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mxtthewz's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Red + The Passenger
Red was messed up and I think I would do the same if anyone messed with my dogs.
The Passenger was dark and hard but pretty good.
Red was messed up and I think I would do the same if anyone messed with my dogs.
The Passenger was dark and hard but pretty good.
jevinjj's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
bravesirtoaster's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lethaldose's review against another edition
5.0
There are actually two different stories here, they are both about novella length.
The title story "Red" is fantastic, Jack Ketchum has one of the most straightforward writing styles and I love it. His stories are so easy to read and so grounded, it is what makes his stories so unsettling. Your imagination doesn't have to work too hard to believe this could really happen. I went into Red thinking it was going to like a Jack Ketchum version of John Wick, it both was and wasn't. The character of Avery Ludlow is probably the most likable character of Ketchum's I have read yet, he is believably decent, fair, and simple. The story takes quite a few turns, some expected and some unexpected. The core of the story is a simple hard working man has his comfortable life shattered by wealthy, powerful people. The story is his quest to find justice.
The second story "The Passenger" is nearly as good as "Red", and nearly as long too. It tells the story of woman who finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time, with the wrong people, and just quickly things can go bad. It was a wild ride and hard story to put down, the pace never lets up and you have to know what happens next, I read the story in 2 sittings because I couldn't bare to put it down again. It feels like a story about luck, the bad luck that put you in bad situation and the good luck that can help get you out of them.
The title story "Red" is fantastic, Jack Ketchum has one of the most straightforward writing styles and I love it. His stories are so easy to read and so grounded, it is what makes his stories so unsettling. Your imagination doesn't have to work too hard to believe this could really happen. I went into Red thinking it was going to like a Jack Ketchum version of John Wick, it both was and wasn't. The character of Avery Ludlow is probably the most likable character of Ketchum's I have read yet, he is believably decent, fair, and simple. The story takes quite a few turns, some expected and some unexpected. The core of the story is a simple hard working man has his comfortable life shattered by wealthy, powerful people. The story is his quest to find justice.
The second story "The Passenger" is nearly as good as "Red", and nearly as long too. It tells the story of woman who finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time, with the wrong people, and just quickly things can go bad. It was a wild ride and hard story to put down, the pace never lets up and you have to know what happens next, I read the story in 2 sittings because I couldn't bare to put it down again. It feels like a story about luck, the bad luck that put you in bad situation and the good luck that can help get you out of them.
njdarkish's review against another edition
4.0
This was my first Jack Ketchum novel, and because I enjoyed it as much as I did, it certainly will not be my last.
The story was compelling while staying quite simple-- teenage boys kill an old man's dog, and the man seeks justice in any way he can find it. The writing was spare and direct, but in a good way. Like Hemingway. Simply, the writing didn't warrant flowery prose, especially considering the type of man the protagonist is, so Ketchum didn't wax poetic. Instead, he wrote a strong story that carried me through in two or three sittings. The story wasn't longer than it needed to be, which was another thing I appreciated.
The directness of the prose really heightened the emotional impact for me as a reader. When the story gave me no-nonsense details about Av's life, I felt the weight of them. I also appreciated that there is some moral complexity regarding the situation on both Av's side and on that of the teenage boys and their families.
The story was compelling while staying quite simple-- teenage boys kill an old man's dog, and the man seeks justice in any way he can find it. The writing was spare and direct, but in a good way. Like Hemingway. Simply, the writing didn't warrant flowery prose, especially considering the type of man the protagonist is, so Ketchum didn't wax poetic. Instead, he wrote a strong story that carried me through in two or three sittings. The story wasn't longer than it needed to be, which was another thing I appreciated.
The directness of the prose really heightened the emotional impact for me as a reader. When the story gave me no-nonsense details about Av's life, I felt the weight of them. I also appreciated that there is some moral complexity regarding the situation on both Av's side and on that of the teenage boys and their families.
fullmooneaters's review against another edition
3.0
I went to my local used bookstore looking to introduce myself to the extreme horror genre. After bugging the cashier with my list of authors, this was the only book that they had in stock by any of the authors I had found online. I heard about and own The Girl Next Door and the Offseason Trilogy and they’re on my reading list, and I know of his notoriety in the genre, so I was excited to read this. The summary on the back seemed exciting and I couldn’t wait to get to the climax of the novel to see what exactly would happen. I was so excited in fact, that I read this book in one sitting. Revenge stories are some of my favorites and the pacing was fairly decent, the characters interesting enough, and the conflict satisfactory. Unfortunately, the final showdown so to speak, was so lame. So boring. So unexciting. You know that episode of South Park when the kids are made to read Catcher in the Rye and they were so excited to read it knowing it was controversial and edgy and influenced someone to kill someone, then they went home and read the whole thing and were like “that was it?!?”? That was me at the end of this book. The ending felt like such a let down. I thought it was going to be some grand gesture of revenge, instead it was a meager gun battle that just made me groan. I wasn’t hoping for a torture porn, don’t get me wrong, but I was hoping for something with more substance. Something that took more than a handful of pages. Something that felt like it meant something more than it did. I enjoyed the writing style and how easily digestible the novel was so I can’t hate it too much. And, the book did only take me one sitting, and I was so intrigued that I did read it all at once, so I can’t knock it too much. Maybe I let what I heard about Ketchum’s other works (Girl Next Door, Offseason, etc) lull my expectations into something too great.
abbie_reads_horror's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bloodonsnow's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Rape