aclamadoautor's review against another edition
3.0
A fun story with great imagination and some hilarious ideas throughout. However, I felt the overall pace was a bit too fast. The plot was nice, but I think the story could have been better told if the rhythm was slower in some moments. However, I enjoyed the book and will definitely read the second one, Dead Jack and the Soul Catcher.
radruby's review against another edition
3.0
3.75, audiobook.
so i put this on at the beginning of a long trek in animal crossing and overall this is a really fun story.
i think it's impressive how many different aspects of the world building were layered in considering the length, and many facets of this i found very intriguing and wanting to know more about. that being said, i do think some pieces felt so rushed it was hard to feel the stakes were real in the big climactic ending and that did feel like a bit of a blur instead of a solid resolution. i also thought the jack seemed very interesting as a character and was pretty fleshed out (pun intended), with the exception of his WWII past and nemesis-that again felt quickly thrown in instead of developed which made it hard to be invested in, but perhaps future installments in the series will deepen that well.
Again I thought this whole story and it's premise was clever and fun and a neat kickoff to a very different detective series and I will continue on.
so i put this on at the beginning of a long trek in animal crossing and overall this is a really fun story.
i think it's impressive how many different aspects of the world building were layered in considering the length, and many facets of this i found very intriguing and wanting to know more about. that being said, i do think some pieces felt so rushed it was hard to feel the stakes were real in the big climactic ending and that did feel like a bit of a blur instead of a solid resolution. i also thought the jack seemed very interesting as a character and was pretty fleshed out (pun intended), with the exception of his WWII past and nemesis-that again felt quickly thrown in instead of developed which made it hard to be invested in, but perhaps future installments in the series will deepen that well.
Again I thought this whole story and it's premise was clever and fun and a neat kickoff to a very different detective series and I will continue on.
skylercauldron's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
thatgothbookbrat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
1.75
kitsana_d's review against another edition
DNFing at 18%. Not terrible but I feel like I’ve read it before. Close to Dan Shamble but rougher round the edges.
willdrown's review against another edition
4.0
The first installment in the Dead Jack series is an adventurous romp through a parallel universe with an undead detective, his tiny mystical sidekick, and a large cast of quirky characters.
Aquilone works swiftly, turning a row of slapstick misadventures into a bigger plot with the whole world at stake. Now, it is, of course, a bit tiring to have the world in danger in every other novel you read, but it's not like the book itself takes the world-ending crisis too seriously. That is mostly dictated by our protagonist's perpetual state of drug high/drunkenness/endless cynicism. Jack is an abrasive bastard who doesn't seem to really be nice to anybody, especially not to his partner Oswald. The zombie PI never seems to even consider trying to diffuse a conversation, opting for a scathing remark 100% of the time. Thankfully, the side characters are either not as unpleasant or far more evil, offering a good counterbalance to Jack's bitter personality.
What strikes me about the novel is that it's very fun to read, a highly engaging and fast-paced adventure through an otherworld filled with horrors familiar and surprising. It is not, however, actually funny, or at least it wasn't to me. Sure, Jack quips a lot and so do many others, but the jokes are not memorable, the plot is far more interesting than many of the witticisms on offer. It just feels like the novel is fun but not funny, though laughs are definitely not a prerequisite to a good book.
Another strange point, though this one I definitely cannot count as a criticism, is just how violently horrifying the world of Pandemonium is. At one point, Jack happens upon a huge pit filled with dead bodies, hops in, revives and interrogates one. This is treated as a brief stop on the journey and, if you don't pause to think about it, it sure reads like one. But holy hell, our hero just saw a mass grave, which to him is not too worrying because, y'know, flesh-eating monster, but it's scary to realise that we're along for the ride with a protagonist who has very little empathy to give because hey, his world is about two steps from literal hell. (Also, he gets grossed out at the thought of a villain killing cats and, honestly, that's what really important. Nothing but respect for my cat-loving protags!)
Overall, it's a strong debut that is both fresh and easy-to-read. I'm not quite sure how something this insane and heavy on rather unusual imagery can be brought over to the big screen, but hey, we've seen stranger adaptations before.
Aquilone works swiftly, turning a row of slapstick misadventures into a bigger plot with the whole world at stake. Now, it is, of course, a bit tiring to have the world in danger in every other novel you read, but it's not like the book itself takes the world-ending crisis too seriously. That is mostly dictated by our protagonist's perpetual state of drug high/drunkenness/endless cynicism. Jack is an abrasive bastard who doesn't seem to really be nice to anybody, especially not to his partner Oswald. The zombie PI never seems to even consider trying to diffuse a conversation, opting for a scathing remark 100% of the time. Thankfully, the side characters are either not as unpleasant or far more evil, offering a good counterbalance to Jack's bitter personality.
What strikes me about the novel is that it's very fun to read, a highly engaging and fast-paced adventure through an otherworld filled with horrors familiar and surprising. It is not, however, actually funny, or at least it wasn't to me. Sure, Jack quips a lot and so do many others, but the jokes are not memorable, the plot is far more interesting than many of the witticisms on offer. It just feels like the novel is fun but not funny, though laughs are definitely not a prerequisite to a good book.
Another strange point, though this one I definitely cannot count as a criticism, is just how violently horrifying the world of Pandemonium is. At one point, Jack happens upon a huge pit filled with dead bodies, hops in, revives and interrogates one. This is treated as a brief stop on the journey and, if you don't pause to think about it, it sure reads like one. But holy hell, our hero just saw a mass grave, which to him is not too worrying because, y'know, flesh-eating monster, but it's scary to realise that we're along for the ride with a protagonist who has very little empathy to give because hey, his world is about two steps from literal hell. (Also, he gets grossed out at the thought of a villain killing cats and, honestly, that's what really important. Nothing but respect for my cat-loving protags!)
Overall, it's a strong debut that is both fresh and easy-to-read. I'm not quite sure how something this insane and heavy on rather unusual imagery can be brought over to the big screen, but hey, we've seen stranger adaptations before.
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