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Where The Dead Fear to Tread
A police officer and a serial killer search separately for a missing child while running a malevolent labyrinth populated by creatures they never knew existed.
Former prosecutor William Chandler, disgusted with his past inaction, spills the blood of those who victimize children to correct the ills he sees in the world. A self-admitted serial killer and uncomfortable with his actions, Chandler attends the funerals of those whose lives he has taken in an effort to retain a true understanding of the nature of violence.
The carnage left in his wake is investigated by Detective Kate Broadband, who becomes progressively more comfortable with the corpses left by Chandler. Envying the power she sees in him, she pursues Chandler as each search for Maria Verde, a missing eight-year-old girl.
As Chandler and Broadband draw closer to discovering what happened to Maria they are forced to confront The Devourer, an unnatural being trafficking in stolen children.
Where the Dead Fear to Tread is a tale of hard-boiled macabre, bridging numerous genres to reveal a story of horror, crime and revenge
“The world of William Chandler starts out dark and grim and M.R. Gott is not afraid to make it darker and grimmer with every page.”
Dana Fredsti author of Plague Town
"...frantic, horrific, brutal, and without doubt the darkest thing I have read in years. Maybe in my life."
Marc Nocerino of She Never Slept
"...well-thought out. The main character, like the writing, is a complex man who you’re not sure if you can classify as “good” or “bad”. The story takes him through a supernatural mystery that will leave you wanting more."
Nerds in Babeland
“Where the Dead Fear to Tread is an immensely enjoyable read; jam-packed with great action sequences and wonderfully horrific monsters that will chill you to the bone.”
Dark Rivers Press
"It could be a future movie or video game franchise hit that you can brag about having picked up when it was just a humble indie e-book. Give it a chance and you may be surprised to find out Where the Dead Fear to Tread."
Robert Hibbs of Ravenous Monster
Former prosecutor William Chandler, disgusted with his past inaction, spills the blood of those who victimize children to correct the ills he sees in the world. A self-admitted serial killer and uncomfortable with his actions, Chandler attends the funerals of those whose lives he has taken in an effort to retain a true understanding of the nature of violence.
The carnage left in his wake is investigated by Detective Kate Broadband, who becomes progressively more comfortable with the corpses left by Chandler. Envying the power she sees in him, she pursues Chandler as each search for Maria Verde, a missing eight-year-old girl.
As Chandler and Broadband draw closer to discovering what happened to Maria they are forced to confront The Devourer, an unnatural being trafficking in stolen children.
Where the Dead Fear to Tread is a tale of hard-boiled macabre, bridging numerous genres to reveal a story of horror, crime and revenge
“The world of William Chandler starts out dark and grim and M.R. Gott is not afraid to make it darker and grimmer with every page.”
Dana Fredsti author of Plague Town
"...frantic, horrific, brutal, and without doubt the darkest thing I have read in years. Maybe in my life."
Marc Nocerino of She Never Slept
"...well-thought out. The main character, like the writing, is a complex man who you’re not sure if you can classify as “good” or “bad”. The story takes him through a supernatural mystery that will leave you wanting more."
Nerds in Babeland
“Where the Dead Fear to Tread is an immensely enjoyable read; jam-packed with great action sequences and wonderfully horrific monsters that will chill you to the bone.”
Dark Rivers Press
"It could be a future movie or video game franchise hit that you can brag about having picked up when it was just a humble indie e-book. Give it a chance and you may be surprised to find out Where the Dead Fear to Tread."
Robert Hibbs of Ravenous Monster
- GenresHorror
129 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 6, 2011
1 person is currently reading
77 people want to read
About the author
M.R. Gott
9 books14 followersM.R. Gott is the author of Where the Dead fear to Tread and
the forthcoming sequel Where the Damned Fear Redemption. You can visit
M.R. at his website Cutis Anserina at
http://wherethedeadfeartotread.blogsp.... M.R. lives contentedly in central
New Hampshire with his wife, and their two cats and dog. Aside from writing
M.R. enjoys dark coffee, dark beer, red wine, and fading light.
the forthcoming sequel Where the Damned Fear Redemption. You can visit
M.R. at his website Cutis Anserina at
http://wherethedeadfeartotread.blogsp.... M.R. lives contentedly in central
New Hampshire with his wife, and their two cats and dog. Aside from writing
M.R. enjoys dark coffee, dark beer, red wine, and fading light.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 18, 2012
Technically 4.5 stars, but worthy of rounding up.
