich den zweiten Teil lesen möchte.
January 19, 2022
Something is wrong in Niceville, where evil lives far longer than men do
A boy vanishes on Main Street. It is caught on CCTV the moment he disappears. A bank robbery goes wrong; 4 cops are killed. A TV helicopter is shot down, triggering a chain of events that spread across twenty different lives over the course of just thirty-six hours. Nick Kavanaugh and his wife Kate struggle to find out what is going on in Niceville and the shadow world, just beyond. Revolving stories filled with horror and unexplained incidents leading to a final bloody end.
Stroud wrote his pants (hands??) off with this series. The characters are vibrant and multilayered. I really cared about the majority of them yet cheered when others met their chilling end. Recommend for all those who love a good horror town book!
A boy vanishes on Main Street. It is caught on CCTV the moment he disappears. A bank robbery goes wrong; 4 cops are killed. A TV helicopter is shot down, triggering a chain of events that spread across twenty different lives over the course of just thirty-six hours. Nick Kavanaugh and his wife Kate struggle to find out what is going on in Niceville and the shadow world, just beyond. Revolving stories filled with horror and unexplained incidents leading to a final bloody end.
Stroud wrote his pants (hands??) off with this series. The characters are vibrant and multilayered. I really cared about the majority of them yet cheered when others met their chilling end. Recommend for all those who love a good horror town book!
October 25, 2020
Rainey Teague is walking home from school one afternoon, looking into store windows, when he disappears.
Seems this kind of thing is common in Niceville, which seems to have an unusually large number of abductions.
Other terrible things also happen in town.
- There's been a recent bank robbery, associated with the death of several citizens and four cops - in which millions of dollars and a secret high-tech device were stolen. Even worse, the robbers were a police officer and his accomplices.
- A creepy divorced husband/father, forbidden to see his child, makes elaborate plans to cause major trouble for some local residents.
- Several respected citizens disappear in mysterious circumstances.
- And there are whispered warnings around town that's it's dangerous to look into mirrors.
Detective Nick Kavanaugh, his lawyer wife Kate, and Agent Boonie Hackendorff take an interest in the odd occurrences and crimes in Niceville.
These occurrences come to involve the odd reappearance of a comatose Rainey Teague; double-crosses among criminals; Chinese businessmen; blackmail; a possible child molester; ghosts that tear people apart; secret pornographic photos; and more.
This is a complex story that blends supernatural events in a seemingly cursed town with criminal activity that might occur anywhere. The flurry of characters and activities lead to a resolution that doesn't seem to tie up all the loose ends - but this may have been the author's intention.
All in all it's an average mystery with a little too much going on for easy reading.
You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....
July 25, 2012
It didn't gel for me. The author seemed to aim at somewhere between a dark comedy of errors and a ghost(ish) story in the vein of a Stephen King in the mood to tap into the history of a creepy town populated by locals with genealogies stretching back to some fatal root. It was a bit creepy, at least in the beginning. It was a bit madcap, with coincidences interweaving the major players, of which there are many. It was a bit gory. It was a bit vague.
I found myself unable to remember who certain people were in this story, not because it was confusingly intricate, but because I didn't care enough to recall which founding families were on which sides, and whose maiden name was significant, and whose assistant was blackmailing whom.
The parts here--and there are a lot of parts--want to congeal into a satisfying whole, but they don't quite. Neal Stephenson did the escalating heist hijinks way better in Reamde, while, uh ... actually, I can't remember the last ghost story that really satisfied me. Maybe something by Kelly Link.
Also, the author had an odd way of occasionally repeating subjects, which seemed intentional, but jarred me as a reader. For example: "The boy was on his back, skeletal, his lips cracked, his pale cheeks raw from the sheets, but his large brown eyes were wide open and he was looking at Lemon Featherlight with a sweet, slightly drugged expression that was touching in its vulnerable affection for Lemon Featherlight."
And then there are the names ...
I found myself unable to remember who certain people were in this story, not because it was confusingly intricate, but because I didn't care enough to recall which founding families were on which sides, and whose maiden name was significant, and whose assistant was blackmailing whom.
The parts here--and there are a lot of parts--want to congeal into a satisfying whole, but they don't quite. Neal Stephenson did the escalating heist hijinks way better in Reamde, while, uh ... actually, I can't remember the last ghost story that really satisfied me. Maybe something by Kelly Link.
Also, the author had an odd way of occasionally repeating subjects, which seemed intentional, but jarred me as a reader. For example: "The boy was on his back, skeletal, his lips cracked, his pale cheeks raw from the sheets, but his large brown eyes were wide open and he was looking at Lemon Featherlight with a sweet, slightly drugged expression that was touching in its vulnerable affection for Lemon Featherlight."
And then there are the names ...
August 8, 2013
oh, i liked this book so much. so so much. it's not the story, really, but the characters, and the hard-boiled sassiness. perfect writing.
this is a book about men -- the women are few and far in between -- but it is the kind of book about men (cops and criminals) that tickles my pleasure centers to the hilt because these guys are the caricatures of masculinity i've always loved in spaghetti westerns (clint eastwood is mentioned here quite a lot as the paragon of all things cool). in my childhood, these people, these characters, were my heroes, and identifying with them, being them in that way in which kids inhabit different worlds and don't hear their parents when they call them for dinner because they are lost in an entirely different, and, i might add, very treacherous, landscape, saw me through a lot of rough stuff. parents: when a kid shows up for dinner with distracted, not quite there eyes, wearing a holster, a smoking gun, a cowboy hat, and a proud tin sheriff star on her chest, ask her what's going on in dodge. she may be dealing with a lot of trouble and she might use the ear. pass her a beer. it's okay if it's a glass of milk. she won't know the difference.
so that's what this book was for me: a return to dodge, where criminals are major incompetents, cops are corrupted, lots of money passes hands awfully fast, and the scenery is full of awesome sounds, perfectly captured: boots grinding cigarette butts on the ground, weapons ticking in all sorts of fantastic ways, car doors slamming, beer tags being snapped back, beer being guzzled, horses trumpeting.
this is a book about men -- the women are few and far in between -- but it is the kind of book about men (cops and criminals) that tickles my pleasure centers to the hilt because these guys are the caricatures of masculinity i've always loved in spaghetti westerns (clint eastwood is mentioned here quite a lot as the paragon of all things cool). in my childhood, these people, these characters, were my heroes, and identifying with them, being them in that way in which kids inhabit different worlds and don't hear their parents when they call them for dinner because they are lost in an entirely different, and, i might add, very treacherous, landscape, saw me through a lot of rough stuff. parents: when a kid shows up for dinner with distracted, not quite there eyes, wearing a holster, a smoking gun, a cowboy hat, and a proud tin sheriff star on her chest, ask her what's going on in dodge. she may be dealing with a lot of trouble and she might use the ear. pass her a beer. it's okay if it's a glass of milk. she won't know the difference.
so that's what this book was for me: a return to dodge, where criminals are major incompetents, cops are corrupted, lots of money passes hands awfully fast, and the scenery is full of awesome sounds, perfectly captured: boots grinding cigarette butts on the ground, weapons ticking in all sorts of fantastic ways, car doors slamming, beer tags being snapped back, beer being guzzled, horses trumpeting.
