Review: Good premise -- but I couldn't connect with Tim
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 07 12, 2013
I think a lot of people have dreamed up "discovering" a special section of their local bookstore that is even more magical than fiction itself.In Dennis Butler's `The Dead Passages,' that's just what Tim discovers in a roped-off upstairs area.At first, the books in the upstairs don't seem all that special. They're not particularly well-written. They're not particularly engaging. They don't really stand out at all.As Tim continues to read, though, he realizes he's being pulled into the story - and he starts to question his own courage. I don't want to give you too many spoilers about what's going on with the books -- because I think that will ruin it for more readers.At its heart, `The Dead Passages' is about the eternal dilemma of doing the right thing or doing the safe thing.The story really does start out with a bang - but as a reader, I started to get a little bored with the story at times.I thought about it for a long time and I realized it's because Tim isn't exactly the best narrator. He's not a terrible narrator, but I just couldn't engage with him.I think, as a reader, you tend to relate to characters you identify with - or see a little bit of yourself in. I saw nothing in Tim that I could relate to. He was just sort of "blah" to me.Still, despite my trouble engaging with Tim, `The Dead Passages' is a pretty good book. It's written with a purposeful tone - and the narrative doesn't meander off-course too often.It is an indie, and there are a few typos - but they're not so terrible that they yank you out of the story.