Review: Worth Reading
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 25, 2012
Where Darkness Dwells (4 stars)I picked this book up on a recommendation, and because I'm familiar with the imprint where the author works as an editor. I'm so glad I did. It's easily the best book I've read this year.Up front, I'll mention a few problems with the writing itself. I spotted a number of dangling modifiers throughout the book. For example, "On the cusp of sleep moments after hitting the pillow, a tapping at the window nudged him fully awake." And "Sitting up, sluggish sweat dripped from his sunburned skin." They seemed to be more common at the beginning of the book, although I may have started to ignore them after while. I also saw several misused homophones, some tense problems, a couple instances of head hopping, and words used incorrectly.All of these things would normally reduce my enjoyment of a book. In this book, I noticed them, but they didn't kill the book for me because the story was so strong. The characters are fully realized people, products of their history and environment. Their motives are clear and logical. The plot effortlessly weaves together the threads of multiple characters against a complex backdrop of financial hardship and cultural bigotry.The book contains gore but doesn't dwell on it. I didn't realize the book was about zombies or I would have been more hesitant to try it (zombies are not my favorite), but for the most part, these are not mindless vehicles of violence and carnage. They are people, with people's thoughts and people's motives. I loved how the book contrasted a broad range of human strengths and failings, ranging from Ellie's strength and innocence to Ethan's sick depravity.I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys paranormal fiction with strong elements of history. I'm looking forward to reading more by this author.************The Nightmare Within (3 Stars)I loved the premise of this book. The concept of a mentally disturbed psychologist being able to pull dreams from people's minds into the real world was fascinating. The idea of a dream museum in which to house these stolen dreams (named Lucidity, what a great name) was creative and unique. And the dreams themselves were fabulous, ranging from a flaming cat to a sock monkey to Mr. Freakshow, whom the title refers to.I had a number of complaints, possibly because I wanted so much to love the book. My comments from here forward will probably make it sound like I don't recommend the book, which isn't the case. I think it was a very cool story, and I expect people who aren't as picky as I am will enjoy it. I recommend this book to readers who like unique horror and don't get hung up on plot points.That said, my first complaint is the character of Kevin. He was an interesting person, but not a believable child. Kevin was raised in stable, middle-class home with no abuse. Children of that age from his background do not have the deep (and, to me, disturbing) understanding of adult relationships that he seemed to. I was also confused by the fact that supposedly the dreams were limited by their creators' knowledge until they came into the real world, but Mr. Freakshow knew things Kevin didn't while he was in the boy's mind.About halfway through the book, I started running into elements that didn't seem to make sense; in fact, I can pinpoint where the narrative took a downturn for me (the breakout). Plot threads began appearing that went nowhere: the erotic dreams were gratuitous, adding nothing to the storyline; the killer on the subway who goes after the dream appears and disappears in a single chapter; we follow the rat lady dream into the subway system, only to have her disappear from the story.Two-dimensional stereotypical characters began to fill the pages, like the clueless but well-meaning detective, the incompetent and harassed policemen who smoke too much, and the overweight mayor who uses a hanky to wipe sweat from his shiny forehead. The dream powers were inconsistent, at one point affecting the real world, at another having no effect at all.*****SPOILERS FROM HERE DOWN******The ending bothered me the most. No explanation was given for how the dreams were dealt with. It mentioned that only those dreams that had managed to kill their creators were imprisoned. Did the government kill the other creators to destroy the dreams? Kevin is resurrected by some unexplained miracle. I was sad when he died, but honestly annoyed when he came back to life just so his mother wouldn't have to be alone. The pregnant dream intrigued me (what would be the result of the union between a human and a dream?), but how did she get pregnant when her whole existence is predicated on the fact that nothing in the world affects her permanently? Dreams get shot and immediately heal, so wouldn't pregnancy (if it happened at all) disappear as well?I still love the whole concept of the book, but I think it could have been executed better.