July 3, 2012
Rating: 2.5 stars
Favorite Quote: "Come what may."
This book was extremely disappointing for me. I felt like it had so much potential but there were so many times that I did not even want to continue reading. The first chapter was excellent. It grabbed me right from the first sentence and hooked me with the disappearance of a young boy on his way home from school. Literally he is there one minute and gone the next. Already there were some spooky supernatural elements to the story including a haunted mirror, an old cemetery and a bottomless sink hole. After reading the next couple of chapters, which bounce around from character to character, I had a hard time remembering who was who. There were just too many story-lines happening at the same time. I have read books in the past where this was a successful writing style, but this book was not one of them. After 150 pages I still didn't care about any of the characters.
It continued to go downhill from here. There were a couple of parts that were pretty scary and made me hope that the story was going to pick up, but it just dragged on for me. It is definitely possible that I just wasn't in the mood for this but I was expecting more. It just seemed a little lack luster to me. Even the ending didn't intrigue me. I was just happy the book was over.
This books proves how important writing style and execution are. It takes much more than a good idea to create a good story. If you are looking for a fast-paced horror novel, this is not the book for you.
Favorite Quote: "Come what may."
This book was extremely disappointing for me. I felt like it had so much potential but there were so many times that I did not even want to continue reading. The first chapter was excellent. It grabbed me right from the first sentence and hooked me with the disappearance of a young boy on his way home from school. Literally he is there one minute and gone the next. Already there were some spooky supernatural elements to the story including a haunted mirror, an old cemetery and a bottomless sink hole. After reading the next couple of chapters, which bounce around from character to character, I had a hard time remembering who was who. There were just too many story-lines happening at the same time. I have read books in the past where this was a successful writing style, but this book was not one of them. After 150 pages I still didn't care about any of the characters.
It continued to go downhill from here. There were a couple of parts that were pretty scary and made me hope that the story was going to pick up, but it just dragged on for me. It is definitely possible that I just wasn't in the mood for this but I was expecting more. It just seemed a little lack luster to me. Even the ending didn't intrigue me. I was just happy the book was over.
This books proves how important writing style and execution are. It takes much more than a good idea to create a good story. If you are looking for a fast-paced horror novel, this is not the book for you.
December 30, 2014
Few will agree with me on this one, but that's ok. As they say down here in the South (the South, not Stroud's wackadoodle Niceville South), this creeped me smooth out. Don't have time for a complete review (wifi-squatting here) but jo (and, hopefully, you) might agree: Niceville (and its sequel, The Homecoming) deserve some love.
July 5, 2012
There was a lot to like about this book. Snappy writing, crisp dialogue, a creepy setting. Too bad it started out as a horror novel and then mixed in a crime thriller. Kept waiting for the twain to meet in some great denouement. But it never happened. Stroud desperately needed an editor to step in and ask him if the wanted to write a horror/ghost story or a crime thriller. Jamming two disparate plot lines together does not work.
May 18, 2012
A book that includes this passage in the first few pages is a winner: "At 1513:55, Rainey Teague is right there. At 1513:56, the kid is gone".
Sadly, that opening and the tension surrounding the disappearance of Rainey disappear in the next few chapters. There are five main strands here: Rainey's reappearance and subsequent catatonic state, the bank robbery in Gracie followed by the killing of four policemen and two reporters, the mischievous malice of Tony Brock, several disappearances of older members of the town's founding families, and a mysterious Frisbee sought by the Chinese. Ultimately the strands intertwine, with the resolution to each story somehow tied into the weirdness/evil at Crater Sink. There are several moments of "wait - that's not what I thought would happen" (always a good thing) but also several moments of "just get on with it, I've read this before".
Niceville is trying to be a Southern Gothic version of Stephen King's Maine but gets bogged down in florid, overly adjectived description. Had that been toned down, this story of a city with an evil undercurrent (179 unexplained disappearances since 1928, an anomaly given the size of the population) would have been far creepier.
ARC provided by publisher.
Sadly, that opening and the tension surrounding the disappearance of Rainey disappear in the next few chapters. There are five main strands here: Rainey's reappearance and subsequent catatonic state, the bank robbery in Gracie followed by the killing of four policemen and two reporters, the mischievous malice of Tony Brock, several disappearances of older members of the town's founding families, and a mysterious Frisbee sought by the Chinese. Ultimately the strands intertwine, with the resolution to each story somehow tied into the weirdness/evil at Crater Sink. There are several moments of "wait - that's not what I thought would happen" (always a good thing) but also several moments of "just get on with it, I've read this before".
Niceville is trying to be a Southern Gothic version of Stephen King's Maine but gets bogged down in florid, overly adjectived description. Had that been toned down, this story of a city with an evil undercurrent (179 unexplained disappearances since 1928, an anomaly given the size of the population) would have been far creepier.
ARC provided by publisher.
June 21, 2012
The town that is the setting for Carsten Stroud's "Niceville" (Alfred A Knopf 2012) is anything but. On the surface, it's sleepy, safe, small town America, but one scratch and you expose a tawdry underside where its vile secrets are slowly--over generations--tearing the place apart.
"Niceville" is the story of an easy-going layback town with a fifty year string of murders/disappearances/deaths that comes to a head when first a teenage boy disappears, then his mother, and then, well, more townspeople. It takes some digging on the part of Nick Cavanaugh, a transplant to Niceville by marriage and still wondering if he made the right decision, to uncover that these mysterious happenings center around the main families in the town, one of which includes Nick's wife. The drama takes off from there.
I must say, I was thrilled to see another book by Carsten Stroud. I read everything he published ("Black Water Transit", "Cobraville", "Deadly Force" to name a few) and suddenly, there was nothing. I have no idea why he stopped writing, but when "Niceville" showed up, I grabbed it, sure it would be the dynamically-written prose and dramatic characters of old. It is, but be ready Stroud fans: "Niceville" is nothing like his other books. He displays his mastery at getting into his plot as he morphs his writing style from the dramatic pace and sound of a book like Deadly Force to the slow-moving sleepiness of a Southern world steeped in history and small-town attitudes, where everyone knows everything about everyone. I have never seen a writer so radically adapt his voice to his plot as what Stroud did here. It's clever, almost humorous without the jokes, and completely in sync with the spirit of Niceville.
"Alf, a sharp old file, picked up on Nick's mimicry and gave him a censorious frown, which Nick somehow managed to withstand."
Tell me this next snippet doesn't put you into the cozy comfort of a tight-knit town:
"The two-way radio in Coker's pocket started to buzz, like a palmetto bug in a bottle. Coker was down deep inside himself, trying to see it all unfold."
Stroud continues to wrap the reader in this lay-back feel by naming the chapters after what happens in them--"Nick and Kate Wake Up to Storms", "Coker and Danziger Complicate Things". I can't remember the last time I saw that in a novel. It's clever and effectively keeps me in the old-fashioned, other-world mood throughout the book.
I will say, it takes a while to figure out who the main characters are, so many does Stroud introduce. All have their own vignette sort of introduction with no effort to indicate who the good guys and bad guys are (you can draw conclusions. I decided the mass murderers were bad guys, but by the end of the book, I wasn't so sure). Me--as the reader--I found it hard to tell, especially since so many characters shared the same amount of facetime. I see the value of a Kindle book in situations like this: There, I could search for the character's name and see what he did in prior scenes. As it was, I had to search my often-inadequate memory. It didn't help that Stroud did a bit too much head-hopping. I'd think I was listening to one person talk and find out it was someone else entirely.
