Imagine a boys own version of The Terror by Dan Simmons. I wanted to like this book. I'm not a very timid person and stuff that can genuinely creep me out is something I relish (for reference the last time was a very small section of the Wind Up Bird Chronicle).Sadly this book was too Biggles to be scary and it was no surprise to discover that the author normally writes fiction for Young Adults. Of course, I'm cynical and jaded. I haven't ever been scared by a book and the last time I was scared of a movie was Clash of the Titans when I was about 5. So I'll admit it's an uphill struggle. Yet you can admire a show without necessarily being completely immersed.
Additionally, although she clearly loves the frozen north, the central (and neat) idea of the book, that 90% of the universe is beyond even our ability to interact with, it is wasted because that isn't explored. The protagonist loves science, but that central facet of their life effectively doesn't inform any of their experience in this tale and that is something I wish was otherwise.
Paver's novel is ok. It moves along at a reasonable pace but in the end it can't really decide whether it wants to be a psychological horror, a proper supernatural ghost story or something in between. Much of the time it settles for something in between but doesn't quite get the balance right between horror and psychology. Doris Lessing, Patrick McCabe and Dan Simmons have all done this better and in a more compelling fashion.
No comments:
Post a Comment