Western-style monster apocalypse
Bewertet mit 4 Sternen
Amazing how a book that started out so badly could end up being so good! This was one of the rare occasions were I was really, really glad I did not give up on the story prematurely but stayed with it to the end. After the first ca. 50 pages I was almost ready to quit, something I would never have believed possible with a novel written by Jonathan Janz. But the combination of monster/action horror with an ambitious character drawing didn't seem to fit and felt really awkward. Also, I was not satisfied with the reason for the apocalypse that turned almost every human into some kind of monster. It seemed far-fetched and, if that makes sense, rather popular, like an easy but ill-fitting choice to pave the way for what comes after. Also, the first encounters of our hero, or rather anti-hero, Dez, with the new monsters - one a group of cannibals, the other with a werewolf - read like a clumsy introduction into the new post-apocalyptic world, constantly switching between full-blown bloody action and too thoughtful moments, like the author needed some time to get in the right flow.
However, once our hero, or rather anti-hero, reaches the destination of his journey, the Four Winds bar, to investigate, or more possibly avenge, the fate of his abducted girlfriend, everything seemed to fall into place and the story really had me hooked. I loved how Dez grew into his role of a hero, the brooding figure with a too large conscience for his own good. At this point, the writing was perfectly balanced: lots of action (which a couple of times reminded me of From Dusk Til Dawn) and great characters, which were introduced easily along the way but lingered with you for the rest of the novel (though not all of them alive). The whole thing, as also mentioned a couple of times, had a great western-style feeling to it, full of brooding, mysterious figures and bad-ass villains. In the end I was surprised to realize how much I actually enjoyed the story and I was disappointed to reach the end, only slightly consoled by the possible prospect of a sequel.
(thanks to netgalley, the author, and the publisher for a copy of the book, all opinions are my own)