Overall, a wonderful read. Carsten Stroud continues to be the master storyteller. No wonder someone as talented as Elmore Leonard called this a 'great read'. Mr. Stroud, welcome back.
"Niceville" is the story of an easy-going layback town with a fifty year string of murders/disappearances/deaths that comes to a head when first a teenage boy disappears, then his mother, and then, well, more townspeople. It takes some digging on the part of Nick Cavanaugh, a transplant to Niceville by marriage and still wondering if he made the right decision, to uncover that these mysterious happenings center around the main families in the town, one of which includes Nick's wife. The drama takes off from there.
I must say, I was thrilled to see another book by Carsten Stroud. I read everything he published ("Black Water Transit", "Cobraville", "Deadly Force" to name a few) and suddenly, there was nothing. I have no idea why he stopped writing, but when "Niceville" showed up, I grabbed it, sure it would be the dynamically-written prose and dramatic characters of old. It is, but be ready Stroud fans: "Niceville" is nothing like his other books. He displays his mastery at getting into his plot as he morphs his writing style from the dramatic pace and sound of a book like Deadly Force to the slow-moving sleepiness of a Southern world steeped in history and small-town attitudes, where everyone knows everything about everyone. I have never seen a writer so radically adapt his voice to his plot as what Stroud did here. It's clever, almost humorous without the jokes, and completely in sync with the spirit of Niceville.
"Alf, a sharp old file, picked up on Nick's mimicry and gave him a censorious frown, which Nick somehow managed to withstand."
Tell me this next snippet doesn't put you into the cozy comfort of a tight-knit town:
"The two-way radio in Coker's pocket started to buzz, like a palmetto bug in a bottle. Coker was down deep inside himself, trying to see it all unfold."
Stroud continues to wrap the reader in this lay-back feel by naming the chapters after what happens in them--"Nick and Kate Wake Up to Storms", "Coker and Danziger Complicate Things". I can't remember the last time I saw that in a novel. It's clever and effectively keeps me in the old-fashioned, other-world mood throughout the book.
I will say, it takes a while to figure out who the main characters are, so many does Stroud introduce. All have their own vignette sort of introduction with no effort to indicate who the good guys and bad guys are (you can draw conclusions. I decided the mass murderers were bad guys, but by the end of the book, I wasn't so sure). Me--as the reader--I found it hard to tell, especially since so many characters shared the same amount of facetime. I see the value of a Kindle book in situations like this: There, I could search for the character's name and see what he did in prior scenes. As it was, I had to search my often-inadequate memory. It didn't help that Stroud did a bit too much head-hopping. I'd think I was listening to one person talk and find out it was someone else entirely.
Overall, a wonderful read. Carsten Stroud continues to be the master storyteller. No wonder someone as talented as Elmore Leonard called this a 'great read'. Mr. Stroud, welcome back.
July 15, 2013
You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2013/07/...
Niceville is a lovely little southern town. No matter if there have been a number of unexplained disappearances over the last hundred years or so. So many that they top the national average by quite a bit, in fact. Surely, though, it’s an anomaly, nothing to be too concerned about, right? When a young boy, Rainey Teague, disappears on his way home from school, however, it seems to kick off something very powerful, possibly even ancient. Rainey Teague was adopted by one of the descendants of the four founding families of Niceville (pssst, those founding families are important), and his disappearance sends his adoptive father and mother into a tragic tailspin. A year later, Rainey is found, in an impossible place, alive, but soon he’s unresponsive. His care has been transferred to Kate Kavenaugh, a family practice lawyer, and she’s made sure to take very good care of the estate he’s inherited from his family. Her husband, detective Nick Kavanaugh is there when Rainey is found, and can find no explanation as to how Rainey ended up in such an odd, and seemingly impossible place. Meanwhile, during a local bank robbery, officers in pursuit of the thieves are killed, execution style, in what, to Nick’s eyes, can only be an inside job, but soon the robbers’ well laid plans will begin to fall apart. It is Niceville, after all. Soon, more people begin to disappear, and the citizens of Niceville will begin to see their lives laid bare for all to see, and long held secrets will come to light in the most terrifying ways.
Niceville is the newest offering from writer Carsten Stroud, with the sequel, The Homecoming, hitting shelves tomorrow, and what an offering! The narrative goes back and forth between the main players, making for a riveting reading experience, although I found myself wanting to get back to Nick and/or Kate more often than not, since they’re central to the story and also characters that I easily became attached to. Nick is a recent war vet who adores Kate but still feels the restlessness that can sometimes come with civilian life after active duty. He’s a good man, but a hard man, and has no compunction about punishing criminals outside of the job if he thinks they’ve gotten away with something (sort of like Dexter, but without the death part.) Kate is a tough lawyer who recently won full custody for a client whose ex-husband is a very bad man, and who ends up being an important part of the story. Although Niceville is a cracking thriller with plenty of supernatural intrigue, the highlight for me was the dialogue. Carsten Stroud has a gift for it, and he also creates fleshed out, flawed, and very human characters, even if there’s some not so human characters running around. I was fascinated by the bad guys, and their motivations, even if their actions were pretty heinous. One thing is for sure, Niceville seems to have a certain effect on its residents, and while a few things are wrapped up at the end, it’s wide open for The Homecoming. Fans of crime fiction with supernatural elements will love this, and it actually reminded me of Stephen Dobyns’ work from time to time. Niceville is a rocket paced, creepy, and sometimes unsettling read. Good thing The Homecoming comes out tomorrow, cause after Niceville, you’ll want to dive right in!
Niceville is a lovely little southern town. No matter if there have been a number of unexplained disappearances over the last hundred years or so. So many that they top the national average by quite a bit, in fact. Surely, though, it’s an anomaly, nothing to be too concerned about, right? When a young boy, Rainey Teague, disappears on his way home from school, however, it seems to kick off something very powerful, possibly even ancient. Rainey Teague was adopted by one of the descendants of the four founding families of Niceville (pssst, those founding families are important), and his disappearance sends his adoptive father and mother into a tragic tailspin. A year later, Rainey is found, in an impossible place, alive, but soon he’s unresponsive. His care has been transferred to Kate Kavenaugh, a family practice lawyer, and she’s made sure to take very good care of the estate he’s inherited from his family. Her husband, detective Nick Kavanaugh is there when Rainey is found, and can find no explanation as to how Rainey ended up in such an odd, and seemingly impossible place. Meanwhile, during a local bank robbery, officers in pursuit of the thieves are killed, execution style, in what, to Nick’s eyes, can only be an inside job, but soon the robbers’ well laid plans will begin to fall apart. It is Niceville, after all. Soon, more people begin to disappear, and the citizens of Niceville will begin to see their lives laid bare for all to see, and long held secrets will come to light in the most terrifying ways.