Take one part supernatural villianery and one part vigilante justice seeker mixed in with a dash of horror and gore and you have the basic recipe for M.R. Gott's Where the Dead Fear to Tread. I have no idea if the author took his idea for William Chandler from the recent popularity from the books/tv show Dexter, but I had the image of Dexter in my head as I was reading. Chandler is a character, who takes justice into his own hands and hunts down and kills those who do harm to children. However, he then feels bad about taking a life. Not because of whose life was taken, but because of the families and friends who have to deal with the death of a loved one they only knew as a caring father/husband/friend. I loved this character! Dare I say, I think, the world needs a few people like him? Our other main protagonist is Kate Broadband. You can tell she's usually a by the books kind of gal, but she slowly becomes a little more open to Chandler's style of justice. The evil William and Kate are up against is of a supernatural nature in a vampire type creature simply called The Devourer. The opening scene of Where the Dead Fear to Tread gives a horrific visual of just what The Devourer does and how he gets his name.
Scenes and settings were well done with enough visual description that I could easily imagine the local. Gore was not abundant throughout, yet when it was needed it was given plenty of room to allow the mind to fully grasp the intensity and torturous nature of the scene. The only slight issue I could say that I may have with Where the Dead Fear to Tread deals with 2 characters, a little boy and his social worker, who sort of feel thrown into the story and while it seems that the little boy is to play a very important part in the story things are kind of left hanging. Maybe there is a sequel coming that I am not aware of at the moment.
Overall, a well done thriller/mystery with enough of a horror element to keep you cringing and maybe looking around for a set of eyes watching your every move.
Take one part supernatural villianery and one part vigilante justice seeker mixed in with a dash of horror and gore and you have the basic recipe for M.R. Gott's Where the Dead Fear to Tread. I have no idea if the author took his idea for William Chandler from the recent popularity from the books/tv show Dexter, but I had the image of Dexter in my head as I was reading. Chandler is a character, who takes justice into his own hands and hunts down and kills those who do harm to children. However, he then feels bad about taking a life. Not because of whose life was taken, but because of the families and friends who have to deal with the death of a loved one they only knew as a caring father/husband/friend. I loved this character! Dare I say, I think, the world needs a few people like him? Our other main protagonist is Kate Broadband. You can tell she's usually a by the books kind of gal, but she slowly becomes a little more open to Chandler's style of justice. The evil William and Kate are up against is of a supernatural nature in a vampire type creature simply called The Devourer. The opening scene of Where the Dead Fear to Tread gives a horrific visual of just what The Devourer does and how he gets his name.
Scenes and settings were well done with enough visual description that I could easily imagine the local. Gore was not abundant throughout, yet when it was needed it was given plenty of room to allow the mind to fully grasp the intensity and torturous nature of the scene. The only slight issue I could say that I may have with Where the Dead Fear to Tread deals with 2 characters, a little boy and his social worker, who sort of feel thrown into the story and while it seems that the little boy is to play a very important part in the story things are kind of left hanging. Maybe there is a sequel coming that I am not aware of at the moment.
Overall, a well done thriller/mystery with enough of a horror element to keep you cringing and maybe looking around for a set of eyes watching your every move.
February 19, 2012
And here I was thinking this novel would be primarily set on finding the missing children. Sure, I knew it had some paranormal aspect to it, but I never imagined just how full of creatures this would be! Ghoulies, werewoofs and vampies oh my! There were a few repetitive choices of wordings that made my decision three stars instead of four. One - everything splattered. No matter who or what was shot or violated, it splattered on the floor. Okay, I get it. They were violent deaths, dripping with blood and gore. I think we could assume that there was some squishy noise involved. Two - jaws were gaping left, right and centre. Yes, the creatures involved did a lot of chomping. However, again, one can assume that their mouths had to open pretty wide to clamp on to the offending arms and legs. I also did happen to question two-thirds of the way through this novel: how many bullets were shot in the making of this novel? Did it get expensive?
I did really enjoy the violence/gore that was described through this book. No one was saved from maiming, except for a few minor characters. And as much as Kate was a hardcore detective, her personality really did grow on me. Her partner, Francois, was a little less likable, but maybe I just needed to read more about him. William Chandler was such a storm trooper! He could have killed off all of the abusers across the nation and I would have been standing behind him cheering.
