“I’m sort of a hypocrite, I criticized Josh Malerman’s Goblin for being slow, and this one has to be just as slow. BUT, because it’s a novel instead of short stories, it’s a slow build, but it does build and get us somewhere, and I don’t feel like the tension did that annoying thing where it’s up, then released, then up, then released. I’m an old man. I can’t get it up that many times in a row.
But this one worked for me. I don’t know what it was exactly, it has a creepy vibe throughout, there’s a good mix of things set into the story that are meaningful and others that are meant to send you down the wrong path. I liked that there wasn’t a pointless romantic subplot like you see in so many of these.
It’s not a perfect book, and I think it won’t work for everyone. The ending is a little sudden maybe, a little…unpredictable for readers who like to be able to follow the breadcrumbs back and say, “Ah, I should’ve known…” But I’m not that kind of reader. I just sort of let the story be the story instead of trying to solve the mystery. I don’t really think stories are problems to be solved, they exist as they are, and you just go along for the ride.”