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cmzukowski's reviews
704 reviews
The Incurables by Jon Bassoff
4.0
**I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**
I will be honest and say that I was not sure what to think of this book when I started it. The story follows the lives of several highly disturbing individuals, the main characters of this story, who live in a town full of odd and unbalanced people. The main characters seem to be strangers in the beginning, but over time we see how their lives inevitably intertwine. There is the doctor who “cures” people by performing transorbitol lobotomies with an ice pick, a preacher who swears his son is the messiah, the son trying to live up to being the messiah, and a prostitute whose upbringing has made her deranged and dangerous. The Incurables contains a cast of characters straight out of a dysfunctional nightmare. At first the book disturbed me and made me cringe, and at many times shocked me, but it was not long before I came to terms with the fact that I loved this macabre book.
The Incurables was creepy. Not in your typically scary, horror story way but in a way where it forces you to see the worst in humanity and really think about it. The storyline and incidents were exaggerated (in a good way) but everything in the book had an underlying truth to it. Bassoff touches on subjects that exist in the real world, which people sometimes choose to avoid analyzing, because they are considered touchy subjects to broach, such as religion, sex, morality, etc. The book shows both the ridiculousness of so many of our actions and the devastating consequences that often times come of them.
One of the things the book shows so brilliantly is the tendency the human race has to just follow the pack and believe almost anything that is told to them. It shows the scary truth that with enough influence people will believe anything, simply because they are being told by a large number of people that it is the right thing to believe. The Incurables depicts “following the masses” quite befittingly.
The character development in the book is not as in-depth as it could have been, in my opinion, but Bassoff still manages to evoke enough feelings towards the characters and you are made to both love and hate all of them. He found a way to make you feel compassion for each person, no matter how sinister their actions, but then also makes you loathe them at the same time. I found such brilliance in this and it made it hard to really, truly despise anyone completely throughout the book.
I am not going to pretend that this book is not highly unsettling at times and it really does force you to take a deep look into the dark parts of the human race. There are many disturbing moments throughout The Incurables and it is clearly not the right story for everyone, but as far as my opinion goes though, I really did enjoy this book. When I had that moment of clarity while reading, where I saw what Bassoff was doing with the story and what he was trying to show, I was so impressed in how highly intelligent the book really is.
Overall I thought The Incurables was a wonderfully creepy book that kept an ominous atmosphere the entire time. If you are squeamish or do not enjoy horror then this might not be your ideal read, but anyone who likes sinister noir stories should give this book a go, because you will not regret reading it.
"There would be no more words at all...but what happens when the night is too black, when the moon is crushed to pieces, when screams are the only sign of life?"
I will be honest and say that I was not sure what to think of this book when I started it. The story follows the lives of several highly disturbing individuals, the main characters of this story, who live in a town full of odd and unbalanced people. The main characters seem to be strangers in the beginning, but over time we see how their lives inevitably intertwine. There is the doctor who “cures” people by performing transorbitol lobotomies with an ice pick, a preacher who swears his son is the messiah, the son trying to live up to being the messiah, and a prostitute whose upbringing has made her deranged and dangerous. The Incurables contains a cast of characters straight out of a dysfunctional nightmare. At first the book disturbed me and made me cringe, and at many times shocked me, but it was not long before I came to terms with the fact that I loved this macabre book.
The Incurables was creepy. Not in your typically scary, horror story way but in a way where it forces you to see the worst in humanity and really think about it. The storyline and incidents were exaggerated (in a good way) but everything in the book had an underlying truth to it. Bassoff touches on subjects that exist in the real world, which people sometimes choose to avoid analyzing, because they are considered touchy subjects to broach, such as religion, sex, morality, etc. The book shows both the ridiculousness of so many of our actions and the devastating consequences that often times come of them.
One of the things the book shows so brilliantly is the tendency the human race has to just follow the pack and believe almost anything that is told to them. It shows the scary truth that with enough influence people will believe anything, simply because they are being told by a large number of people that it is the right thing to believe. The Incurables depicts “following the masses” quite befittingly.
The character development in the book is not as in-depth as it could have been, in my opinion, but Bassoff still manages to evoke enough feelings towards the characters and you are made to both love and hate all of them. He found a way to make you feel compassion for each person, no matter how sinister their actions, but then also makes you loathe them at the same time. I found such brilliance in this and it made it hard to really, truly despise anyone completely throughout the book.
I am not going to pretend that this book is not highly unsettling at times and it really does force you to take a deep look into the dark parts of the human race. There are many disturbing moments throughout The Incurables and it is clearly not the right story for everyone, but as far as my opinion goes though, I really did enjoy this book. When I had that moment of clarity while reading, where I saw what Bassoff was doing with the story and what he was trying to show, I was so impressed in how highly intelligent the book really is.
Overall I thought The Incurables was a wonderfully creepy book that kept an ominous atmosphere the entire time. If you are squeamish or do not enjoy horror then this might not be your ideal read, but anyone who likes sinister noir stories should give this book a go, because you will not regret reading it.
"There would be no more words at all...but what happens when the night is too black, when the moon is crushed to pieces, when screams are the only sign of life?"