I did really enjoy the violence/gore that was described through this book. No one was saved from maiming, except for a few minor characters. And as much as Kate was a hardcore detective, her personality really did grow on me. Her partner, Francois, was a little less likable, but maybe I just needed to read more about him. William Chandler was such a storm trooper! He could have killed off all of the abusers across the nation and I would have been standing behind him cheering.
March 14, 2013
I not only enjoyed Where the Dead Fear to Tread by M.R. Gott; I admired it. While the novel is squarely on the violent end of the horror genre spectrum, it blends elements of noir and action film genres into it. Also, Gott created unique and original versions of traditional horror monsters so the villains have motives and powers you won't expect. He added to that the very real human monsters we see all too often in the news. Then he invented new monsters out of his own sick mind (his dreams must be incredible). And he wrote the grossest way to die I've read in a long time, if ever.
Plot: William Chandler is a vigilante rescuing kidnapped children and killing the sex slavers who traffic in them. Kate Broadband is a cop who's working the same beat and is chaffing at the restrictions of going by the book. Each is seeking the same missing little girl. A mysterious woman promises to reveal where the girl is being kept –but first William must rescue a kidnapped boy held in a clinic that is a front for sex traffickers. That might be just another day's killing spree for William, except the clinic's interior is a supernatural realm.
Where the Dead Fear to Tread is graphically violent in descriptions of fights between adults (scenes with children are only descriptive enough for you to know what happened). But as the plot progresses we learn of William's earlier times and the emotional loss that drove him off the rails. The novel surprised me with this insight; it gave depth to the action. My stake in the plot twists and turns intensified.
If you like the stories of horror writer Lee Thompson, you'll like M.R. Gott. Both write of anti-heroes with nothing left to lose who prowl surreal and hellish landscapes on single-minded vendettas.
Where the Dead Fear to Tread is a high-octane thriller that packs a wicked punch and a killer bite (and a surprisingly soft heart).
Plot: William Chandler is a vigilante rescuing kidnapped children and killing the sex slavers who traffic in them. Kate Broadband is a cop who's working the same beat and is chaffing at the restrictions of going by the book. Each is seeking the same missing little girl. A mysterious woman promises to reveal where the girl is being kept –but first William must rescue a kidnapped boy held in a clinic that is a front for sex traffickers. That might be just another day's killing spree for William, except the clinic's interior is a supernatural realm.
Where the Dead Fear to Tread is graphically violent in descriptions of fights between adults (scenes with children are only descriptive enough for you to know what happened). But as the plot progresses we learn of William's earlier times and the emotional loss that drove him off the rails. The novel surprised me with this insight; it gave depth to the action. My stake in the plot twists and turns intensified.
If you like the stories of horror writer Lee Thompson, you'll like M.R. Gott. Both write of anti-heroes with nothing left to lose who prowl surreal and hellish landscapes on single-minded vendettas.
Where the Dead Fear to Tread is a high-octane thriller that packs a wicked punch and a killer bite (and a surprisingly soft heart).
August 11, 2018
I never, ever rate books I hate but this book... this freaking book. I wish I had known what I was getting into before I started reading it, so hopefully this will help someone else. The man needs an editor. There were tense shifts, unnecessary characters, and plot points that went absolutely nowhere. At one point I read the line “"Bitterly, Francois is standing bitterly waiting for her." So, I believe Francois is bitter. There is also a gem where William’s “hole” hand is swallowed. Not swallowed up by a hole or swallowed whole. There were so many things that could have made an interesting story but they just weren’t developed. Instead we wasted time with characters that during the conflicts could have lived or died for all I cared. I think that Larry (I think that’s partner number 2’s name) and Francois could have been combined. Larry was only there to die and that could have been a hospital guard just as easily, his death did nothing to bring the other two together. When William lost his hand that phantom itch was right there ready for us in true bad cliche style. Oh, and William? Yeah, his name was on each page no less than 12 times. Sometimes it was both the first and last word of the sentence. Another thing that I kept wondering was where did this prosecuting attorney get this fighting skills? One of the most overlooked things in these types of books is that these skills take years. This guy lead an admittedly docile life before his husband died and then he snapped. It doesn’t mention him doing any type of training yet here he is kicking the ass of every person he comes up against left and right. It is a huge plot hole. One final thing, there were so many instances where Kate just waltzed away from a huge crime scene, as in she was actively involved in the crime scene, and no one stopped her for a statement. When she and Galilee has that shoot out at her apartment she literally tells the responding officers to check the corpses in her apartment and that she is out. And she drives off. That’s not realistic. At all. If you’re going to have every kind of supernatural being involved (and I do mean every kind) then you damn sure need to do your research and nail the human parts of your story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 28, 2013
This review can also be seen at topoftheheapreviews.com
Witches, and Wearwolves, and Vampires….and noire?? Yep, this book has it all! But was it any good? Read on to find out!
