A review by tracyreads
Saint Sadist by Lucas Mangum
2.0
Review is up on Sci Fi and Scary:
“This is a brand-new beginning for me, full of infinite possibilities, which includes the notion that there is nothing infinite, only moments dotted throughout the yawning void.”
The brutal premise of this story intrigued me. Topics such as rape and child abuse toe a line with me, and until just a bit over midway into the story, I was still on board. Mangum uses good focus at times; the quote above is evidence of some of my favorite writing in the story. His main character is crafted well through the first half and I appreciated the diversity of relationships that came a bit later.
Perhaps because I grew to know the main character so well, decisions she made in the latter half of the book seemed completely unrealistic to me. As a reader, I also needed more time in each of the main locations, particularly the cult referenced in the synopsis. I enjoy doomsday cult stories, but for me, I need more depth and some of that focus I mentioned earlier. It would make the storyline more engrossing and believable.
Add to that some relationships that were a bit flat, and some of the most poignant, disturbing scenes fell flat because I was uninvested. I wanted more transitions or lead-ins to some of the more intangible scenes. I'm fine with extreme horror, but I need more of a path to it. The last section had at least one continuity error and it rushed to the end when I wanted it to slow down.
Finally, this is just a reminder that this was my experience as a reader and perhaps this will work for others. Personally, I will certainly check out more from this author in hopes that I can connect with a different piece of his writing.
TW: rape, child abuse
“This is a brand-new beginning for me, full of infinite possibilities, which includes the notion that there is nothing infinite, only moments dotted throughout the yawning void.”
The brutal premise of this story intrigued me. Topics such as rape and child abuse toe a line with me, and until just a bit over midway into the story, I was still on board. Mangum uses good focus at times; the quote above is evidence of some of my favorite writing in the story. His main character is crafted well through the first half and I appreciated the diversity of relationships that came a bit later.
Perhaps because I grew to know the main character so well, decisions she made in the latter half of the book seemed completely unrealistic to me. As a reader, I also needed more time in each of the main locations, particularly the cult referenced in the synopsis. I enjoy doomsday cult stories, but for me, I need more depth and some of that focus I mentioned earlier. It would make the storyline more engrossing and believable.
Add to that some relationships that were a bit flat, and some of the most poignant, disturbing scenes fell flat because I was uninvested. I wanted more transitions or lead-ins to some of the more intangible scenes. I'm fine with extreme horror, but I need more of a path to it. The last section had at least one continuity error and it rushed to the end when I wanted it to slow down.
Finally, this is just a reminder that this was my experience as a reader and perhaps this will work for others. Personally, I will certainly check out more from this author in hopes that I can connect with a different piece of his writing.
TW: rape, child abuse