Niceville is the newest offering from writer Carsten Stroud, with the sequel, The Homecoming, hitting shelves tomorrow, and what an offering! The narrative goes back and forth between the main players, making for a riveting reading experience, although I found myself wanting to get back to Nick and/or Kate more often than not, since they’re central to the story and also characters that I easily became attached to. Nick is a recent war vet who adores Kate but still feels the restlessness that can sometimes come with civilian life after active duty. He’s a good man, but a hard man, and has no compunction about punishing criminals outside of the job if he thinks they’ve gotten away with something (sort of like Dexter, but without the death part.) Kate is a tough lawyer who recently won full custody for a client whose ex-husband is a very bad man, and who ends up being an important part of the story. Although Niceville is a cracking thriller with plenty of supernatural intrigue, the highlight for me was the dialogue. Carsten Stroud has a gift for it, and he also creates fleshed out, flawed, and very human characters, even if there’s some not so human characters running around. I was fascinated by the bad guys, and their motivations, even if their actions were pretty heinous. One thing is for sure, Niceville seems to have a certain effect on its residents, and while a few things are wrapped up at the end, it’s wide open for The Homecoming. Fans of crime fiction with supernatural elements will love this, and it actually reminded me of Stephen Dobyns’ work from time to time. Niceville is a rocket paced, creepy, and sometimes unsettling read. Good thing The Homecoming comes out tomorrow, cause after Niceville, you’ll want to dive right in!
July 31, 2013
Review originally published here: http://www.iheartreading.net/reviews/...
Niceville is probably the strangest, most boring book I’ve ever read. Why is it boring? Because it makes no sense. It starts out interesting enough with a boy disappearing from Main Street in broad daylight, while he was glancing through a mirror in a pawn shop. One moment he’s there, the other moment he’s not. When I read this part of the synopsis, I was hooked. Then they find the boy inside a tomb, which hasn’t been opened in years, traumatized to the point that he falls into a coma for years. Still going strong.
Then the book completely changes, like somehow it morphed from a horror novel into a crime novel, and it’s not a good change. We meet three robbers who are on the run after robbing Niceville’s most prominent bank. Neither of these robbers are remotely interesting. They’re vulgar, happy to shoot anyone on their way, and anything but scary. In fact, if they’d been left out of the story from the get-go, then the book would’ve had some potential. As the book is now, way too much time is spend on the robbery and the consequences, on the gangsters themselves and their destiny, and it’s all as boring as it can get. Then there are the cop stories, which don’t work either.
In the end, this book is a mismatch of stories glued together, although they barely make sense together. Some parts of the book worked, like that old lady disappearing in her creepy mansion. That was brilliant, and I really enjoyed that scene. For all I cared, it could’ve just skipped from the disappearing boy and finding him again to the old lady vanishing and the cops investigating the vanishing case. The robbery made no sense in the context, and when it was tied in to the other events in the end, it didn’t convince me. The writing style was sloppy and dull, like the author lack affection for words. Chapters are chopped off midway and we’re sent to another perspective and another place in the next, only to pick up where we left off several chapters later. Sometimes this approach may work, but Carsten Stroud’s Niceville is a prime example of when it doesn’t work.
The characters are bland and boring. I’ve finished reading the book two days ago, and already I can’t remember the name of the robbers. Nor do I care. The main characters are the missing boy, Rainey, and a police detective named Nick and his wife Kate. Would the story just have evolved around these three, it would’ve been a lot more interesting. Nick has the start of a personality, shaped by the idea of a history, but he doesn’t fully deliver. He’s like an idea, not something fully developed. Rainey has no personality, and Kate lingers in between.
The idea behind the book isn’t half bad. A town shrouded in mystery with several families locked in the middle of it and an ancient family mystery tying them all together and luring them to the darkness. I liked that – the town setting was claustrophobic, the ghost appearances intriguing. All the rest falls flat though, and the idea lacks proper execution.
One start for trying. I doubt I’ll pick up the second book in the series.
Niceville is probably the strangest, most boring book I’ve ever read. Why is it boring? Because it makes no sense. It starts out interesting enough with a boy disappearing from Main Street in broad daylight, while he was glancing through a mirror in a pawn shop. One moment he’s there, the other moment he’s not. When I read this part of the synopsis, I was hooked. Then they find the boy inside a tomb, which hasn’t been opened in years, traumatized to the point that he falls into a coma for years. Still going strong.
Then the book completely changes, like somehow it morphed from a horror novel into a crime novel, and it’s not a good change. We meet three robbers who are on the run after robbing Niceville’s most prominent bank. Neither of these robbers are remotely interesting. They’re vulgar, happy to shoot anyone on their way, and anything but scary. In fact, if they’d been left out of the story from the get-go, then the book would’ve had some potential. As the book is now, way too much time is spend on the robbery and the consequences, on the gangsters themselves and their destiny, and it’s all as boring as it can get. Then there are the cop stories, which don’t work either.
In the end, this book is a mismatch of stories glued together, although they barely make sense together. Some parts of the book worked, like that old lady disappearing in her creepy mansion. That was brilliant, and I really enjoyed that scene. For all I cared, it could’ve just skipped from the disappearing boy and finding him again to the old lady vanishing and the cops investigating the vanishing case. The robbery made no sense in the context, and when it was tied in to the other events in the end, it didn’t convince me. The writing style was sloppy and dull, like the author lack affection for words. Chapters are chopped off midway and we’re sent to another perspective and another place in the next, only to pick up where we left off several chapters later. Sometimes this approach may work, but Carsten Stroud’s Niceville is a prime example of when it doesn’t work.
The characters are bland and boring. I’ve finished reading the book two days ago, and already I can’t remember the name of the robbers. Nor do I care. The main characters are the missing boy, Rainey, and a police detective named Nick and his wife Kate. Would the story just have evolved around these three, it would’ve been a lot more interesting. Nick has the start of a personality, shaped by the idea of a history, but he doesn’t fully deliver. He’s like an idea, not something fully developed. Rainey has no personality, and Kate lingers in between.
The idea behind the book isn’t half bad. A town shrouded in mystery with several families locked in the middle of it and an ancient family mystery tying them all together and luring them to the darkness. I liked that – the town setting was claustrophobic, the ghost appearances intriguing. All the rest falls flat though, and the idea lacks proper execution.
One start for trying. I doubt I’ll pick up the second book in the series.
May 9, 2012
Niceville
By
Carsten Stroud
Quick summary...
A young boy disappears on the way home from school...this seems to set the pace for about a million other odd and unexplainable things happening in the town of Niceville.
My thoughts...
This book contains a whole lot of crazy. Fabulous, fascinating, heart pounding crazy!!!
Seemingly...in the beginning...the chapters do not seem all that connected. But as I got deeper and deeper into the heart of this book...there were tons of amazing connections. The characters are all odd...some of them delightful...like Delia Cotton. Others are just mean and despicable...like Tony Bock...wife abuser. The chapters have the most delightful names...like Merle Zane Meets The Woman In The Forest or Tony Bock Has An Epiphany. The writing is absolutely delightful...filled with lovely words that sort of sing!
However...this is not a light fun filled book. Something dark and sinister is lurking in Niceville and has been there doing very bad things there for a long long time.
I think that pretty much says it all. It seems also that anyone coming close to this sinister thing...this badness...puts themselves in the gravest of dangers. The central issue seems to have begun back in the time of the Civil War. It involves four connected old Southern families. It involves a young girl's honor...and of course it involves vengeance and perhaps even redemption. And it involves this bank robbery that has profound ramifications...dishonest cops, and the FBI, and computer geeks and pornography.
