A review by read_late
Crota by Owl Goingback
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.0
The story takes place in Missouri, something I was looking forward to since I haven't read many Missouri-based novels. It's written by an indigenous writer, who also served in the military, and it features some indigenous characters--one, a veteran.
Crota features a monster I enjoyed quite a bit. The creature falls somewhere in-between Jeff Long's monsters from the book The Descent, an HG Wells Morlock from The Time Machine, and the monster from the movie Jeepers Creepers (unlike Jeepers Creepers, the Crota doesn't drive).
The creature provides some nicely gruesome moments.
The partially underground setting offers some fun claustrophobic thrills.
The narrator didn't drone, provided ambience, and had good pacing.
Unfortunately, it was Goingback's treatment of female characters that gave me pause. With the exception of a dead grandmother (the reader encounters her only briefly), there are no strong female characters in this novel. Not only are the handful of named females cookie cutter, most aren't even given speaking roles beyond the most bland and monosyllabic of content. Females in this book are brainless, helpless, and unlikable. They're either sex objects or in need of comforting/protection with no character development or personality. They don't add to the plot. They exist for decorative purposes only.
Crota comes across as misogynistic, even for a 90's read.
Also, everyone in this book is *very* straight, something that came across as odd. Having come-to-age in the era the book was written, I can attest, personally, that the world was NOT that straight. Gay people 100% existed.
The only other major negative, was that there was also a great deal of cliche in terms of figurative language and action. Descriptions rarely offered anything fresh.
Finally, near the beginning, firearms were over-explained in a way that happens frequently in action books, but not as frequently in horror (readers who know firearms don't need an overabundance of detail... readers who don't know firearms are likely to not care about firearm details). In a print book, sections like that can be skipped, but in an audiobook there's no way around it, the reader just has to push through.
This book was originally published in 1996. While reading, I tried to give it some wiggle room, knowing it's almost 30 years old.
Age alone can't excuse the warts.
3 stars. Worth reading... but know what you're getting.
Crota features a monster I enjoyed quite a bit. The creature falls somewhere in-between Jeff Long's monsters from the book The Descent, an HG Wells Morlock from The Time Machine, and the monster from the movie Jeepers Creepers (unlike Jeepers Creepers, the Crota doesn't drive).
The creature provides some nicely gruesome moments.
The partially underground setting offers some fun claustrophobic thrills.
The narrator didn't drone, provided ambience, and had good pacing.
Unfortunately, it was Goingback's treatment of female characters that gave me pause. With the exception of a dead grandmother (the reader encounters her only briefly), there are no strong female characters in this novel. Not only are the handful of named females cookie cutter, most aren't even given speaking roles beyond the most bland and monosyllabic of content. Females in this book are brainless, helpless, and unlikable. They're either sex objects or in need of comforting/protection with no character development or personality. They don't add to the plot. They exist for decorative purposes only.
Crota comes across as misogynistic, even for a 90's read.
Also, everyone in this book is *very* straight, something that came across as odd. Having come-to-age in the era the book was written, I can attest, personally, that the world was NOT that straight. Gay people 100% existed.
The only other major negative, was that there was also a great deal of cliche in terms of figurative language and action. Descriptions rarely offered anything fresh.
Finally, near the beginning, firearms were over-explained in a way that happens frequently in action books, but not as frequently in horror (readers who know firearms don't need an overabundance of detail... readers who don't know firearms are likely to not care about firearm details). In a print book, sections like that can be skipped, but in an audiobook there's no way around it, the reader just has to push through.
This book was originally published in 1996. While reading, I tried to give it some wiggle room, knowing it's almost 30 years old.
Age alone can't excuse the warts.
3 stars. Worth reading... but know what you're getting.