A review by dungeonmasterteacher
Savaging the Dark by Christopher Conlon
First off, I read this for a book club. I did not pick this one, and in retrospect I probably should have just refused to read it. I also considered stopping once it got graphic, but in a way that felt like letting the main character get away with it. Like, I needed to see her life fall to pieces for what she had done, which meant I needed to stick around.
I don't even know how to review this, and I sure as hell am not giving it a star rating. This is easily the most uncomfortable I've ever felt reading a book. By a pretty wide margin actually. It makes sense that this is from an indie publisher. The author has some interesting ideas about obsession that are communicated well in the book. There's a lot to be said about cultural fixation on youth. The main character has an obsession with aging and clearly feels she was robbed of her childhood when her brother died. The book also uses the obviously innapropriate relationship in the story to call out innapropriate obsessive behaviors that show up in adult relationships. All that being said, I'm still not sure it was worth reading.
This book is unflinching. That's what makes it a horror novel. The camera doesn't pan away no matter how much you want it to. I usually don't mind that, but this book definitely crossed some lines for me. I would not recommend this to anyone. I'm honestly not even sure I would admit to most people that I read it.
I don't even know how to review this, and I sure as hell am not giving it a star rating. This is easily the most uncomfortable I've ever felt reading a book. By a pretty wide margin actually. It makes sense that this is from an indie publisher. The author has some interesting ideas about obsession that are communicated well in the book. There's a lot to be said about cultural fixation on youth. The main character has an obsession with aging and clearly feels she was robbed of her childhood when her brother died. The book also uses the obviously innapropriate relationship in the story to call out innapropriate obsessive behaviors that show up in adult relationships. All that being said, I'm still not sure it was worth reading.
This book is unflinching. That's what makes it a horror novel. The camera doesn't pan away no matter how much you want it to. I usually don't mind that, but this book definitely crossed some lines for me. I would not recommend this to anyone. I'm honestly not even sure I would admit to most people that I read it.