Hardcover, 336 pages
Published Aug. 4, 2020 by Grand Central Publishing.
I picked this title because I had enjoyed Del Toro’s movies and television show, “The Strain.” But this book…eh. It kept my attention, but didn’t seem very original. Reminded me of the 80’s sci-fi movie, “The Hidden.”
(Reviewing the German audiobook edition by Audible, read by Matthias Lühn.)
"Not every "five-star-review" describes an all-time great, just that I generally liked the book, and that I generally think the author fully accomplished what they set out to do."
A lightweight story with charming characters, like del Toro's and Hogan's earlier series, "The Strain". Predictable in the same way that a Poirot or Sherlock Holmes story is "predictable" - which is, not in an entirely unpleasant way. Thomas Ligotti, this is not, but it's not trying to be, either:
You're looking at a straightforward, positively unambitious mystery tale for genre newbies, taking heavy inspiration from the TV show "Elementary", "Lovecraft Country", and from the more recent works of Stephen King. ("Mr Mercedes", "Doctor Sleep", "The Outsider".)
A fun summer read! Happy to wait for the sequel.
