hazlewood's review against another edition
4.5
Think of something terrible that could happen.
It probably happened in this book.
It probably happened in this book.
aliciablack's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
lilnikki's review against another edition
4.0
Man. This was an interesting read. I couldn’t justify the mother’s decisions in the end to not tell their sons that they were brother lovers but still give it 4 stars. If I’m still thinking about a book months later that means it must have struck a chord.
iguana_mama's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
hungryhungrybookworm's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
claudia_is_reading's review against another edition
3.0
Reasonably good for a first book, honestly. But it never managed to grab my attention completely.
The characters were so over the top that they stretched their plausibility for moments. And the plot, well, the plot is worthy of a soap opera, really. With hurricane included *laughs*
But it kept me entertained, so that's good enough.
The characters were so over the top that they stretched their plausibility for moments. And the plot, well, the plot is worthy of a soap opera, really. With hurricane included *laughs*
But it kept me entertained, so that's good enough.
jerefi's review against another edition
2.0
I was just curious what kind of a novel the son of Anne Rice would produce and it was $1. Initially, I thought he had a rather extreme love affair with a thesaurus with the amount of descriptive adjectives he kept throwing in, but that evened out s the book progressed. It was OK. I feel no need to read any of his other books, but I did not hate it. There were even occasional moments where I felt the tug on my emotional heart strings, but not enough to make me feel the need to recommend it.
writer_matt's review against another edition
4.0
I decided to read a Christopher Rice novel on a whim, primarily motivated by his social media antics after not receiving a Stroker award for his latest novel - The Heavens Rise. My initial instinct was to read the novel that came close to winning this award, but then didn't, but - being who I am - I decided to read his first novel instead.
Rice has been on my radar for a while and, considering how much LGBT literature I consume and have studied over the years, it was a surprise that I had not picked him up until now. Being familiar with the work of his mother I honestly had no idea what to expect. And perhaps, it was the fact that I went into this novel with few expectations that allowed me to be as pleasantly surprised as I was. There are certainly things to quibble over in this novel - typos, grammar issues and the like, but I fear the blame for these must fall to the editor for not catching them or for not seeing the book as important enough to correct before final proofs. But as a whole the novel wowed me with its fantastic story telling and characters and twists throughout.
The novel achieves a dark and gloomy feel to it - much like the houses of the Garden District the story takes place in, and that tone or setting is an excellent match for the events and mindset of his characters. I do not think there is a single character that is untouched by darkness throughout the novel and that fact seems perfectly aligned with the tone of the story.
I read somewhere that Rice's early novels are akin to dramatic soap operas, and that is exactly what I thought of as I read Density of Souls. The fact that televised soap operas are mentioned throughout did not escape my notice - Rice understands that he is writing an over the top drama here, filled with larger than life characters that wear their trauma etched (at times quite literally) onto their skin. And he is perfectly okay with that.
And I too, as a read, was perfectly happy with it.
My first taste of Christopher Rice left me thirsty for more. I look forward to seeing what else awaits me.
Rice has been on my radar for a while and, considering how much LGBT literature I consume and have studied over the years, it was a surprise that I had not picked him up until now. Being familiar with the work of his mother I honestly had no idea what to expect. And perhaps, it was the fact that I went into this novel with few expectations that allowed me to be as pleasantly surprised as I was. There are certainly things to quibble over in this novel - typos, grammar issues and the like, but I fear the blame for these must fall to the editor for not catching them or for not seeing the book as important enough to correct before final proofs. But as a whole the novel wowed me with its fantastic story telling and characters and twists throughout.
The novel achieves a dark and gloomy feel to it - much like the houses of the Garden District the story takes place in, and that tone or setting is an excellent match for the events and mindset of his characters. I do not think there is a single character that is untouched by darkness throughout the novel and that fact seems perfectly aligned with the tone of the story.
I read somewhere that Rice's early novels are akin to dramatic soap operas, and that is exactly what I thought of as I read Density of Souls. The fact that televised soap operas are mentioned throughout did not escape my notice - Rice understands that he is writing an over the top drama here, filled with larger than life characters that wear their trauma etched (at times quite literally) onto their skin. And he is perfectly okay with that.
And I too, as a read, was perfectly happy with it.
My first taste of Christopher Rice left me thirsty for more. I look forward to seeing what else awaits me.
kgborland's review against another edition
2.0
I am fairly torn on how to think about this book. I read it in one sitting but I did a fair amount of skimming. Since this was Rice's first novel, I plan on reading some of his other books because I have found interviews where even he says that this book was rough. I thought the overall storyline was interesting enough but was better suited for a shorter work. Rice had so many characters, time jumps, etc. that I found it difficult to keep up with what was going on at any given time. It was a good summer night read but I do not know if I would necessarily recommend it to anyone. He is great at descriptions (although - like his mother - they can be a bit much at times). I love the city of New Orleans so one plus of this novel was that I was clearly able to picture everything.
Given everything it was a decent first novel and I am interested to see how his writing has developed since publishing A Density of Souls.
Given everything it was a decent first novel and I am interested to see how his writing has developed since publishing A Density of Souls.