M.R. Gott’s Where the Dead Fear to Tread takes on several different genres and once and and throws them in to a pot, and shakes them up creating something that I’ve not really seen before. You have part paranormal, dealing with witches, ghosts, werewolves, and vampires, you have part pulpy noire, and you have part police procedural.
The book revolves around two central characters. William Chandler, former prosecutor turned serial killer, and Kate Broadband, a detective. Both of them are looking for a missing girl, each for their own reasons. From this comes a world that neither of them knew existed, one of ghosts, and vampires, and werewolves.
All of this should come together to possibly make a very interesting read, and for the most part, the book kept me turning pages. Action sequences were well written, there was gore and violence in all the right places, and there is even some scenes that kind of pull on the heart strings. The beginning was nothing sort of brilliant. M.R. Gott sets this book up nicely, and really gives you that sense of grit and grime that noire gives you. He draws you in very very quickly. The character of William Chandler is set up quite nicely and while he’s not the nicest guy in the world he plays the part of the anti-hero very nicely. He reminded me of the vigilantes that I love to read about; The Punisher, Mack Bolan (The Exectioner), to name a couple. That’s a good thing. It was a familiar feeling, but it was different all the same.
When the first layer of the supernatural comes in to play regarding Dr. Chimera and his asylum the book gets more tense, and more exciting, you want to know more about the asylum, the testing and the doctor. When the other layers of the supernatural are introduced things kind of go off the rails. It almost becomes an exercise of “how many cliches can I fit in one book?”. On one level it works because you kind of expect it to go there, and he’s good at writing these different kinds of monsters, don’t get me wrong, however for the most part the book is just too short to cram so many different kinds of things between the covers.
Due to this, I think that with the exception of William Chandler, the characters came off very wooden. Especially Detective Kate Broadband. Everything just kind of seemed forced, there wasn’t a natural flow to her dialogue or her actions. I just expected more emotion from someone that is dealing with things like werewolves and ghosts and vampires for the first time.
The other issue that came in for me was towards the end of the book. When things are going down, and you are finding things out with a character named Famke and the boy in her care, he consistently uses the name Kate even though she is not there. It completely throws you off and pulls you from the experience. That to me is kind of an unforgivable thing. It throws the reader off, ruins the pacing and could have easily been fixed with another layer of editing.
The Bottom Line: I’m really still on the fence about this one despite my complaints. I like how he built up what in my mind was a pulpy black and white world. William Chandler has a good back story and I’m interested in what he’s doing next. However at the same time I can’t look past all of the other aspects that just didn’t really meld together. Had the dialogue and actions of the other characters been a bit more fluid, and perhaps toning down on the combining of genres, and the technical aspect of misplacing character names been addressed I might be more ready to jump on the next installment, Where the Damned Fear Redmeption when it comes out.
Witches, and Wearwolves, and Vampires….and noire?? Yep, this book has it all! But was it any good? Read on to find out!
M.R. Gott’s Where the Dead Fear to Tread takes on several different genres and once and and throws them in to a pot, and shakes them up creating something that I’ve not really seen before. You have part paranormal, dealing with witches, ghosts, werewolves, and vampires, you have part pulpy noire, and you have part police procedural.
The book revolves around two central characters. William Chandler, former prosecutor turned serial killer, and Kate Broadband, a detective. Both of them are looking for a missing girl, each for their own reasons. From this comes a world that neither of them knew existed, one of ghosts, and vampires, and werewolves.
