A review by mkean
The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall
3.0
Hmm, more like a 3.5.
The concepts in this book were lovely, yet they fell flat in places. It was such a great idea, and it could have been taken so much further. What if it wasn't just in this crazy guy's head, but a new, actual species that existed in reality? What about other animals that could have evolved in thoughts? The idea of a shark that swims through concepts is so great though, especially combined with the other animals that Hall mentions, yet it ends up being a gimmick, something that becomes comical in the end. (Stabbing the shark with a brush? Really?)
And Scout was so obviously Clio that it hurt when Eric just sort of... went along with her anyway, blindly, refusing to see what was right in front of his eyes. The tattoo on her big toe was such a red, glaring warning sign, impossible to be a coincidence, that I wanted to rip my eyes out. They even said the same things to each other. I know it was Eric's way of coming to terms with her death, but he could have been smarter. Come on.
A few of the problems I had with the book went away once I knew the ending (I hate it when a main character loses someone, yet is able to find someone else almost /exactly like them/ instead of moving on and loving someone for who they are, individually, instead of comparing the two. It's unhealthy).
So, in short, easy to read, entertaining, but could have been so much more.
The concepts in this book were lovely, yet they fell flat in places. It was such a great idea, and it could have been taken so much further. What if it wasn't just in this crazy guy's head, but a new, actual species that existed in reality? What about other animals that could have evolved in thoughts? The idea of a shark that swims through concepts is so great though, especially combined with the other animals that Hall mentions, yet it ends up being a gimmick, something that becomes comical in the end. (Stabbing the shark with a brush? Really?)
And Scout was so obviously Clio that it hurt when Eric just sort of... went along with her anyway, blindly, refusing to see what was right in front of his eyes. The tattoo on her big toe was such a red, glaring warning sign, impossible to be a coincidence, that I wanted to rip my eyes out. They even said the same things to each other. I know it was Eric's way of coming to terms with her death, but he could have been smarter. Come on.
A few of the problems I had with the book went away once I knew the ending (I hate it when a main character loses someone, yet is able to find someone else almost /exactly like them/ instead of moving on and loving someone for who they are, individually, instead of comparing the two. It's unhealthy).
So, in short, easy to read, entertaining, but could have been so much more.