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Infinite Country by Patricia Engel | Thoughts

   Published : 2021   ||    Format : print   ||    Location : Colombia ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆   What was it about the country that kept everyone hostage to its fantasy? The previous month, on its own soil, an American man went to his job at a plant and gunned down fourteen coworkers, and last spring alone there were four different school shootings. A nation at war with itself, yet people still spoke of it as some kind of paradise.. Thoughts : Infinite Country follows two characters - young Talia, who at the beginning of this book, escapes a girl’s reform school in North Colombia so that she can make her previously booked flight to the US. Before she can do that, she needs to travel many miles to reach her father and get her ticket to the rest of her family. As we follow Talia’s treacherous journey south, we learn about how she ended up in the reform school in the first place and why half her family resides in the US. Infinite Country tells the...

Short Review (A-Z Wednesday): Creepers by David Morrell

A-Z Wednesday

This is a meme hosted at Reading at the Beach. To join, here's all you have to do: Go to your stack of books and find one whose title starts with the letter of the week. Post:
    1~ a photo of the book

    2~ title and synopsis
    3~ link(amazon, barnes and noble etc.)

The letter for this week is C. I chose Creepers by David Morrell, which I read in September 2009, and enjoyed quite a bit. Marce @ Tea Time with Marce was looking for a horror book capable of giving sleepless nights ::wink::, so I suggested her this book. Since the letter for this week is C, I thought I will post my review as well. I gave it 4 stars. (Note: I do not generally read horror, so this one might not be scary enough to the horror aficionados out there!) Here's a synopsis, from the back of the book:

On a cold October night, five people gather in a run-down motel on the Jersey shore and begin preparations to break into the Paragon Hotel. Built in the glory days of Asbury Park by a reclusive millionaire, the magnificent structure - which foreshadowed the beauties of art deco architecture - is now boarded up and marked for demolition.

The five people are "creepers," the slang term for urban explorers: city archeologists with a passion for investigating abandoned buildings and their dying secrets. On this evening, they are joined by a reporter who wants to profile them - anonymously, as this is highly illegal activity - for a New York Times article.

Frank Balenger, a sandy-haired, broad-shouldered reporter with a decided air of mystery about him, isn't looking for just a story, however. And after the group enters the rat-infested tunnel leading to the hotel, it becomes clear that he will get much more than he bargained for. Danger, terror, and death await the creepers in a place ravaged by time and redolent of evil.


Here's the review I posted on Goodreads:

Overall impression: it was entertaining, gripping, and genuinely created a sense of fear in me.

It was not what I expected though. When I read the book description, I expected something paranormal. I thought creepers themselves were sub-human. Even the first quarter of the book still made me expect something to that tune. Especially the albino cat, the mutant rats and the skeletons. Come to think of it, there is no clear explanation given for these asides.

I liked the way the story played out. But 3 things didn't quite work for me. One is the use of coincidence in the story. The second is how all other characters became puppets in the matter of death. And finally, but once in a rare while, the writing didn't work out for me. In one or two places, I sensed repetition (almost as if there was no other way to write the sentence), and a few points that were best left out from the book. However, looking from the perspective of the main protagonist, I would say these two jarring points fit in well with his character, so I won't count against it.

On the positive side, the author's description of the place was very very realistic. I still have a lot of photo images in my head of the building and it's interiors. It was very horror-inducing and even gory for a book. Some of the deaths were just candidates for a Final Destination movie. I couldn't put the book down right from page 1. Of course, I had to put the book down sometimes, but that was since I had no choice. Overall, I enjoyed it.


 To see what "C" books other bloggers chose, visit this link.

Comments

bermudaonion said…
I'm glad you enjoyed this one, but I don't like books that scare me so much they keep me awake at night.
I liked this one as well; great review.
Tales of Whimsy said…
Coool. I've never heard of this one.
I'd never heard of this one, but it sounds "creepy" LOL.

Here's mine:

http://weboftyranny.blogspot.com/2010/02/z-wednesdays_24.html
Nise' said…
Every once in awhile I come across a book that I can't read at night and I like it! May have to check this one out.
Anonymous said…
I like "creepy" books!

Thanks for playing!
Athira said…
Kathy, I don't either. After reading this one, I was very scared to sleep and was very sensitive to all kinds of sounds I had never noticed before!

Diane, glad you liked it!

Juju, You should check it out! It's creepy lol!

Laurel, It is, lol!

Nise', LOL, I hear ya! You should read this!

Vicki, :)
Beth said…
I tend to avoid creepy books since I need all the sleep I can get. Here is my "C" book.
Irene said…
I can't sleep anyway, so might as well read. Thanks.My C book is here.
Athira said…
Beth, LOL! I won't say you are missing much, since I don't fancy horror much either. ;-)

Jennifer, It was even creepier than it sounded!

Irene, Haha! Let me know what you think of it if you choose to read!