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Graveduggery #1
Graveduggery
The world already ended. No one can say for sure when or why. While the tongues of the rumormongers are sopping with stories of plague, the inhabitants of Old City try to ignore them. But everyone can plainly see a little less greenery outside every day. It’s bleak. Constant. And depressing.
Two gravediggers, Red and Sik, love it. Sure, everyone is dying at a stable pace, but it’s a profitable pace. And does a corpse really need the money it’s buried with? For years they had the run of it: graveyards, crypts, catacombs. They knew all the angles and spent gloomy midnights looking for their livelihood amongst the dead. Then came the Executioners, an organization tasked with corpse interment, that claimed certain ‘cursed’ bodies had to be exhumed and sealed away for the public’s safety. But was that even true?
Now returning home from a successful dig, Red and his companion are itching to sell off their precious, plundered offerings and live a lazy life. Instead, they are met with a proclamation from the government that grants the Executioners nigh-unlimited power. Red conceives of a dangerous plan to set out immediately on another journey in order to stay ahead of them, risking winter’s brutal reign over the wilderness.
In an adventure that devolves into a moribund fight for survival, Red and Sik discover that profit isn’t always painless, fun, or even important. Confronted by a looming ignorance about the perils around them and their Executioner rivals, these partners-in-digging must learn how to pick through a world alive with death.
Two gravediggers, Red and Sik, love it. Sure, everyone is dying at a stable pace, but it’s a profitable pace. And does a corpse really need the money it’s buried with? For years they had the run of it: graveyards, crypts, catacombs. They knew all the angles and spent gloomy midnights looking for their livelihood amongst the dead. Then came the Executioners, an organization tasked with corpse interment, that claimed certain ‘cursed’ bodies had to be exhumed and sealed away for the public’s safety. But was that even true?
Now returning home from a successful dig, Red and his companion are itching to sell off their precious, plundered offerings and live a lazy life. Instead, they are met with a proclamation from the government that grants the Executioners nigh-unlimited power. Red conceives of a dangerous plan to set out immediately on another journey in order to stay ahead of them, risking winter’s brutal reign over the wilderness.
In an adventure that devolves into a moribund fight for survival, Red and Sik discover that profit isn’t always painless, fun, or even important. Confronted by a looming ignorance about the perils around them and their Executioner rivals, these partners-in-digging must learn how to pick through a world alive with death.
400 pages, Paperback
Published August 15, 2014
9 people are currently reading
1320 people want to read
About the author
Lula Lucent
5 books65 followersStoryteller with a passion for blending dark fantasy and slice-of-life, always searching for the brilliant lights peeking out of the heavy gloom. Currently working in the video game industry as a narrative designer. Moonlights as a gravedigger in the evenings and a pumpkin come midnight.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 24, 2017
I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. I found this book a little hard to follow at times. It is really more about the characters than what is going on in their world. I think the characters are very interesting and it is rather curious what actually drives them. They have a relationship between themselves that I do not fully understand. It is a book I feel deserves a second reading for me to understand everything that happened. It was a nice read and a nice change from other post apocalyptic visions of the future. Thank you for your story, Luke.
November 19, 2018
I was fortunate enough to get this book via the Goodreads First Read program. My email and connection to the book got lost for a time, but once I was able to download the story, I was completely mesmerized by it!! I LOVED it and highly recommend it to those who enjoy good writing and twisty tales.
July 28, 2018
I thought this book was interesting. It did take me a bit to get into, but I did enjoy it.
August 13, 2021
Won this in a Goodreads Giveaway. Just by looking at the cover I thought I would love this book... that wasn't the case. Very hard to follow, to the point where I think I may have to give it a second read to really understand what was going on in this book.
December 24, 2017
I received a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
I think, for starters, I just couldn't be interested in the plot. That isn't the author's fault. I tried to plow through it anyway, but the atrocious spelling and grammar made it impossible. Beyond that, it seemed like the book was written almost entirely in dialogue, and because the characters are all so similar, it was nearly impossible to keep track of who was saying what. I really tried to stick with it in hopes it would spark my interest, but it just never happened.
I think, for starters, I just couldn't be interested in the plot. That isn't the author's fault. I tried to plow through it anyway, but the atrocious spelling and grammar made it impossible. Beyond that, it seemed like the book was written almost entirely in dialogue, and because the characters are all so similar, it was nearly impossible to keep track of who was saying what. I really tried to stick with it in hopes it would spark my interest, but it just never happened.
dnf
November 18, 2017I received this via Goodreads Giveaways in exchange for an honest review. All my opinions are my own.
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Tried but not for me. Not a bad book, but I just couldn't get into it. :(
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Tried but not for me. Not a bad book, but I just couldn't get into it. :(
September 9, 2019
Confusing
I found this book to be very confusing. It was hard for me to follow. I was thinking about not finishing but I struggled through it.
I found this book to be very confusing. It was hard for me to follow. I was thinking about not finishing but I struggled through it.
October 19, 2021
Currently reading and about 65% of the way through. I will update once I have finished.
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. I actually won the second book first, then won the first book. So I have book 1 and 2 as Kindle books and I thought, perfect, now if I like the first one, I already have the second one and can start on it.
I was interested in reading the book from the description. It sounded like a post-apocalyptic story with maybe some classic horror elements (zombies? vampires? some other type of undead creature?). Right up my alley.
