James S. Murray
Författare till Awakened: A Novel
Serier
Verk av James S. Murray
Don’t Move 3 exemplar
Taggad
Allmänna fakta
- Kön
- male
Medlemmar
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Associerade författare
Statistik
- Verk
- 11
- Medlemmar
- 379
- Popularitet
- #63,709
- Betyg
- 3.3
- Recensioner
- 17
- ISBN
- 48
- Språk
- 1
Awakened showed early promise as a high-concept horror idea only to end up feeling every bit as rough as I expected from a debut novel that was likely published, at least in part, due to the author’s fan following.
Plagued with paper-thin character and an overuse of tropes (the female SWAT hero, the reformed Hispanic ex-gang member, the corrupt politician), I found Awakened to be somewhat poorly written and often telegraphing. If the author had let the action play itself out without warning what might happen (usually via unnecessary inner dialogue), the end result would have been a much more enjoyable, far less predictable read. This is a newbie error and I’m surprised developmental editing didn’t tip him off. Plot-wise, Awakened borders on scatter-shot. It’s a horror novel but it’s a political thriller that dips its toes into sci-fi waters. The lack of focus feels like a book trying to accomplish too much in too few pages. Some of what it does manage to pull together is either laughably bad, improbable, or cliché.
That said, the book is action-packed. The premise is great—subterranean creatures thwarting the building of a fast train connecting NYC to NJ by way of a tunnel under the Hudson—and the first few chapters grabbed me. When the train makes its tragic maiden run, arriving at the platform heavily damaged, empty of passengers, and dripping with blood and viscera, I had to know where everyone went.
I wouldn’t have figured Murr for a horror writer but some of the best moments in the book are the most graphic. That guy outside the IMAX? Brutal, in the most awesome way. What the author lacks in finesse (and the writing is, at times, painfully bad), he makes up for in imagination. I’d put Awakened in the beach read category. Entertaining, if you don’t want to think too much about what you’re reading and if you can curb literary snobbery. I’m not clamoring for the next installment, but Awakened was a fun read while it lasted.… (mer)