Status Updates From Scapegoat

The authors dared to make a direct comparison to Jonestown at the very end of this book (in an existential conversation between the two remaining characters)? Having just finished Coates' outstanding cult thriller makes this lack of respect for the subject intolerable. Totally spoils any glimmers of creativity or originality that were long ago drowned in the effluence of ripped off material.

Worse than that, the health of the character who died was used as an excuse not to go back and look for two other unaccounted for characters (who readers know are dead already) in the immediately preceding paragraph, which means that none of them mattered within the story or to each other, really.

It's legitimately original and funny to satirize a character's death with an overly macho goodbye between two men as one of them bleeds out, but in this story, it really makes you realize that none of the characters had real personalities or significance other than their names and positions within the plot.

Ugh. These books are so willing to suspend the laws of physics in service of a good crucifixion. He pulled the nail out of his hand with his teeth, while still nailed down? Okay. Sure.

"The final shot pulped the baby’s head, passing through his tiny skull and piercing the eldest daughter’s chest."

Splatterpunk writing seems insulting to the reader sometimes. Did the author really expect the person holding the book to read that go "whoah, badass!"? There's no plot resolution there since those characters were just introduced in the same paragraph where they died. So gratuitous.

The culty fanatics are indistinguishable from each other, so to end with them is disappointing, not to mention the reminder of how much heavy lifting has been done by derivative splatter punk elements like crucifixion.

Aw, talk about an ignominious end. He deserved better.

This book really took its time meting out the originality, but it's satisfying when it finally arrives. So much of the story is derivative religious cult/splatterpunk injury stuff that it's a bit of a slog, though. In general, I think the inclusion of a playlist to read by is a red flag, but for this book, it's kind of cool.

I think Jason Cavallaro led me astray with Cracking Spines. As well written as this is, the content is pretty dumb, derivative demon-cult stuff.

He’d refused the last didgeridoo-sized doobie Pork Chop rolled, at least until the second time it was passed his way.

So it's not the most elegant opening, but the book does seem to have a decent sense of humor.