All of this should come together to possibly make a very interesting read, and for the most part, the book kept me turning pages. Action sequences were well written, there was gore and violence in all the right places, and there is even some scenes that kind of pull on the heart strings. The beginning was nothing sort of brilliant. M.R. Gott sets this book up nicely, and really gives you that sense of grit and grime that noire gives you. He draws you in very very quickly. The character of William Chandler is set up quite nicely and while he’s not the nicest guy in the world he plays the part of the anti-hero very nicely. He reminded me of the vigilantes that I love to read about; The Punisher, Mack Bolan (The Exectioner), to name a couple. That’s a good thing. It was a familiar feeling, but it was different all the same.
When the first layer of the supernatural comes in to play regarding Dr. Chimera and his asylum the book gets more tense, and more exciting, you want to know more about the asylum, the testing and the doctor. When the other layers of the supernatural are introduced things kind of go off the rails. It almost becomes an exercise of “how many cliches can I fit in one book?”. On one level it works because you kind of expect it to go there, and he’s good at writing these different kinds of monsters, don’t get me wrong, however for the most part the book is just too short to cram so many different kinds of things between the covers.
Due to this, I think that with the exception of William Chandler, the characters came off very wooden. Especially Detective Kate Broadband. Everything just kind of seemed forced, there wasn’t a natural flow to her dialogue or her actions. I just expected more emotion from someone that is dealing with things like werewolves and ghosts and vampires for the first time.
The other issue that came in for me was towards the end of the book. When things are going down, and you are finding things out with a character named Famke and the boy in her care, he consistently uses the name Kate even though she is not there. It completely throws you off and pulls you from the experience. That to me is kind of an unforgivable thing. It throws the reader off, ruins the pacing and could have easily been fixed with another layer of editing.
The Bottom Line: I’m really still on the fence about this one despite my complaints. I like how he built up what in my mind was a pulpy black and white world. William Chandler has a good back story and I’m interested in what he’s doing next. However at the same time I can’t look past all of the other aspects that just didn’t really meld together. Had the dialogue and actions of the other characters been a bit more fluid, and perhaps toning down on the combining of genres, and the technical aspect of misplacing character names been addressed I might be more ready to jump on the next installment, Where the Damned Fear Redmeption when it comes out.
December 31, 2012
(Posted on my blog, Misprinted Pages.)
Take a look at the cover for Where the Dead Fear to Tread by M.R. Gott (sequel forthcoming) and you pretty much know what to expect. It looks like it could be an action movie poster, right? Unfortunately, that’s what the book most resembles — a movie. Maybe the author is in the wrong business because as a popcorn movie, this story might work. It doesn’t as a novel.
Where the Dead is about an antihero who punishes child abusers and tangles with ghosts, vampires, and werewolves. That might sound like a sensible, collected premise, but that’s not how the book reads. It wants to be both a detective story and supernatural fiction, and the result is a mangled hybrid between the two. There’s no consistency to its world — you have no idea what to expect next not because the plot is fascinating and unpredictable but because it feels like Gott is making it up as he goes along.
A lot of it is pretty cheesy. I can’t take seriously an eyeless vampire playing Chopin or a female cop running around naked with dual pistols in her hands — or worse, a ghost chanting “bare ass escape.” The silliness of it conflicts with the larger image the book projects about its characters, who are all tough, badass, and angry as hell. Sometimes all the dialogue consists of are accusatory remarks and swearing (“bitch” appears multiple times on the same page, for instance). It’s hard to get a feel for any real depth when you imagine all the characters looking like the guy on the cover: serious face, smoking gun, leather trenchcoat, clever comeback on the tongue. What’s even weirder is that some of these defensive/offensive quips involve negative comparisons to children: “Don’t threaten me like some fucking child” is an odd choice of words when the main investigation that everyone’s wrapped up in involves a child’s disappearance and protection of the innocent.
Gott’s book is quite vulgar at times, but that isn’t an asset. Those moments of bitter dialogue are too forced. His real strength lies in his descriptions of his creatures, particularly the maggot-infested cemetery Caretaker and his minions. The rest is a bunch of long action scenes strung together. They’re incredibly boring to read and wouldn’t be half as bad if they were slimmed down and spaced apart between nice chunks of meaningful character development, which there’s much too little of.
I found most of these characters hard to believe or care about. The “serial killer” and antihero — one of the protagonists of the book, William Chandler — is supposed to be dangerous and capable, but he beats himself up over not being able to save a baby bird, which is just about the sappiest and most ridiculous plot point ever. Granted, it was less embarrassing once I learned his reasons (he was unable to save someone close to him who died in a similar manner), but that wasn’t revealed until much later in the book. By that time, I had already stopped being interested in the character.
