Review: Twists, more twists and more twists
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 22, 2013
What I like most about Kucan's writing, and I've been reading the "Isaac saga" up to this point, is that I never know what's coming.  Isaac seems to survive all manner of peril and mayhem, but I never assume he's going to, because Kucan always builds an atmosphere of absolute danger and dread.  I'm always thinking "Man, how's he going to get out of this one?"  "In the Hatch" takes place in prison.  In my mind, I'm going for "cage match" right away.  And it sets up like that.  But nothing could be further off the mark.  Then, just as I settle in to this skin-crawling environment, Kucan takes us back to Isaac's childhood.  And even that story line is totally unpredictable.  To make a long review shorter, Kucan can take you into situations that are at once familiar and strange, but you never know what's around the corner. And, best of all, his stories are always about something. The way his "hero" views the world, and how that world etches permanent changes on his "hero".  As always, a great read.