Ever since I read James Welch’s Fools Crow in college, I’ve always wanted to read more by a Native American author as there is just something pretty damn cool about the history and mystique of the Indians.
And, of course, I never got around to it.
But a couple years ago, I heard of this Indian who wrote horror. Word was, he was pretty good, he had won a Stoker award and everything. Except I could never remember the guy’s name when I was in a bookstore, and by the time I got home from the bookstore, I usually forgot to look him up. But, one day — at the Wheaton Library, no less (because they have the best ongoing used booksale in the area) — I was perusing the horror section and I finally came one of the author’s books and, after seeing the name, was a little perplexed on why I could never remember it. Owl Goingback. Seriously, how bad ass is that name?
The book I snagged was Crota, the one that got Goingback the Stoker. Over time, I’d picked up Darker than Night and Breed. And, as it goes, instead of reading Crota first, I grabbed Breed. (Which kind of pisses me off, as I generally like to read an author from his/her first book onward — especially if I own the damn book.)
Well, for a Stoker award winning author, Breed was completely underwhelming. Part of it could easily be that I came off of the fantasticly depressing The Devil’s Knot, but, overall, it felt like Breed was rushed. Rushed for a deadline, rushed to get it done and worked on the next one, rushed for whatever reason. And because it felt rushed, it also felt a bit amateurish.
The story itself is good, albeit not completely original. An old spirit is inadvertently released upon the town of New Orleans and no one is safe from its murderous path. It is up to a young woman, a cop and a ghost to stop the spirit. Granted, it’s certainly fleshed out, but it is a rather standard tale.
Not helping the story much are the cookie cutter characters. The young woman with the troubled past, the cop she falls in love with, the jokester ghost. Speaking of which, the ghost was the most disappointing character for me. It seemed as if he were too comical for the book’s own good.
For what it’s worth, the book isn’t bad, by any means. Even with its flaws, I still enjoyed it, as it was a quick and easy read and good enough for me to give at least Crota a whirl. And there were some pretty good gore scenes in Breed. But, overall, it was just sort of middle of the road vanilla.
Entries (RSS)