UNREVIEW: "There was a Crooked Man" by Edward Morris

Sadly I have another unreview post from up my sleeve. “There was a Crooked Man” by Edward Morris is perhaps the work with most fail starts that I have attempted in order to get into it, because after all 100 pages can be managed in a day and it would be quite the shame to lift my hands from an interesting concept like that. I mean time traveling warrior to wreak havoc upon history after the Armageddon. What’s not to like.

However with 6 attempts to try and get into the fabric, the narrative and the flow, proved unfruitful. To me it seemed that the author here expected me to have pre-knowledge about his story and vision and didn’t take the time to slow down and make proper explanations, but hopped around instead developing his concept.

UNREVIEW: "Lowman" by J.T. Vargo

In my entire life there have been ten accounts of books I didn’t bear to finish. Eight of those have been assigned to me during my high school years and one of those was before I started doing reviews. However during the short run as a review blogger I have never given up on a book, although I have felt the urge on a modest number.

But there is a first time for everything. As a reviewer, I strive to behave with a certain level of professionalism, which means finishing the review copies I receive and post timely reviews. I am the person, who doesn’t give up on a novel, but not a long while ago I realized that I have too many paperbacks and ten times more this number in e-books I am obliged to review. Next to these two groups I have my own copies and reading list that far exceed the genre limits that speculative fiction has set for me as a reviewer. Life is too short, the novels are too many and no matter how professional I try to be I can’t waste precious time with books incompatible with me as a reader.

“Lowman” by J.T. Vargo challenged my patience and after a 100 page struggle I decided to call quits and I didn’t drop it because the prose was incompetent and flawed. Technically, in the most basic sense of the term, “Lowman” is solid. Beyond that the pages are barren and here are the reasons to drop the book:

A: “Lowman” is not horror, no matter what the label says. I realize that there is horror and then there is horror, but no horror novel would let the reader wait one hundred and still have no clue when the chills are going to come.

B: “Lowman” is slow paced, painstakingly so. I felt that the author has taken an ordinary plot and went Matrix on it. Pages upon pages upon pages present scenes that do not matter one bit and hint no connection to where the ‘horror’ is supposedly, which is still MIA.

C: “Lowman” is a social novel with a philosophical look upon human relationship in general and how much the current age has corroded the brotherly love between people. I support this type of illumination, but not when it’s done so poorly that the characters become cardboard posters and their internal narrative reaches the point I am sitting through a preachy sermon.

Admittedly there are other flaws that come through in these 100 pages, but I do not wish to dwell too much than necessary. Fact is that if you have discovered that your taste in fiction is similar to mine, then you’d best avoid this one.