What I Loved...
I loved the characters, especially Nick and Kate. I loved the badness of the bad guys. It was awesome! I loved the suspense and excitement of each chapter. I loved the scariness...because although it was scary...I could handle it and it sort of made sense. I loved Mildred Pierce the Maine Coone Cat and the fact that no animals were harmed in this book! I loved the horse...the huge majestic horse that added another realm of otherworldliness to this novel.
This was a big huge juicy scary fun novel. I can even see it as an amazing movie!
And I will never look at crows and mirrors in the same way ever again...
By
Carsten Stroud
Quick summary...
A young boy disappears on the way home from school...this seems to set the pace for about a million other odd and unexplainable things happening in the town of Niceville.
My thoughts...
This book contains a whole lot of crazy. Fabulous, fascinating, heart pounding crazy!!!
Seemingly...in the beginning...the chapters do not seem all that connected. But as I got deeper and deeper into the heart of this book...there were tons of amazing connections. The characters are all odd...some of them delightful...like Delia Cotton. Others are just mean and despicable...like Tony Bock...wife abuser. The chapters have the most delightful names...like Merle Zane Meets The Woman In The Forest or Tony Bock Has An Epiphany. The writing is absolutely delightful...filled with lovely words that sort of sing!
However...this is not a light fun filled book. Something dark and sinister is lurking in Niceville and has been there doing very bad things there for a long long time.
I think that pretty much says it all. It seems also that anyone coming close to this sinister thing...this badness...puts themselves in the gravest of dangers. The central issue seems to have begun back in the time of the Civil War. It involves four connected old Southern families. It involves a young girl's honor...and of course it involves vengeance and perhaps even redemption. And it involves this bank robbery that has profound ramifications...dishonest cops, and the FBI, and computer geeks and pornography.
What I Loved...
I loved the characters, especially Nick and Kate. I loved the badness of the bad guys. It was awesome! I loved the suspense and excitement of each chapter. I loved the scariness...because although it was scary...I could handle it and it sort of made sense. I loved Mildred Pierce the Maine Coone Cat and the fact that no animals were harmed in this book! I loved the horse...the huge majestic horse that added another realm of otherworldliness to this novel.
This was a big huge juicy scary fun novel. I can even see it as an amazing movie!
And I will never look at crows and mirrors in the same way ever again...
June 28, 2019
I like this book. (I guess you picked that up from the 4 star rating). I included it on my conspiracy shelf...that may be a borderline thing but it fits, in a way.
See, things in Niceville are really very...well, nice. When a young man simply vanishes (literally on camera in a now you see me now you don't way) things for Nick and Kate Kavanaugh become obviously off kilter. Followed by murders mayhem and just plain weirdness...well the story is "compulsively readable" as is said elsewhere.
While i'd like to have seen the story concentrate a bit more on the Kavanaughs as the story's center and not bounce about so much from one point of view to another that is just a personal preference I think as it didn't really dampen my interest in the book. I'm already planning to read the second in what is (at least for now) being called a trilogy.
Of course today, who knows? LOL
Recommended, enjoy.
See, things in Niceville are really very...well, nice. When a young man simply vanishes (literally on camera in a now you see me now you don't way) things for Nick and Kate Kavanaugh become obviously off kilter. Followed by murders mayhem and just plain weirdness...well the story is "compulsively readable" as is said elsewhere.
While i'd like to have seen the story concentrate a bit more on the Kavanaughs as the story's center and not bounce about so much from one point of view to another that is just a personal preference I think as it didn't really dampen my interest in the book. I'm already planning to read the second in what is (at least for now) being called a trilogy.
Of course today, who knows? LOL
Recommended, enjoy.
November 20, 2012
Es gibt Polizisten; es gibt ehemalige Polizisten; Und es gibt ehemalige Soldaten, manche von ihnen sind jetzt Polizisten. Sie alle sind größtenteils austauschbar: harte Kerle, die den Tod nicht fürchten und nach einem Lungensteckschuss am liebsten eine Zigarette rauchen und einen Whiskey trinken. Sie sind die Figuren in Niceville und alle verstrickt in eine Spirale der Gewalt, die kein Ende kennt. Hauptprotagonist aber ist das Böse selbst.
Und bald ahnen wir, dass es etwas damit auf sich hat, dass die Vermisstenrate in Niceville höher liegt als in anderen amerikanischen Städten vergleichbarer Größe.
Stroud will mit diesem Roman viel: ein hartgekochter Thriller mit vielen Verwicklungen und ein übernatürlicher Roman in einem; ständige Szenenwechsel zwischen den zahlreichen handelnden Personen. Fast jedes kurze Kapitel endet mit einem Cliffhanger und der Leser muss sich gedulden, bis der Autor den jeweiligen Handlungsstrang wieder aufgreift und er erfährt, wie es weitergeht.
Während der Teil, der sich um den Banküberfall dreht, einschließlich der Nebenschauplätze durchaus spannend ist, wirken die übernatürlichen Elemente des Romans auf mich oft eher aufgesetzt und teilweise deplaziert. Der auf dem Buchrücken gezogene Vergleich mit Twin Peaks hinkt, aber die Hinweise auf Filme der Coen-Brüder und Tarantino sind nicht ganz unangebracht und zeigen, dass dieses Buch wie ein Film vor dem Auge des Lesers abläuft.
Wer das Buch nicht kennt und sich die Stimmung vorstellen möchte, stelle sich Szenen aus „No Country for Old Men“ vor. (Obschon der Verlag mit einigen großen Namen wirbt, hat er eine Serie nicht genannt, die ebenfalls deutliche Parallelen aufweist: die Hörbuchreihe „Darkside Park“; scheinbar dem Dumont-Verlag kein Begriff, aber vielleicht dem ein oder anderen Leser)
Der Roman hat aus meiner Sicht einige Schwächen, die schwer wiegen:
Die Personen des Romans haben mich nicht berührt, sie bleiben eindimensional und bieten keinen Anlass für Mitgefühl. Die Handlung des Romans bleibt lange Zeit irritierend bis verworren. Durch die ständigen Wechsel der Erzählstränge verliert der Leser selbst dann, wenn er das Buch in großen Blöcken liest, leicht den Überblick. Außerdem fand ich es oft frustrierend, dass die Spannung, die mit jedem Kapitel aufgebaut wird, einfach in der Luft hängen bleibt, weil es viele Seiten dauert, bis man erfährt, wie es weitergeht. So etwas funktioniert im Einzelfall, aber nicht, wenn Abschnitt für Abschnitt Spannung aufgebaut wird, der Leser aber schließlich manche lose Enden nicht mehr zusammen fügen kann aufgrund der zu sehr ineinander verschachtelten Handlung. Ein Thriller ist nicht die Sorte von Buch, die man mit dem Bleistift in der Hand zu lesen pflegt, obschon das bei „Niceville“ helfen würde. Insbesondere die Verwicklungen und Zusammenhänge zwischen den vier Gründerfamilien haben sich mir auf den ersten 400 Seiten nicht erschlossen.
Aber es ist auch Positives festzustellen: Das Buch liest sich schnell und ist durchgängig sehr spannend. Trotz der genannten Schwächen im Aufbau habe ich es bis zum Ende gelesen, weil ich wissen wollte, wie es ausgeht.
