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A review by jeanne25
The Coliseum by Patrick Lestewka
2.0
Craig Davidson is a Canadian author who has published work under both his own name and the pen names Patrick Lestewka and Nick Cutter. I recently read The Troop (Cutter) and loved it. I saw a glowing review on this story and was immediately interested. It automatically sparked thoughts of The Running Man and Escape From New York. The author, as expected, writes extremely well. There is a lot of graphic violence but one should expect as much from a story based on an extreme prison without rules. While quite visual, I didn't find it disturbing.
I cannot criticize Lestewka's writing. He is quite descriptive and creates very vivid images. I liked the background on the select criminals and how the prison came into existence. The prose was precise and powerful in few words. I really love that. So here are my three problems...…
1) While there were a lot of graphic scenes, there was not enough actual story. Yes there was some background story which was written well. Once the prisoners are thrown in the Coliseum there really wasn't anything but fight scenes. That was unsatisfying for me. Here is a good author - give me some substance.
2) In most movies and books with this theme there is at least one character the reader roots for. We wanted Ben Richards to survive and get medicine for his ill daughter. We wanted Snake to succeed and get his presidential pardon. In The Coliseum there is no one to pin your hopes on. Every criminal there deserves to die. With the exception of one (maybe), each deserves to die in a brutal manner such as they killed. There is not one good guy, a victim of circumstance or prejudice. Without a character to cheer for, the reader is simply reading graphic violence for the sake of it.
3) The ending. This "twist". I detested it. I hated the ending of one of my favorite books, IT. If you have read IT then you know what I am talking about. I backed up to read it a second time to see if I missed something. I didn't. I probably would have given the story three stars (story offset by the evident talent) if not for the ending.
This is a very short story, easy to breeze through in a couple of hours. For that reason, I am loathe to mention any specifics about it. What I can say is that the first thing I did when I got up this morning was to return the e-book to Amazon for credit. I have some Davidson on my bookshelves and Cutter's Little Heaven in my e-reader that I look forward to reading. I won't be reading anything else under Lestewka probably.
I cannot criticize Lestewka's writing. He is quite descriptive and creates very vivid images. I liked the background on the select criminals and how the prison came into existence. The prose was precise and powerful in few words. I really love that. So here are my three problems...…
1) While there were a lot of graphic scenes, there was not enough actual story. Yes there was some background story which was written well. Once the prisoners are thrown in the Coliseum there really wasn't anything but fight scenes. That was unsatisfying for me. Here is a good author - give me some substance.
2) In most movies and books with this theme there is at least one character the reader roots for. We wanted Ben Richards to survive and get medicine for his ill daughter. We wanted Snake to succeed and get his presidential pardon. In The Coliseum there is no one to pin your hopes on. Every criminal there deserves to die. With the exception of one (maybe), each deserves to die in a brutal manner such as they killed. There is not one good guy, a victim of circumstance or prejudice. Without a character to cheer for, the reader is simply reading graphic violence for the sake of it.
3) The ending. This "twist". I detested it. I hated the ending of one of my favorite books, IT. If you have read IT then you know what I am talking about. I backed up to read it a second time to see if I missed something. I didn't. I probably would have given the story three stars (story offset by the evident talent) if not for the ending.
This is a very short story, easy to breeze through in a couple of hours. For that reason, I am loathe to mention any specifics about it. What I can say is that the first thing I did when I got up this morning was to return the e-book to Amazon for credit. I have some Davidson on my bookshelves and Cutter's Little Heaven in my e-reader that I look forward to reading. I won't be reading anything else under Lestewka probably.