An ennui-soaked misfire.
A teenage boy is possessed by a demon.
There is a tunnel near the park where the local high school kids smoke, drink, and canoodle. The most daring teens run through the tunnel and come out possessed by a demon. The tunnel is called Falter Kingdom, and one afternoon, disaffected senior Hunter finds himself hanging out by the tunnel with his friends. (Absent racial cues, readers will likely infer that he’s white.) After a couple beers, Hunter runs through the tunnel, contracting a demon that goes by H. Hunter could get an exorcism, but he likes the spark H brings to his life, despite the demon’s villainous motivations. Told through Hunter’s first-person, present-tense perspective, occasionally addressing H as “you” and other times adopting “we” as the demon digs in, the novel sets up an interesting idea but does very little with it. Hunter is an unappealing protagonist, with little apparent ambition or investment. His possession muddles his motivations and characteristics, but everyone around him is so flat and his relationships so attenuated, there’s little emotional resonance. The novel thuds on and on, hitting the same brooding note over and over, and when the violent climax finally comes there’s simply not enough on the line for readers to care.
An ennui-soaked misfire. (Horror. 14-17)Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-939419-75-0
Page Count: 188
Publisher: Unnamed Press
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Bloody? Yes. Scary? No.
Someone is murdering high school students. Most freeze in fear, but a brave few try to stop the killings.
Senior Makani Young has been living in corn-obsessed Nebraska for just a little over a year. She has developed a crush and made some friends, but a dark secret keeps her from truly opening up to those around her. As the only half–African-American and half–Native Hawaiian student in her school, she already stands out, but as the killing spree continues, the press descends, and rumors fly, Makani is increasingly nervous that her past will be exposed. However, the charming and incredibly shy Ollie, a white boy with hot-pink hair, a lip ring, and wanderlust, provides an excellent distraction from the horror and fear. Graphic violence and bloody mayhem saturate this high-speed slasher story. And while Makani’s secret and the killer’s hidden identity might keep the pages turning, this is less a psychological thriller and more a study in gore. The intimacy and precision of the killer’s machinations hint at some grand psychological reveal, but lacking even basic jump-scares, this tale is high in yuck and low in fright. The tendency of the characters toward preachy inner monologues feels false.
Bloody? Yes. Scary? No. (Horror. 14-16)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-525-42601-1
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Chaotic
Angels and devils fight grim wars across the five boroughs.
Fans of A Touch Mortal (2011) are advised to reread before they pick up this sequel, as none of the myriad plot threads— some involving delusional, amnesiac or otherwise unreliable narrators—are revisited for forgetful readers. Instead, volume two leads right into a tangle of names: Eden is living with Az and Jarrod, who works with Zach and befriends Sullivan, and all of them distrust Madeline and hide from Luke while seeking Gabe and ignoring Kristen's worsening mental illness... Somewhere in all of this is a paranormal adventure. Eden and allies are mostly Siders, living undead who remain immortal and forgotten after their suicides. Eden and her beloved Az (the angel Azazel, caught in a limbo between heaven and hell) are seeking Gabe, Az's best friend and the angel who Fell at the conclusion of this series' first volume. Inexplicable politics between Eden and the other Sider leaders prevents them from banding together against a common enemy: Luke, otherwise known as Lucifer. As if that weren't bad enough, Heaven's involved now, and neither celestial nor infernal forces seem to be looking out for the best interest of the Siders. Eden has her hands full keeping Az from Falling the rest of the way to hell, seeking Gabe and hiding her own deterioration.
Chaotic . (Paranormal romance. 14-16)Pub Date: March 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-06-200502-1
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
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