Der Verlag hat zwei Fortsetzungsbände angekündigt. Wer wissen möchte, wie es in Niceville weitergeht, wird dazu also ab Februar 2013 noch ausgiebig Gelegenheit bekommen.
Und bald ahnen wir, dass es etwas damit auf sich hat, dass die Vermisstenrate in Niceville höher liegt als in anderen amerikanischen Städten vergleichbarer Größe.
Stroud will mit diesem Roman viel: ein hartgekochter Thriller mit vielen Verwicklungen und ein übernatürlicher Roman in einem; ständige Szenenwechsel zwischen den zahlreichen handelnden Personen. Fast jedes kurze Kapitel endet mit einem Cliffhanger und der Leser muss sich gedulden, bis der Autor den jeweiligen Handlungsstrang wieder aufgreift und er erfährt, wie es weitergeht.
Während der Teil, der sich um den Banküberfall dreht, einschließlich der Nebenschauplätze durchaus spannend ist, wirken die übernatürlichen Elemente des Romans auf mich oft eher aufgesetzt und teilweise deplaziert. Der auf dem Buchrücken gezogene Vergleich mit Twin Peaks hinkt, aber die Hinweise auf Filme der Coen-Brüder und Tarantino sind nicht ganz unangebracht und zeigen, dass dieses Buch wie ein Film vor dem Auge des Lesers abläuft.
Wer das Buch nicht kennt und sich die Stimmung vorstellen möchte, stelle sich Szenen aus „No Country for Old Men“ vor. (Obschon der Verlag mit einigen großen Namen wirbt, hat er eine Serie nicht genannt, die ebenfalls deutliche Parallelen aufweist: die Hörbuchreihe „Darkside Park“; scheinbar dem Dumont-Verlag kein Begriff, aber vielleicht dem ein oder anderen Leser)
Der Roman hat aus meiner Sicht einige Schwächen, die schwer wiegen:
Die Personen des Romans haben mich nicht berührt, sie bleiben eindimensional und bieten keinen Anlass für Mitgefühl. Die Handlung des Romans bleibt lange Zeit irritierend bis verworren. Durch die ständigen Wechsel der Erzählstränge verliert der Leser selbst dann, wenn er das Buch in großen Blöcken liest, leicht den Überblick. Außerdem fand ich es oft frustrierend, dass die Spannung, die mit jedem Kapitel aufgebaut wird, einfach in der Luft hängen bleibt, weil es viele Seiten dauert, bis man erfährt, wie es weitergeht. So etwas funktioniert im Einzelfall, aber nicht, wenn Abschnitt für Abschnitt Spannung aufgebaut wird, der Leser aber schließlich manche lose Enden nicht mehr zusammen fügen kann aufgrund der zu sehr ineinander verschachtelten Handlung. Ein Thriller ist nicht die Sorte von Buch, die man mit dem Bleistift in der Hand zu lesen pflegt, obschon das bei „Niceville“ helfen würde. Insbesondere die Verwicklungen und Zusammenhänge zwischen den vier Gründerfamilien haben sich mir auf den ersten 400 Seiten nicht erschlossen.
Aber es ist auch Positives festzustellen: Das Buch liest sich schnell und ist durchgängig sehr spannend. Trotz der genannten Schwächen im Aufbau habe ich es bis zum Ende gelesen, weil ich wissen wollte, wie es ausgeht.
Der Verlag hat zwei Fortsetzungsbände angekündigt. Wer wissen möchte, wie es in Niceville weitergeht, wird dazu also ab Februar 2013 noch ausgiebig Gelegenheit bekommen.
February 25, 2012
NICEVILLE didn't live up to my expectations of an intense thriller with significant horror elements. Instead, it turned out to be a slow burning, complicated (and admittedly complex) crime/mystery story with subtle horror on the side. The exposition takes up half of the book (I listened to the unabridged audio version), and new characters and/or events are introduced every other chapter. It's very difficult not to lose track of who's who and how they relate to each other. NICEVILLE ended up being the first audiobook that had me take notes and relay them into a mindmap. Otherwise, it world have been too confusing.
It takes some endurance and a lot of concentration to make it through that prolonged exposition. Many of the dialogues, IMO, could've been shortened. Once the characters were introduced it simply wasn't necessary to showcase everyone's attitudes and have them squabble so much. Sometimes, less is more.
Also, the text on the dustsheet is a bit misleading: The story revolving around Rainey Teague's disappearance, and - at its core - the 'thing' that lives in the Crater Sink and corrupts almost everyone in Niceville turns out to be hovering on the sidelines throughout most of the book. Instead, a complicated bank robbery and it's sprawling fallout take center stage, making NICEVILLE more of a crime story than a mystery/horror thriller. Only during the last third of the book does the story come around and return to it's original creepy premise.
One has to keep in mind that NICEVILLE has been announced to be the first installment of a trilogy. While that doesn't excuse the overly lengthy first half of the book, it does at least explain it. I had to keep reminding myself to look for the bigger picture, beyond the ending of NICEVILLE and that did, indeed, level out some of the flaws of the book.
At the end, some questions are answered, but many remain open. The threads begin to weave into an intricate, impressive net of cause and reaction that reaches deep into the history of the families of NICEVILLE.
The book wasn't nearly as gripping as I had expected and took quite a while to grow on me. I still wouldn't say it's worth all the elated praise it's getting. But then again, I don't read a lot of horror/mystery fiction, and certainly not this lengthy Stephen King kind (and it DOES remind me of King's DARK TOWER series). Which means NICEVILLE doesn't cater to my usual tastes.
But the book's premise and some of its main characters (above all, Nick and Kate Kavanaugh) were intriguing enough to have me put the sequel (which is awaited for 2013) onto my TBR list.
A word on the German audio version: The narrator, Michael Hansonis, wasn't the best pick. He has a nice, husky, cool-blooded gunslinger voice. But he also doesn't have a lot of range, so that the characters, whether male or female, often sound similar. Which isn't helpful when the cast is so large and the story so confusing in itself. A little unfortunate in choice.
It takes some endurance and a lot of concentration to make it through that prolonged exposition. Many of the dialogues, IMO, could've been shortened. Once the characters were introduced it simply wasn't necessary to showcase everyone's attitudes and have them squabble so much. Sometimes, less is more.
Also, the text on the dustsheet is a bit misleading: The story revolving around Rainey Teague's disappearance, and - at its core - the 'thing' that lives in the Crater Sink and corrupts almost everyone in Niceville turns out to be hovering on the sidelines throughout most of the book. Instead, a complicated bank robbery and it's sprawling fallout take center stage, making NICEVILLE more of a crime story than a mystery/horror thriller. Only during the last third of the book does the story come around and return to it's original creepy premise.
One has to keep in mind that NICEVILLE has been announced to be the first installment of a trilogy. While that doesn't excuse the overly lengthy first half of the book, it does at least explain it. I had to keep reminding myself to look for the bigger picture, beyond the ending of NICEVILLE and that did, indeed, level out some of the flaws of the book.
At the end, some questions are answered, but many remain open. The threads begin to weave into an intricate, impressive net of cause and reaction that reaches deep into the history of the families of NICEVILLE.
