10 books read, 94 total for the year

best fiction: Mr. Mercedes and The Wanderer in Unknown Realms

--a fantabulous month for fiction, ruled by a mass murderer and Lovecraftian England

best nonfiction: The Most Dangerous Animal of All, in which a man explores the possibility that his father might have been the Zodiac Killer

   This was my first John Connolly book, and it certainly won't be my last. It took me a little bit to get into the story, but once the creepiness came into play I was hooked! Things definitely got really creepy, and I enjoyed it!

It had a little of this...

Which made me want to be like this....

     My only real complaint is that the ending is very abrupt. Just when things got really good, it just ended, no resolution. It left it open for you to fill in the blanks I guess, and I'm not really a huge fan of that. I really wish there were a companion full length novel to go along with this novella, I would have bought it on the spot after finishing this. I am really curious to see now what John Connolly can do with something more substantial than a novella. I added a few other of his books to my to-read list and look forward to reading them.

This is the first novella I've read from John Connolly, but not my first read from him. Because of this, I know that his stories are always dark, and a bit odd. I love everything about the way that he writes. It's so atmospheric, that it reminds me a lot of reading Poe. Dark, foreboding, and bleak, yet you can't look away.

I thought Soter was an interesting enough character, what with his background in the military. The fact that he was a veteran made his reactions to otherwise extremely creepy occurrences a little more palatable. I suppose if you've seen men die in horrific battle, it's probably not too much of a jump to take a man made of shadows head on, eh? Although, trust and believe that if creepy backward walking children were anywhere near me? I'd be running full tilt as far away as possible. I never felt fully attached to Soter, but I did like him as a protagonist.

The one thing that disappointed me, was the ending. I felt like it was apt, considering the fact that this is a novella, but I really wanted more! Especially once things picked up. I wish I knew what happened to Maudling. I desperately want to know what's going to happen to the world, and I feel like it was just a little to easy to end it where it did. Still, I've come to find that novellas tend to do that sometimes. I guess it's leave them wanting more?

Still, a solid four star read. This prompted me to want more Connolly back in my life.