I will say that after 50% of the book, I started skimming and I am now at 65%. I have had a lot of trouble reading through this story and at this point in my life, I am usually ok with not finishing a book. However, I am keeping with this one until the end just because I want to see what the author does with the world and the characters.
The premise is promising. Sik and Red are gravediggers who go to graveyards, dig up bodies, take jewelry and coins and anything valuable the person may have been buried with, and then sell it. They live together in a modest house and have some other gravedigger friends. Gravedigging is illegal, of course.
You can pick up clues about the world they live in, though it is not fleshed out explicitly, and can infer the world is post-apocalyptic. There is evidence of paved roads, large cities, and technology which has been lost. There is extremely cold winters with a deadly fog/frost.
The Executioners are basically a government department that buries dead bodies and makes sure no "cursed" people roam free. Who are the cursed? What causes the curse? Is it catching, like a plague? We don't know. But it seems some dead people don't STAY dead. But the cursed are also sort of a myth...many people, Red and Sik included, aren't entirely convinced these not-dead dead people exist. Maybe the Executioners are just using this myth as a cover story for some other nefarious plan to control the population.
Sounds kind of cool, right?
However, the book is written like a stream of consciousness, which is why I think many people, myself included, are finding it hard to follow. It is hard to keep up with which characters are doing what, which point of view you are seeing from, and what the difference between reality and dream or hallucination is. It does seem like most of the story is written and seen from Red's POV. Because of the stream of consciousness type of writing, I cannot follow the story well or tell what is really happening very well. It makes the reading extremely frustrating, because there are some really good elements of an interesting world and plot here, but they are nearly impossible to follow.
Anyways, I am going to continue to skim the rest of the book just to see what happens at the end, and will update my review at that point. I do not think I would willingly read this book a second time just to pick up on more details. It's not enjoyable enough to read to do that.
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. I actually won the second book first, then won the first book. So I have book 1 and 2 as Kindle books and I thought, perfect, now if I like the first one, I already have the second one and can start on it.
I was interested in reading the book from the description. It sounded like a post-apocalyptic story with maybe some classic horror elements (zombies? vampires? some other type of undead creature?). Right up my alley.
I will say that after 50% of the book, I started skimming and I am now at 65%. I have had a lot of trouble reading through this story and at this point in my life, I am usually ok with not finishing a book. However, I am keeping with this one until the end just because I want to see what the author does with the world and the characters.
The premise is promising. Sik and Red are gravediggers who go to graveyards, dig up bodies, take jewelry and coins and anything valuable the person may have been buried with, and then sell it. They live together in a modest house and have some other gravedigger friends. Gravedigging is illegal, of course.
You can pick up clues about the world they live in, though it is not fleshed out explicitly, and can infer the world is post-apocalyptic. There is evidence of paved roads, large cities, and technology which has been lost. There is extremely cold winters with a deadly fog/frost.
The Executioners are basically a government department that buries dead bodies and makes sure no "cursed" people roam free. Who are the cursed? What causes the curse? Is it catching, like a plague? We don't know. But it seems some dead people don't STAY dead. But the cursed are also sort of a myth...many people, Red and Sik included, aren't entirely convinced these not-dead dead people exist. Maybe the Executioners are just using this myth as a cover story for some other nefarious plan to control the population.
Sounds kind of cool, right?
However, the book is written like a stream of consciousness, which is why I think many people, myself included, are finding it hard to follow. It is hard to keep up with which characters are doing what, which point of view you are seeing from, and what the difference between reality and dream or hallucination is. It does seem like most of the story is written and seen from Red's POV. Because of the stream of consciousness type of writing, I cannot follow the story well or tell what is really happening very well. It makes the reading extremely frustrating, because there are some really good elements of an interesting world and plot here, but they are nearly impossible to follow.
Anyways, I am going to continue to skim the rest of the book just to see what happens at the end, and will update my review at that point. I do not think I would willingly read this book a second time just to pick up on more details. It's not enjoyable enough to read to do that.
August 15, 2021
Is this a dream?
I really tried with this book. I got lost right from the start. I couldn’t tell the characters apart, from their dialogue. The plot seemed to make big leaps without much explanation. So I began to believe this wasn’t reality being described, but rather a disjointed hallucination. I had to stop reading. It was too frustrating.
I really tried with this book. I got lost right from the start. I couldn’t tell the characters apart, from their dialogue. The plot seemed to make big leaps without much explanation. So I began to believe this wasn’t reality being described, but rather a disjointed hallucination. I had to stop reading. It was too frustrating.
November 19, 2018
Wonderful
I was fortunate enough to win this book on Goodreads First Read!! It was lost in my email until recently and I discovered it and couldn't stop reading!! This was a wonderful take that I highly recommend!!
I was fortunate enough to win this book on Goodreads First Read!! It was lost in my email until recently and I discovered it and couldn't stop reading!! This was a wonderful take that I highly recommend!!
April 8, 2023
DNF the description of the book sounded really good. It wasn't. I got to 8 pages. I was lost from the start. It was difficult knowing which character was talking. The stuttering just stopped. I won this is a giveaway.
September 5, 2018
Sucked - couldnt make it passed a few pages.
July 7, 2021
Maybe there is a first book that explains the characters? Could not finish.
September 11, 2021
DNF
DNF. I was confused from the beginning. Gave it a fair chance but just couldn't get into it at all.
DNF. I was confused from the beginning. Gave it a fair chance but just couldn't get into it at all.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews