This is a rewrite of my old review and now I want to tell you a little more about this book.
So I decided to get to know this author, because he became popular in horror fan circles and for some reason I decided to get to know him not through a "Ritual", but through this book.
Let's start with the plot. A cemetery of red people has been found in a small town and this place is becoming popular, but reporter Catherine and single mother Helen have learned something they shouldn't have and someone wants to eliminate them.
In the beginning, it was interesting who these people were, whether they were alive and who did not want more to be known about them. But then everything turns into a banal story about a sect worshipping some kind of creature. Of course, I understand that every horror writer has his own cliches and Neville this is sects, but this does not negate the fact that the story becomes boring and banal. I was just reading and thinking: "Well, it can't be that predictable, the author doesn't think it will surprise me, does he?" Also, there is just an unnecessary subplot about drug cartels, which does not bring anything important to the plot. And the ending is so awful, the sect escapes, meets some guy who has never flashed in the book before, throws mud at them, kills one of the sect and this scene is so cringe-like, as if someone's Marty Stew character appeared, who is so mega cool and rich, the sect is afraid of him and he says with them in an arrogant tone. What the hell is Adam?!
The scary moments there are poorly made, they are predictable and banal, as if they were written in accordance with the instructions "How to write scary scenes for dummies." Only one scene caused a sense of tension, and this is the moment when Catherine's boyfriend finds himself at the farm where the sect is located. It's predictable, but it causes tension. And there is a moment that has been spoiled. Anyway, Catherine falls into the hands of the sect, and the next time we see her, she looks scared. It's scary, because what did she see to be scared? But Adam decided it would be scarier if he explained on pages 23 what had happened to her. That's it, the moment is ruined, it's not scary.
The characters are bad. The main characters are so boring that I don't care what happens to them, so the author is always trying to put pressure on pity, all the time repeating what a terrible fate they have, but in the end it had the opposite effect. The others who didn't show up for one line were either bad or they were killed.
The antagonists are boring and dumb. The only thing that distinguishes them from other sects is that they smear themselves with red paint. Otherwise, they are ordinary sectarians who say that they have come to know this world, that it is necessary. And they've screwed up so many times with hiding their identity that you just think: "How did you survive so long with such brains?"
Adam's writing style is bad in this book. Of course, he prescribed the atmosphere well, you just feel that you are in cold water or the stink of sheep, but otherwise he is bad. He repeats the same information over and over again, whether it's the cruelty of the red people, or what an unhappy daughter Helen is, because mom is not around. Seriously, I just wanted to say, "I get it!" The violent scenes are poorly done. Someone is always chewing here, and they won't swallow it, and the dismemberment is written so boring that I was yawning at these moments.
This is a very boring and banal book. It has only one tense scene, the characters are boring, and the text is mostly bad. I am currently reading another book by this author, "No One Gets Out Alive", and it is much better. I just can't believe that two of these books were written by the same person.
by mystery5009