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
5.0
I finished Six of Crows and immediately found myself missing Kaz and his crew, which is a surefire sign that I just finished a book that I absolutely loved. Kaz Brekker, criminal, gang leader, outcast, has assembled a group of misfit criminals from The Barrel to pull off the crime of a lifetime, a crime that even the most capable and seasoned lawbreakers would find nearly impossible. But for a group of men and women who have nothing left to lose, the impossible could be the one thing that will bring them salvation and the wealth they need to start new lives. But before they can go about saving the world they must first get past the secrets they are hiding, the resentment they hold back, and the mistrust they feel towards one another, and focus on not getting killed by the odds stacked against them.
I had been looking forward to reading this book since it was released because there were so many tempting aspects to it: theft, magic, fantasy, so many things that I love in a good story. Six of Crows is set in the same world as Bardugo’s Grisha Trilogy but in a different land, with different characters, and it is not necessary to read the other trilogy first. I felt like the story got off to a slow start but after the first part of the book (it is divided into several parts) it really picked up and I could not put it down. Once I was halfway through the book I caught myself thinking about it all the time and wondering what would happen next with each of the characters that I had grown to love so much.
To tell the story, Bardugo switches each chapter to be from a different main character’s point of view, but I felt she did it in a different and more engaging way than I have seen it done by other authors in the past. The trouble I fall into sometimes when reading a story that switches between characters is the breakup of the storyline, since each character usually jumps to a different time or location. Bardugo switches characters yet tells the story seamlessly so that each chapter starts exactly where the last left off, but with the point of view of someone new. So the story never breaks succession and there is never a lull in the action. This way we learn the emotions, motivations, and differing viewpoints of each character without the excitement of the story ever getting interrupted.
The character development in the story is incredible and you quickly begin to learn the talents and flaws of each character and feel as if you know them personally and love each of them for who they are. Bardugo uses the present, flashbacks, internal thoughts, etc. to teach you the history of each character and give you a glimpse into why they have each become the person they are. The storyline was very unique and often focused on special abilities that some characters possess (the Grisha) which are incredibly interesting and a different take on magic. Once you get about 100 pages into the book the story really picks up pace and it is basically nonstop action after that point, done in near flawless fashion. There were small things about the book that bothered me, but these are rather insignificant details like the ages of certain characters or odd interactions which took nothing away from the story at all and were just little things that I noticed occasionally. Overall Bardugo told a brilliant story and I loved every second of it.
I finished this book several days ago and I still find myself missing the characters, Ketterdam, and everything about the story. It has been a long time since I have read a book that tugged at my heart enough that it made me go through a slight withdrawal and left me feeling a little depressed that I was not still immersed in the world of the book and the lives of its characters. Six of Crows has done that to me and the more I think about the book the more I love it and I find myself already anticipating the next novel in the trilogy. The book ends with a cliffhanger but not one that leaves you screaming in rage at having to wait so long for the next book, but enough for you to feel eager with anticipation as you patiently await book two. I look forward to the day where I am back in The Barrel hanging out with Kaz and the rest of the crew as the next part of the incredible journey takes place.
“When everyone knows you’re a monster, you needn’t waste time doing every monstrous thing.”
Check out this review and others on The Book Cafe
I had been looking forward to reading this book since it was released because there were so many tempting aspects to it: theft, magic, fantasy, so many things that I love in a good story. Six of Crows is set in the same world as Bardugo’s Grisha Trilogy but in a different land, with different characters, and it is not necessary to read the other trilogy first. I felt like the story got off to a slow start but after the first part of the book (it is divided into several parts) it really picked up and I could not put it down. Once I was halfway through the book I caught myself thinking about it all the time and wondering what would happen next with each of the characters that I had grown to love so much.
To tell the story, Bardugo switches each chapter to be from a different main character’s point of view, but I felt she did it in a different and more engaging way than I have seen it done by other authors in the past. The trouble I fall into sometimes when reading a story that switches between characters is the breakup of the storyline, since each character usually jumps to a different time or location. Bardugo switches characters yet tells the story seamlessly so that each chapter starts exactly where the last left off, but with the point of view of someone new. So the story never breaks succession and there is never a lull in the action. This way we learn the emotions, motivations, and differing viewpoints of each character without the excitement of the story ever getting interrupted.
The character development in the story is incredible and you quickly begin to learn the talents and flaws of each character and feel as if you know them personally and love each of them for who they are. Bardugo uses the present, flashbacks, internal thoughts, etc. to teach you the history of each character and give you a glimpse into why they have each become the person they are. The storyline was very unique and often focused on special abilities that some characters possess (the Grisha) which are incredibly interesting and a different take on magic. Once you get about 100 pages into the book the story really picks up pace and it is basically nonstop action after that point, done in near flawless fashion. There were small things about the book that bothered me, but these are rather insignificant details like the ages of certain characters or odd interactions which took nothing away from the story at all and were just little things that I noticed occasionally. Overall Bardugo told a brilliant story and I loved every second of it.
I finished this book several days ago and I still find myself missing the characters, Ketterdam, and everything about the story. It has been a long time since I have read a book that tugged at my heart enough that it made me go through a slight withdrawal and left me feeling a little depressed that I was not still immersed in the world of the book and the lives of its characters. Six of Crows has done that to me and the more I think about the book the more I love it and I find myself already anticipating the next novel in the trilogy. The book ends with a cliffhanger but not one that leaves you screaming in rage at having to wait so long for the next book, but enough for you to feel eager with anticipation as you patiently await book two. I look forward to the day where I am back in The Barrel hanging out with Kaz and the rest of the crew as the next part of the incredible journey takes place.
“When everyone knows you’re a monster, you needn’t waste time doing every monstrous thing.”
Check out this review and others on The Book Cafe