A different kind of Koontz. -- 3 Stars
After reading Andrews’s “Araknid,” I was also ready for some Dean R. Koontz! I picked up on of his older ones at my local library, but it wasn’t QUITE what I was expecting.
The story follows Tommy Phan, an Asian American who wants to be ALL American, much to his Asian mother’s disappointment. Upon returning home one evening, he finds a weird little rag doll waiting for him. But the doll turns out to be a disguise for something much more disturbing.
Koontz is mainly known for his horror/thriller novels, and that’s what I thought “Ticktock” was, at first. It brought to mind an old TV movie called “Trilogy of Terror,” in which Karen Black gets tormented by a little African doll chasing her around her apartment. But as the story unfolds, it gets weirder and weirder, bizarre even by Koontz’s standards, and he’s no stranger to the supernatural.
I was growing more and more disappointed in “Ticktock,” wondering what in the world Koontz had been smoking when he wrote it, when I finally GOT IT in the third act: “Ticktock” is not so much a horror novel, but a sort of send up of horror novels. Things got sillier and sillier, but now that I had reframed my expectations, I didn’t mind as much.
Sure enough, Koontz goes on to admit that he wanted a break from his usual, darker stuff and used this as an attempt at a “screwball comedy.” I’m not completely sure that he succeeded, which is why I’m giving the book 3 stars (which is still better than the 2 stars I had in mind for a while there). In my opinion, if Koontz wanted to write a horror/COMEDY book, it might have been better off making things kooky right from the start, instead of slowly switching from horror to comedy along the way.
So, if you are interested in a horror/comedy tale, like maybe “Shawn of the Dead” or “Cabin in the Woods,” this one’s not bad. If you go into it KNOWING that’s what you’re going to get, you might enjoy it more than I did.
Friday, March 23, 2018
Thursday, March 22, 2018
“Araknid” by Christopher Andrews
The Triumvirate keeps getting better! -- 5 Stars
I’m back! I know, I know, it’s been eight and half years since I last read a book. Well, since I last REVIEWED a book anyway. I promised my son I would try to get back into the swing of things, so I’m giving it the old college try by blowing the dust off my old blog. And as it turns out, my timing was good. One of my two favorite authors, Christopher Andrews (the other being Dean R. Koontz), just released the next book in his Triumvirate series. And boy, was it worth the wait!
I gave the first book in the series, “Pandora’s Game,” 4 stars and the next, “Of Wolf and Man,” 5 stars (I confess I’ve never tracked down the short story that goes between the two). You can read my reviews from earlier in this blog. The latest, “Araknid,” gets another 5 stars from this reader!
Based on both the title and the creepy cover art, I expected “Araknid” to be all about spiders. Don’t get me wrong, there are spiders a plenty! But that’s not really what the core story is about. It starts a few months after “Of Wolf and Man.” At the end of that book, Trey the zombie was dealing with a new growing hunger for living flesh, something that he always had under control but was getting stronger because of something that happened in Alaska.
At the same time, weird new monsters start appearing, and they seem to have an equally weird, predatory relationship with vampires, something that concerns the Triumvirate’s resident vampire Alistaire. And at the same time as that, a local exterminator notices a baffling and disturbing change in the spider kingdom around L.A.. And at the same time as THAT, a Hollywood director deals with his own spider problem and a very unwanted guest.
I can’t go too much farther into it before I start giving stuff away, especially where Trey is concerned. But as you can probably tell, the plot for “Araknid” is a lot more full bodied than the books before it. “Of Wolf and Man” had its own multi threaded plot, with supporting characters also dealing with the wolves while Sean struggled with his past, but not quite up to this new level.
As my reviews have shown, I LIKED the first two Triumvirate books, for sure. But I have to say that Andrews’ writing has matured over the years. Not just the prose, but the stories themselves. “Pandora’s Game” felt like a really good book written by a 20 something. “Of Wolf and Man” felt like an excellent book written by a 30 something. “Araknid” ripens in just this way, written like an outstanding author who has been writing for at least 20 years.
I usually like to throw in some of the things that I DIDN’T like about a book, but to be honest I didn’t find anything not to like here. Except maybe for the book giving me the willies a few times (or “the itchies,” as one character puts it).
“Araknid” is creepy, compelling, clever, and even stronger on the horror factor than its predecessors. The unexpected ending is balanced and instills permanent changes upon the Triumvirate. If you enjoy a rock solid horror novel, order a copy right away ... unless you really, really hate spiders, then steer clear!
I’m back! I know, I know, it’s been eight and half years since I last read a book. Well, since I last REVIEWED a book anyway. I promised my son I would try to get back into the swing of things, so I’m giving it the old college try by blowing the dust off my old blog. And as it turns out, my timing was good. One of my two favorite authors, Christopher Andrews (the other being Dean R. Koontz), just released the next book in his Triumvirate series. And boy, was it worth the wait!
I gave the first book in the series, “Pandora’s Game,” 4 stars and the next, “Of Wolf and Man,” 5 stars (I confess I’ve never tracked down the short story that goes between the two). You can read my reviews from earlier in this blog. The latest, “Araknid,” gets another 5 stars from this reader!
Based on both the title and the creepy cover art, I expected “Araknid” to be all about spiders. Don’t get me wrong, there are spiders a plenty! But that’s not really what the core story is about. It starts a few months after “Of Wolf and Man.” At the end of that book, Trey the zombie was dealing with a new growing hunger for living flesh, something that he always had under control but was getting stronger because of something that happened in Alaska.
At the same time, weird new monsters start appearing, and they seem to have an equally weird, predatory relationship with vampires, something that concerns the Triumvirate’s resident vampire Alistaire. And at the same time as that, a local exterminator notices a baffling and disturbing change in the spider kingdom around L.A.. And at the same time as THAT, a Hollywood director deals with his own spider problem and a very unwanted guest.
I can’t go too much farther into it before I start giving stuff away, especially where Trey is concerned. But as you can probably tell, the plot for “Araknid” is a lot more full bodied than the books before it. “Of Wolf and Man” had its own multi threaded plot, with supporting characters also dealing with the wolves while Sean struggled with his past, but not quite up to this new level.
As my reviews have shown, I LIKED the first two Triumvirate books, for sure. But I have to say that Andrews’ writing has matured over the years. Not just the prose, but the stories themselves. “Pandora’s Game” felt like a really good book written by a 20 something. “Of Wolf and Man” felt like an excellent book written by a 30 something. “Araknid” ripens in just this way, written like an outstanding author who has been writing for at least 20 years.
I usually like to throw in some of the things that I DIDN’T like about a book, but to be honest I didn’t find anything not to like here. Except maybe for the book giving me the willies a few times (or “the itchies,” as one character puts it).
“Araknid” is creepy, compelling, clever, and even stronger on the horror factor than its predecessors. The unexpected ending is balanced and instills permanent changes upon the Triumvirate. If you enjoy a rock solid horror novel, order a copy right away ... unless you really, really hate spiders, then steer clear!
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