The book wasn't nearly as gripping as I had expected and took quite a while to grow on me. I still wouldn't say it's worth all the elated praise it's getting. But then again, I don't read a lot of horror/mystery fiction, and certainly not this lengthy Stephen King kind (and it DOES remind me of King's DARK TOWER series). Which means NICEVILLE doesn't cater to my usual tastes.
But the book's premise and some of its main characters (above all, Nick and Kate Kavanaugh) were intriguing enough to have me put the sequel (which is awaited for 2013) onto my TBR list.
A word on the German audio version: The narrator, Michael Hansonis, wasn't the best pick. He has a nice, husky, cool-blooded gunslinger voice. But he also doesn't have a lot of range, so that the characters, whether male or female, often sound similar. Which isn't helpful when the cast is so large and the story so confusing in itself. A little unfortunate in choice.
Read
October 19, 2021DNF
I honestly can't figure out what is happening in this book.
The chapters are all disjointed with multiple different characters and story lines. I couldn't follow what was happening, and it didn't seem to be getting much clearer.
The descriptions were driving me nuts too. Honestly, the prose in general was a bit difficult for me, but especially when the author described a new character it was just an entire, paragraph long run on sentence with some of the strangest comparisons. And because I knew that the character was not likely to show up again, I got frustrated quick because I was being asked to detour from an already confusing story line to get a description about someone I might never see again and probably wouldn't remember if I did.
Just not my deal. I rarely DNF, but I feel like I was 1/4 of the way through and couldn't even remember what had happened or who it had happened too so I figured I might as well read something I could follow.
I honestly can't figure out what is happening in this book.
The chapters are all disjointed with multiple different characters and story lines. I couldn't follow what was happening, and it didn't seem to be getting much clearer.
The descriptions were driving me nuts too. Honestly, the prose in general was a bit difficult for me, but especially when the author described a new character it was just an entire, paragraph long run on sentence with some of the strangest comparisons. And because I knew that the character was not likely to show up again, I got frustrated quick because I was being asked to detour from an already confusing story line to get a description about someone I might never see again and probably wouldn't remember if I did.
Just not my deal. I rarely DNF, but I feel like I was 1/4 of the way through and couldn't even remember what had happened or who it had happened too so I figured I might as well read something I could follow.
March 15, 2015
Volevo leggere un semplice romanzo di intrattenimento e, infatti, questo ho avuto. Non sarebbe stato neanche male come thriller. Peccato che l’introduzione della vena horror, peraltro del tutto irrisolta, l’abbia condotto a un finale che fa venire il latte alle ginocchia. Se si vuole imitare Stephen King, a mio modesto avviso bisogna averne, anche solo parzialmente, il talento. It, pur con tutti i limiti del caso, è un “signor” romanzo. Questo è solo una stupidaggine.
May 6, 2014
páni, páni... docela dlouho jsem VŮBEC netušila, co je hlavní linie knihy. Pořád se mi ty postavy pletly, ale jinak naprosto bombastické. Docela bych brala dalších 100 stránek, protože jsem na konec zůstala zírat a nechápala jsem, jak to může být konec.
Strašně moc mě bavily kapitoly Coker&Charlie, a Nick&Kate.
Dokonce jsem se večer zjistila, že ty zrcadla u mě v pokoji umí být dost creepy. :D
Strašně moc mě bavily kapitoly Coker&Charlie, a Nick&Kate.
Dokonce jsem se večer zjistila, že ty zrcadla u mě v pokoji umí být dost creepy. :D
October 17, 2022
I really enjoyed the characters and their snappy, straightforward behavior. The writing was tight and both the main plot and the various subplots were interesting and intriguing. I'm not a horror book lover and good thrillers are more my cup of team. Having a book which is basically a horror book but with strong crime thriller elements was rather fresh and the balance between them was aimed well to my taste. Four stars out of five.
January 16, 2013
Rating: 3 of 5
A boy, walking home from school in broad daylight on a busy street, vanished (literally!) and an old southern town with a dark history were the two reasons I chose Niceville. Had I know it was the first in a trilogy (does anyone write standalone books anymore?!) I might not have borrowed it.
That's not to say I was disappointed with Niceville just ... underwhelmed.
Stroud hooked me from the first chapter (crafty devil) and ended each chapter with just enough to keep me turning the page (he's obviously an expert tease), but the next chapter didn't resolve the previous one. Instead, it switched to another character and their subplot. I had to wade through some pretty blatant info dump (the kind where one character tells another character lengthy details he had to have already known), lazy characterizations (Chinese dude as IT whiz kid) and downright stupid choices by some of those characters to finally arrive at the climax, which felt rushed and, well, boring. There were genuinely creepy moments sprinkled throughout the story, so I thought for sure the climax would take it up a notch. Sadly, it didn't.
My gut tells me the juicy stuff, the real mystery and adventure, will be in the sequel. Niceville was simply used as a way to introduce the main characters, establish the town's history, and hint at something darker yet to be uncovered. I'll admit to being curious about Rainey Teague and who, or what, he really is. Same with Crater Sink. Is that curiosity strong enough that I'll pick up The Homecoming? I'm leaning toward yes, but only time will tell.
Overall, if you're looking for a fast-paced, multiple POV, masculine mystery with some paranormal activity, you'll likely enjoy this book.
Disclaimer: Contains racism and stereotypes.
A boy, walking home from school in broad daylight on a busy street, vanished (literally!) and an old southern town with a dark history were the two reasons I chose Niceville. Had I know it was the first in a trilogy (does anyone write standalone books anymore?!) I might not have borrowed it.
That's not to say I was disappointed with Niceville just ... underwhelmed.
Stroud hooked me from the first chapter (crafty devil) and ended each chapter with just enough to keep me turning the page (he's obviously an expert tease), but the next chapter didn't resolve the previous one. Instead, it switched to another character and their subplot. I had to wade through some pretty blatant info dump (the kind where one character tells another character lengthy details he had to have already known), lazy characterizations (Chinese dude as IT whiz kid) and downright stupid choices by some of those characters to finally arrive at the climax, which felt rushed and, well, boring. There were genuinely creepy moments sprinkled throughout the story, so I thought for sure the climax would take it up a notch. Sadly, it didn't.
My gut tells me the juicy stuff, the real mystery and adventure, will be in the sequel. Niceville was simply used as a way to introduce the main characters, establish the town's history, and hint at something darker yet to be uncovered. I'll admit to being curious about Rainey Teague and who, or what, he really is. Same with Crater Sink. Is that curiosity strong enough that I'll pick up The Homecoming? I'm leaning toward yes, but only time will tell.
Overall, if you're looking for a fast-paced, multiple POV, masculine mystery with some paranormal activity, you'll likely enjoy this book.
Disclaimer: Contains racism and stereotypes.
