Review: Good story and imagery hampered by first person POV and awkward pacing
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 08 28, 2013
This was a different read from the other other two Curran novels I've read (the awesomeDead Seaand very goodBIOHAZARD). The other two were more action-oriented and offered more thrills, chills and gore. I can enjoy a slow and subtle horror atmosphere building, but this one is somewhat off-pace and shifts abruptly from first gear to fourth about a third of the way in. It starts with several character introductions (that are mostly partying scenes with little story or character value) and we don't really get that much into the car aspect until 30% in, when Curran lets the tires burn. Having read all of Stephen King's haunted car stories, I'd comparatively place this one somewhere in the middle, it's better thanFrom a Buick 8: A Novel, but not as strong asChristine.The story being told in first person weakened the horror a bit for me. Ironically, only part of CHRISTINE is told in first person and I always wished that one would have been all told in first person, but then King couldn't have the parts where the car goes out and kills in first person and keep it logically together. Curran deals with other points of view creatively within the confines of first person narrative in this one, but it would have been more chilling for this reader to see it through the character's eyes versus being told what happened from character to character.With that said, the writing is excellent and I will continue looking forward to reading other stories by Curran. He is extremely skilled at description writing and imagery and can paint some pretty awesome mind paintings. His endings have been solid in all three novels I've read, too.