It’s a common movie trope to glamorize characters who are tough and angry and “mysterious,” but underneath the leather, there’s not much substance. That’s the mistake that puts Where the Dead in the ground.
Take a look at the cover for Where the Dead Fear to Tread by M.R. Gott (sequel forthcoming) and you pretty much know what to expect. It looks like it could be an action movie poster, right? Unfortunately, that’s what the book most resembles — a movie. Maybe the author is in the wrong business because as a popcorn movie, this story might work. It doesn’t as a novel.
Where the Dead is about an antihero who punishes child abusers and tangles with ghosts, vampires, and werewolves. That might sound like a sensible, collected premise, but that’s not how the book reads. It wants to be both a detective story and supernatural fiction, and the result is a mangled hybrid between the two. There’s no consistency to its world — you have no idea what to expect next not because the plot is fascinating and unpredictable but because it feels like Gott is making it up as he goes along.
A lot of it is pretty cheesy. I can’t take seriously an eyeless vampire playing Chopin or a female cop running around naked with dual pistols in her hands — or worse, a ghost chanting “bare ass escape.” The silliness of it conflicts with the larger image the book projects about its characters, who are all tough, badass, and angry as hell. Sometimes all the dialogue consists of are accusatory remarks and swearing (“bitch” appears multiple times on the same page, for instance). It’s hard to get a feel for any real depth when you imagine all the characters looking like the guy on the cover: serious face, smoking gun, leather trenchcoat, clever comeback on the tongue. What’s even weirder is that some of these defensive/offensive quips involve negative comparisons to children: “Don’t threaten me like some fucking child” is an odd choice of words when the main investigation that everyone’s wrapped up in involves a child’s disappearance and protection of the innocent.
Gott’s book is quite vulgar at times, but that isn’t an asset. Those moments of bitter dialogue are too forced. His real strength lies in his descriptions of his creatures, particularly the maggot-infested cemetery Caretaker and his minions. The rest is a bunch of long action scenes strung together. They’re incredibly boring to read and wouldn’t be half as bad if they were slimmed down and spaced apart between nice chunks of meaningful character development, which there’s much too little of.
I found most of these characters hard to believe or care about. The “serial killer” and antihero — one of the protagonists of the book, William Chandler — is supposed to be dangerous and capable, but he beats himself up over not being able to save a baby bird, which is just about the sappiest and most ridiculous plot point ever. Granted, it was less embarrassing once I learned his reasons (he was unable to save someone close to him who died in a similar manner), but that wasn’t revealed until much later in the book. By that time, I had already stopped being interested in the character.
It’s a common movie trope to glamorize characters who are tough and angry and “mysterious,” but underneath the leather, there’s not much substance. That’s the mistake that puts Where the Dead in the ground.
April 7, 2012
Review brought to you by OBS staff member Verushka
Beware of spoilers
When I first saw the cover of this book I immediately thought of Sin City – the poster with Bruce Willis pointing a gun down at someone, surrounded by other characters in the cast including Jessica Alba and Benicio Del Toro etc. That reminder gave a more than apt vision of this novel – action, action and more action.
The premise of the novel revolves around a serial killer, Chandler and a cop, Kate searching for a missing child. Chandler is a former prosecutor who wreaks his own personal brand of revenge on criminals who abuse children, while Kate is the cop who is pursuing him. Together these characters stumble into the supernatural world, while trying to deal with the harsh realities of the case they are following.
As implied by the cover of the novel to me, action is definitely this book’s strength. Gott is a superb writer in these actions scenes, unafraid of delving into the blood, gore (and horror) and doing so impressively. There is a clinical tone to his writing, which helps when it comes to the intense action and horror, but it isn’t necessarily a strength when it comes to building William and Kate’s characters as people we should care about.
William is a serial killer and Kate is someone who envies what he does, so there is no room for much emotion in either. I am incredibly interested to see where he goes with Kate in this regard in his next book, but for me, this book was ultimately more William’s introduction to readers rather than Kate’s, so I can understand her past and her motivations aren’t going to be as center stage as William’s is. There is a lack of emotion about William as the book begins and on the one hand, he’s a serial killer and it befits him.