August 8, 2017
L’aspettativa era quella di un horror simile a IT, vuoi per ciò che lasciava presagire la trama, vuoi per ciò che avevo letto dell’autore e della sua produzione. E il commento di Stephen King in copertina, “Non avete mai letto nulla di simile”, mi aveva appunto lasciata ben sperare. Effettivamente "Niceville" si apre con un fatto misterioso: la scomparsa (e ricomparsa) di un bambino in una cittadina americana, nella quale, si scopre, in passato sono avvenuti altri fatti inspiegabili. Ma, come tanti altri romanzi, si apre bene per “acchiappare” l’attenzione del lettore, e poi si perde in una serie di chiacchere inutili e barbose. Ma io mi chiedo, gli autori, al di là di quelli che siano i piani nella loro mente, si mettono mai nei panni di chi poi leggerà ciò che scrivono? Strout mi ha acchiappata e poi mollata fra una serie di fatti e discussioni fra ex agenti della polizia di stato, sergenti e commissari, dimenticabili e infatti già dimenticati, che mi hanno tolto l’interesse e la curiosità nei confronti della storia. E alla fine è rimasto tutto nella nebbia, incomprensibile. Non leggetelo se pensate di trovarvi fra le mani un altro IT, perché sareste fuori strada. Forse, se si ha la pazienza di leggere certi capitoli, poi potrebbe anche piacere. Potrebbe. A me ha annoiato e ha detto ben poco. Dimenticato e inutile.
March 14, 2017
Wow, this novel is a real gem...! As soon as I started listening to the audiobook, I was sucked into this strange little town called Niceville and it's people. The narrator, Ann Marie Lee, is a consummate professional who was not only able to keep all the many characters straight, but they all had fully defined speech patterns, inflections, and voices. She was spellbinding! I'm going to have to find more of her audiobooks. Black stone audio, take note...!
The novel was something completely different from anything I've ever read or listened to. But in such a wonderful way...! All these genres mixed up together, with all these crazy characters, and it all worked so well, it was a joy from start to finish. And, the novel only left a couple of small threads hanging, but I'm sure they will be addressed in the second novel of the series....which I can't wait to get to! If you'd like to know a smidge more about the novel and its people, please read the Goodreads review below.
4.5 stars, and highly recommended to anyone who wants a great novel.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The novel was something completely different from anything I've ever read or listened to. But in such a wonderful way...! All these genres mixed up together, with all these crazy characters, and it all worked so well, it was a joy from start to finish. And, the novel only left a couple of small threads hanging, but I'm sure they will be addressed in the second novel of the series....which I can't wait to get to! If you'd like to know a smidge more about the novel and its people, please read the Goodreads review below.
4.5 stars, and highly recommended to anyone who wants a great novel.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
September 17, 2012
I was excited to read Niceville because I thought the synopsis sounded very interesting. About a quarter of the way into the book, I wasn't so excited anymore. Niceville was a disappointment to me. It think it tried to be too many things at once. The ghost story was really cool and had it been the main focal point of the story, I would have liked it a lot more. For me, there were too many characters to keep track of as well as too many points of view. The bank robbery really had nothing to do with the ghost story part, so it made the book very disjointed to me. The ending was just in a word, cheesy. I'll be honest, I'm not even sure why I finished the book. I think I wanted to see how the ghost story ended.
This book is being compared to be Stephen King-like...for me, not so much. I'm not sure I would recommend this title.
This book is being compared to be Stephen King-like...for me, not so much. I'm not sure I would recommend this title.
November 28, 2013
A little boy disappears. Actually a lot of children disappear in this lovely little town. The little boy is found, just after his mother disappears (looks like suicide), and becomes catatonic just before his father blows off his own head. There is a mysterious mirror in the mix. And that's the introductory story. After this it gets weird and dark.
People disappear left and right. A bank is robbed. The internet is used for evil. And more. This is a very dark book. There might be some "good guys" or not. Hard to tell. There are plenty of over-the-top "bad guys." Stroud gives the reader multiple story lines, sometimes hard to follow for the sheer number of characters and subplots, and then smashes together most disturbingly.
Apparently I found this to be a fabulous holiday read. Importantly, there is a sequel.
People disappear left and right. A bank is robbed. The internet is used for evil. And more. This is a very dark book. There might be some "good guys" or not. Hard to tell. There are plenty of over-the-top "bad guys." Stroud gives the reader multiple story lines, sometimes hard to follow for the sheer number of characters and subplots, and then smashes together most disturbingly.
Apparently I found this to be a fabulous holiday read. Importantly, there is a sequel.
September 30, 2014
di Re ce n'è uno solo, diffidate delle imitazioni
Niceville potrebbe essere Castle Rock se Carten Stroud ne avesse avuto l'estro...
se non fosse solo un fan che omaggia King mettendo troppa carne al fuoco, si potrebbe anche considerare il libro, anzi la trilogia, questo è solo il primo, come un onesto omaggio alle cittadine dove alberga IL MALE cui il Re ci ha abituati da sempre
l'insieme non sarebbe nemmeno male, le idee ci sono, quel che davvero manca è la capacità di avvincere il lettore...per capirci: in Cose Preziose di King ci sono tutti i personaggi di un intera cittadina di cui King ci racconta vita, morte e miracoli, e leggendo non ho mai fatto nessuna fatica, qua invece ogni capitolo mi toccava fare mente locale per capire chi era il personaggio di cui si parlava....e questo qualcosa vorrà pure dire, o no? ;-)
ps. gli altri me li leggo con calma, mi sa....
Niceville potrebbe essere Castle Rock se Carten Stroud ne avesse avuto l'estro...
se non fosse solo un fan che omaggia King mettendo troppa carne al fuoco, si potrebbe anche considerare il libro, anzi la trilogia, questo è solo il primo, come un onesto omaggio alle cittadine dove alberga IL MALE cui il Re ci ha abituati da sempre
l'insieme non sarebbe nemmeno male, le idee ci sono, quel che davvero manca è la capacità di avvincere il lettore...per capirci: in Cose Preziose di King ci sono tutti i personaggi di un intera cittadina di cui King ci racconta vita, morte e miracoli, e leggendo non ho mai fatto nessuna fatica, qua invece ogni capitolo mi toccava fare mente locale per capire chi era il personaggio di cui si parlava....e questo qualcosa vorrà pure dire, o no? ;-)
ps. gli altri me li leggo con calma, mi sa....
January 24, 2016
I found this book to be a beautifully written horror story encased within a small southern American town; where the reader gets to really engross themselves into the lives of the population of Niceville. Not only did this book captivate me with its fast-paced, thrill of the chase story line but, it highlights the complexity of one individual town, with numerous stories all intertwining into each other, albeit somewhat loosely. Not since reading Stephen King's Under the Dome have I felt such like and dislike for one small town. In its simplicity, this story is a thoroughly engaging and enjoyable read, that I would recommend to anyone who loves things that go bump in the night.
January 3, 2015
By nature I am a reader, not a writer, and I like it that way. I must say something about this novel, though. Read it. This was a real page-turner! Absolutely descriptive and imaginative; and the story had me completely engrossed. I have not read anything written by Carsten Stroud; however, I am certainly going to be checking out some of his other works. This book was just the right amount of eerie, freaky, chilling, spooky, and completely entertaining--these are the types of books I most enjoy because I continue to think, surely this idea came from some true event... Do check this out!
January 18, 2012
Found this one a little disjointed. I don't know, is that a word?? It's best how I would describe it. Started out promising with the misterious disapperance of a boy, but then a seemingly unassociated story about a bank robbery is tossed in there, and suddenly I was wondering if I was still reading the same book. By the time the author got back to the interesting story about all the other disappearances in the town of Niceville, the story seemed to end rather abruptly.
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