It’s been quite a while since the last time I read a novel on the scale of Duma Key. At well over seven hundred pages in length, it’s not a read for tIt’s been quite a while since the last time I read a novel on the scale of Duma Key. At well over seven hundred pages in length, it’s not a read for the feint of heart. To tell the truth, that is about the only aspect of it that seems daunting, or perhaps even a touch terrifying. Don’t get me wrong, the story is well written with a depth to it the hints at the way a painter layers on glaze after glaze of color to bring a painting to life.
There’s a hint of Lovecraft in Duma Key, in the telling and the story’s soul. It follows three distinct time frames: the story of a little girl as she’s recovering from a head injury, the story Edgar Freemantle rebuilds his life after a debilitating accident, and the time of the narrator, who also happens to be Edgar. The first two tie together in an intertwining thread that follows Edgar and the little girl’s journey to rediscover themselves, sometimes literally, through art. But both paths move past the mundane application of shape and form into something… else. The time of the narrator foreshadows, sometimes almost too much, what is to come. Of course, this is a Stephen King novel, so any mention of something happening to a character is likely an ill portent to say the least.
Overall, I would say this is a good read and would definitely recommend it. There are definitely scarier stories out there, and more horrifying, but sometimes that’s the point....more
Fair warning: this is a dark, disturbing, and horrendously gruesome book. If you have a weak stomach, have difficulty with the idea of self inflicted Fair warning: this is a dark, disturbing, and horrendously gruesome book. If you have a weak stomach, have difficulty with the idea of self inflicted violence in every conceivable form and fashion, or can't imagine a world where death is not the worst thing that can happen then this is not a book for you. Otherwise, Chuck will not disappoint.
Haunted is written in a somewhat unusual, at least to me, style. There is an over arching story that frames a collection of short stories, each of which is preceded by a short about one of the characters. The short stories are meant act as a window into the past of each character in the framing story. For me, this style was a bit of a problem. The contextual switches between the short stories kept distracting me. That coupled with the text's graphic content forced me to read the book much more slowly and in much smaller chunks than I would have liked.
My introduction to Haunted was an article on Chuck Palahniuk's site, The Cult, titled The Guts Effect. Guts is the first of the short stories after the opening scenes of the framing story. It does a good job of setting the tone for the rest of the book and is by no means the worst of what lay within. I don't know if I can convey to you how horrific this text is without giving too much away.
I'll say it again, fair warning. This is not a book to read if you're having even the slightest hint of stomach troubles.
Very well written! The world of the Nameless dwarf has a great deal of depth and richness to it. Reading through this story has made me want to go hunVery well written! The world of the Nameless dwarf has a great deal of depth and richness to it. Reading through this story has made me want to go hunt down other books in the Nameless Dwarf series just to explore the world Prior has put together. The forward also struck a cord with me as I've done a bit of role playing on in the past and often wondered about writing something based on an old character. One thing I will say for Prior, he is very good at describing combat and his Nameless dwarf does "Kill. A lot." If you're a fan of dungeon crawling definitely get a copy of this book....more
The first thing that I noticed about reading this was that percentage counter at the bottom of my kindle display was keeping up with the chapter numbeThe first thing that I noticed about reading this was that percentage counter at the bottom of my kindle display was keeping up with the chapter numbers. Dani used extremely short chapters as a means of quickly bouncing around her cast of characters, giving the book a very fast paced feel. I started out not sure how well this would work in the story and wound up finding that it worked out quite well. With the number of characters in the story, the quickly switching point of view keeps things moving.
There is a degree of graphic violence in the story. Of course, if you're reading a story titled The Killing League you should really expect quite a bit of violence. Again, it's not overdone anymore than your average action movie.
Overall, I'd say this is a pretty good read....more
Yup, this is definitely Lovecraft's work. A large number of creatures that I've read about and seen referenced in other works show up here with at leaYup, this is definitely Lovecraft's work. A large number of creatures that I've read about and seen referenced in other works show up here with at least a degree of description. His use of language, though a bit taxing at times, fits quite well with the idea that most of the characters have significant ties to academia. When the story finally ended, I found myself wanting more, searching for the questions that were raised by poor Danforth's madness. If you like Mythos fiction, you should read this!...more
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