Review: Worth every cent I paid for it
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 12 27, 2010
Ya know, I really have to quit falling for the marketing gimmicks being used with books like this. I was getting bogged down in a history book and was looking for something quick and easy to read as a sort of mental palette-cleanser before jumping back into the second half of a rather long history book. Viola! There was Serial, a quick-read about a killer who preys on hitchhikers and a hitchhiking killer who preys on drivers and the mayhem that ensues when this unlikely pair meet. Toss in some hype about how each of the authors wrote a chapter featuring one of the serial killers, then collaborated on the final chapter in which the killers meet and it sounded like it might be a promising story. So I downloaded it. After reading the story in about 20 minutes I can definitely say this is a book that was worth every cent I paid for it.I guess I shouldn't complain because it was free ... but even so, I got the feeling that Serial was less about a unique collaboration between two action/horror/thriller authors wishing to share their experimental fiction with readers than writers finding a new way to foist rejected first drafts on readers. Other than the authors competing to see who can come up with the most gross-out scene, there's not really much to recommend the story. Don't expect any character development or insight ... just prepare for a story that could have easily been told with sound effects: Screech, thud, smash, scream followed by slurp, clang, thump, bump, scream. If you like your reading to be all action and no introspection, then by all means go for it.Oh, and as a postscript, I notice that Amazon is now selling an "extended version" of Serial. That's a $2.99 I think I'll keep in my pocket.