What makes a man go from being a successful prosecutor to a cold-blooded killer? When we do learn the answer to this question and the depth to which it affects William it was far too late into the book for me. As much as I abhor the people – abusers, child traffickers – I needed to know more about him than what I was given in the beginning of the book. As it stands, those revelations feel a little bit too much like an information dump about him. Gott’s writing and adept flair for action reminds me of Richard Kadrey’s Sandman Slim series. Both authors are excellent at action, but as Kadrey begins his novels giving us Stark’s motivations (which I admit, wasn’t enough as the series progressed) I had no idea about William’s until well into the book.
Don’t get me wrong, there is depth to William that fleshes the tragedy of his life out, but it happens far too late for me.
All in all, if you are in need of an action fix, with some supernatural horror thrown in, this is for you.
http://openbooksociety.com/article/wh...
Beware of spoilers
When I first saw the cover of this book I immediately thought of Sin City – the poster with Bruce Willis pointing a gun down at someone, surrounded by other characters in the cast including Jessica Alba and Benicio Del Toro etc. That reminder gave a more than apt vision of this novel – action, action and more action.
The premise of the novel revolves around a serial killer, Chandler and a cop, Kate searching for a missing child. Chandler is a former prosecutor who wreaks his own personal brand of revenge on criminals who abuse children, while Kate is the cop who is pursuing him. Together these characters stumble into the supernatural world, while trying to deal with the harsh realities of the case they are following.
As implied by the cover of the novel to me, action is definitely this book’s strength. Gott is a superb writer in these actions scenes, unafraid of delving into the blood, gore (and horror) and doing so impressively. There is a clinical tone to his writing, which helps when it comes to the intense action and horror, but it isn’t necessarily a strength when it comes to building William and Kate’s characters as people we should care about.
William is a serial killer and Kate is someone who envies what he does, so there is no room for much emotion in either. I am incredibly interested to see where he goes with Kate in this regard in his next book, but for me, this book was ultimately more William’s introduction to readers rather than Kate’s, so I can understand her past and her motivations aren’t going to be as center stage as William’s is. There is a lack of emotion about William as the book begins and on the one hand, he’s a serial killer and it befits him.
What makes a man go from being a successful prosecutor to a cold-blooded killer? When we do learn the answer to this question and the depth to which it affects William it was far too late into the book for me. As much as I abhor the people – abusers, child traffickers – I needed to know more about him than what I was given in the beginning of the book. As it stands, those revelations feel a little bit too much like an information dump about him. Gott’s writing and adept flair for action reminds me of Richard Kadrey’s Sandman Slim series. Both authors are excellent at action, but as Kadrey begins his novels giving us Stark’s motivations (which I admit, wasn’t enough as the series progressed) I had no idea about William’s until well into the book.
Don’t get me wrong, there is depth to William that fleshes the tragedy of his life out, but it happens far too late for me.
All in all, if you are in need of an action fix, with some supernatural horror thrown in, this is for you.
http://openbooksociety.com/article/wh...
April 29, 2012
Full Review: http://thetbrpile.weebly.com/1/post/2...
This story started off really well. I liked the idea of a vigilante serial killer taking out anyone connected with child abduction. It made serial killing seem almost honourable! The side story of the police officer chasing him, but not really trying too hard was engaging. Then ghosts were introduced and I thought things were getting a little strange but it was still enjoyable and I carried on page turning to find out what happened next. Then vampires and
werewolves were added. It all got a little bit silly and went downhill from there. It seemed as though the author had decided to throw in every cliched monster and go from there. The last quarter of the story didn't make much sense and created more questions than answered them. The author kept getting their characters muddled up. I wish I could recommend this as it started off so well, but sadly I can't as it just didn't hold up to it's early promise.
This story started off really well. I liked the idea of a vigilante serial killer taking out anyone connected with child abduction. It made serial killing seem almost honourable! The side story of the police officer chasing him, but not really trying too hard was engaging. Then ghosts were introduced and I thought things were getting a little strange but it was still enjoyable and I carried on page turning to find out what happened next. Then vampires and
werewolves were added. It all got a little bit silly and went downhill from there. It seemed as though the author had decided to throw in every cliched monster and go from there. The last quarter of the story didn't make much sense and created more questions than answered them. The author kept getting their characters muddled up. I wish I could recommend this as it started off so well, but sadly I can't as it just didn't hold up to it's early promise.
April 30, 2012
To read my review please visit http://thetbrpile.weebly.com/1/post/2...
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