A review by bamjam
Darkansas by Jarret Middleton
3.0
[I received this signed copy of the book during a Goodreads giveaway. Thank you to the publisher and author for providing it.]
I read this book awhile ago so the details are a little hazy but I’ll try to recollect my thoughts on the novel as best I can. I really like the cover of this book! It looks gritty and rustic. It’s not particularly pretty but it’s perfect for the kind of story it’s telling. The title is interesting, but I don’t really understand why it is the title; probably something went over my head.
Writing and Plot
The book is quite short, and has a slow pace which is a much better combination that long and slow. I didn’t mind the slowness, though, and thought that the pace was just right. I liked the writing, but it didn’t blow me away. It conveyed what I needed to know and didn’t bog itself down with prose, which is a plus; I prefer straight-forward writing. There wasn’t much suspense until the end. I spent time trying to see if I could figure out which brother would end up killing their father, as long as they didn’t figure out about their legacy first. I didn’t like the ending; it left me feeling confused and a little frustrated.
The plot switches every so often to take us to the past, at the exact points during the Bayne family history where the killing of the father occurs, and I found that interesting and not as jarring as that technique usually is for me.
Characters
I don’t remember the characters very well but I do remember not particularly liking any of them. I thought Jordan was too typically a brooding musician type who is a total mess, and his twin Malcolm was a rather boring, ideal son type. I like to read about working-class characters (their lives tend to be far more interesting) but I didn’t really get to see that enough, except during snippets of the past. The supporting characters weren’t particularly interesting either. Elizabeth, Malcom’s fiancée, was sweet but we didn’t really see enough of her, and I honestly don’t remember a thing about their father or Leah, Jordan’s love interest. There wasn’t even a real villain in the novel (other than maybe time and the advancement of technology putting rural areas out of business).
Conclusion
Overall, I didn’t quite enjoy the book as much as I’d hoped. The “mystery” fell flat, the characters didn’t keep me invested and I honestly wish I’d gotten more out of the narrative.
I read this book awhile ago so the details are a little hazy but I’ll try to recollect my thoughts on the novel as best I can. I really like the cover of this book! It looks gritty and rustic. It’s not particularly pretty but it’s perfect for the kind of story it’s telling. The title is interesting, but I don’t really understand why it is the title; probably something went over my head.
Writing and Plot
The book is quite short, and has a slow pace which is a much better combination that long and slow. I didn’t mind the slowness, though, and thought that the pace was just right. I liked the writing, but it didn’t blow me away. It conveyed what I needed to know and didn’t bog itself down with prose, which is a plus; I prefer straight-forward writing. There wasn’t much suspense until the end. I spent time trying to see if I could figure out which brother would end up killing their father, as long as they didn’t figure out about their legacy first
Spoiler
but it didn’t really matter in the end since the curse was forced upon them by some power that was not at all clearSpoiler
I’m sure something went over my head, but Grieves wasn’t very impressive, especially considering he was on the side of the Confederates, and giving birth to twins, and somehow starting the cycle of sons killing fathers, was just bizarre and made no sense.The plot switches every so often to take us to the past, at the exact points during the Bayne family history where the killing of the father occurs, and I found that interesting and not as jarring as that technique usually is for me.
Characters
I don’t remember the characters very well but I do remember not particularly liking any of them. I thought Jordan was too typically a brooding musician type who is a total mess, and his twin Malcolm was a rather boring, ideal son type. I like to read about working-class characters (their lives tend to be far more interesting) but I didn’t really get to see that enough, except during snippets of the past. The supporting characters weren’t particularly interesting either. Elizabeth, Malcom’s fiancée, was sweet but we didn’t really see enough of her, and I honestly don’t remember a thing about their father or Leah, Jordan’s love interest. There wasn’t even a real villain in the novel (other than maybe time and the advancement of technology putting rural areas out of business)
Spoiler
I’d be hard-pressed to refer to Grieves and his accomplice as “villains” since that was never their intention even though they directly oppose the protagonistsConclusion
Overall, I didn’t quite enjoy the book as much as I’d hoped. The “mystery” fell flat, the characters didn’t keep me invested and I honestly wish I’d gotten more out of the narrative.