Jess
I’m a big fan of Stephen Graham Jones and I can’t resist a good revenge story nor a tortured soul. I was pleasantly surprised in his use of language in this one. It took a little getting used to as it was colloquially accurate of late 1800s to early 1900s American/Native English. But I think that only served to make the story more atmospheric and authentic, to draw the reader further in.
Both Good Stab and Arthur Beaucarne, or Three-Persons, have such strong and distinct voices that I actually found myself sympathizing with both of them, even thought they are heavily, heavily flawed characters. And I like how their own perceptions impacted the tone and unfolding of their particular timeline.
That being said I did find some of the violence and gore to be a tad over the top and repetitive, gratuitous if you will. I appreciate that some of it was absolutely necessary for the story but to have basically the same thing happen over again got to be a bit much for me, and I’m not a squeamish person at all.
Also, the whole Etsy character was a mystery for me. Her entire presence felt like using soup nuts as buns for a big juicy double hamburger; ineffective, confusing, forgettable and ultimately useless. Which is a shame because Jones usually writes women so well.
I still think it’s worth reading even with its flaws. A good story is still a good story after all.
I’m a big fan of Stephen Graham Jones and I can’t resist a good revenge story nor a tortured soul. I was pleasantly surprised in his use of language in this one. It took a little getting used to as it was colloquially accurate of late 1800s to early 1900s American/Native English. But I think that only served to make the story more atmospheric and authentic, to draw the reader further in.
Both Good Stab and Arthur Beaucarne, or Three-Persons, have such strong and distinct voices that I actually found myself sympathizing with both of them, even thought they are heavily, heavily flawed characters. And I like how their own perceptions impacted the tone and unfolding of their particular timeline.
That being said I did find some of the violence and gore to be a tad over the top and repetitive, gratuitous if you will. I appreciate that some of it was absolutely necessary for the story but to have basically the same thing happen over again got to be a bit much for me, and I’m not a squeamish person at all.
Also, the whole Etsy character was a mystery for me. Her entire presence felt like using soup nuts as buns for a big juicy double hamburger; ineffective, confusing, forgettable and ultimately useless. Which is a shame because Jones usually writes women so well.
I still think it’s worth reading even with its flaws. A good story is still a good story after all.