A review by mikekaz
Cover by Neal McPheeters, Jack Ketchum
4.0
One common factor to all of the Ketchum books that I've read is that they are intense. Some of them dealt with sensitive topics and were almost too intense to read. Some of them have intense situations that grip you for a long time. And then some have intense characters which can be extremely real.
With regards to Cover, it is the characters, specifically Vietnam veteran Lee Moravian. Since returning to the states, Lee has had problems adjusting to society. So many problems that he has separated himself from it and lives in the forest on some local mountains, growing marijuana for his few necessary supplies. After a few years of this existence, his wife leaves him. Lee might have been fine except for an unlucky group of campers who stumble upon his plants and disturb Lee's sanctuary. Still dealing with the flashbacks and remnants of war, Lee wages war against his new "enemies."
Unfortunately for me, the novel wasn't quite as good as many of Ketchum's other novels. While the character Lee was great and very real, the other characters weren't quite interesting enough. I'm not sure if they were unrealistic or annoying or both but there was something that stopped me from connecting to them. And the one that I did like the most was the first one to die. The book is more mainstream than other Ketchum books so people might find that appealing. Personally I would recommend Red as an excellent starting point for Ketchum; that's his story that hooked me for good.
With regards to Cover, it is the characters, specifically Vietnam veteran Lee Moravian. Since returning to the states, Lee has had problems adjusting to society. So many problems that he has separated himself from it and lives in the forest on some local mountains, growing marijuana for his few necessary supplies. After a few years of this existence, his wife leaves him. Lee might have been fine except for an unlucky group of campers who stumble upon his plants and disturb Lee's sanctuary. Still dealing with the flashbacks and remnants of war, Lee wages war against his new "enemies."
Unfortunately for me, the novel wasn't quite as good as many of Ketchum's other novels. While the character Lee was great and very real, the other characters weren't quite interesting enough. I'm not sure if they were unrealistic or annoying or both but there was something that stopped me from connecting to them. And the one that I did like the most was the first one to die. The book is more mainstream than other Ketchum books so people might find that appealing. Personally I would recommend Red as an excellent starting point for Ketchum; that's his story that hooked me for good.