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A review by thatdecembergirl
Bethany's Sin by Robert R. McCammon
4.0
Lesson learned: if you move into someplace to restart your life, your first homework is making sure that place's name doesn't urge you to question its origin. You can't move into a village called Bethany's Sin and expect weird, even evil, things to NOT happen there.
(Not gonna lie, those lines kick ass and have some degree of truth)
"Bethany's Sin" is the second novel by McCammon to be published, and I wholeheartedly agree with Dan Corey, a reviewer who said that this book is more intimate than his debut work, "[b:Baal|11560|Baal|Robert McCammon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1280365481l/11560._SY75_.jpg|16695995]". I honestly can't stand the larger half of Baal because the writing felt so distant and it feels way too forced as if McCammon wanted to make Baal more serious or significant than it really is. But in "Bethany's Sin", I sense that this is the Robert McCammon I'm head over heels about. This is the same Robert McCammon who encaptured me with "[b:Swan Song|11557|Swan Song|Robert McCammon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1445981000l/11557._SY75_.jpg|2947187]" and "[b:The Wolf's Hour|11551|The Wolf's Hour (Michael Gallatin #1)|Robert McCammon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1397767923l/11551._SY75_.jpg|16686655]".
McCammon is just so good at creating a sympathetic protagonist. Evan Reid, a Vietnam war vet with second sight his mother called a gift and his father labeled a curse, haunted by his violent past and premonitions about the future, is a hero the readers can root for. A hero the readers WANT to root for. The narrative is atmospheric, if not a little bit claustrophobic because there is just something lingering in the paragraph which makes you think of a cage in which four sides are closing in on you. I found myself sighing anxiously a couple of times as I was reading; I genuinely cared for these unaware and unassuming characters. The pay-off is super well-done and the final battle is satisfying, although I can't say that it's a happy ending because most horror tales don't exactly end happily.
I'll continue reading the works of Robert McCammon. I think he has cemented himself as one of my favorite writers. Yeah, yeah, I know, another "white male author" and all that PC sentiment, but he's truly, really good. So it won't stop me. Not this time.
A man. The enemy is here, the destroyer of all things good and beautiful. Men.
(Not gonna lie, those lines kick ass and have some degree of truth)
"Bethany's Sin" is the second novel by McCammon to be published, and I wholeheartedly agree with Dan Corey, a reviewer who said that this book is more intimate than his debut work, "[b:Baal|11560|Baal|Robert McCammon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1280365481l/11560._SY75_.jpg|16695995]". I honestly can't stand the larger half of Baal because the writing felt so distant and it feels way too forced as if McCammon wanted to make Baal more serious or significant than it really is. But in "Bethany's Sin", I sense that this is the Robert McCammon I'm head over heels about. This is the same Robert McCammon who encaptured me with "[b:Swan Song|11557|Swan Song|Robert McCammon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1445981000l/11557._SY75_.jpg|2947187]" and "[b:The Wolf's Hour|11551|The Wolf's Hour (Michael Gallatin #1)|Robert McCammon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1397767923l/11551._SY75_.jpg|16686655]".
McCammon is just so good at creating a sympathetic protagonist. Evan Reid, a Vietnam war vet with second sight his mother called a gift and his father labeled a curse, haunted by his violent past and premonitions about the future, is a hero the readers can root for. A hero the readers WANT to root for. The narrative is atmospheric, if not a little bit claustrophobic because there is just something lingering in the paragraph which makes you think of a cage in which four sides are closing in on you. I found myself sighing anxiously a couple of times as I was reading; I genuinely cared for these unaware and unassuming characters. The pay-off is super well-done and the final battle is satisfying, although I can't say that it's a happy ending because most horror tales don't exactly end happily.
No way to die is any good.
I'll continue reading the works of Robert McCammon. I think he has cemented himself as one of my favorite writers. Yeah, yeah, I know, another "white male author" and all that PC sentiment, but he's truly, really good. So it won't stop me. Not this time.