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A review by mystericliterature
Off Season by Jack Ketchum
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.5
I wasn't sure if I'd like this book because I'm not a big fan of the "cannibalistic hillbilly" trope (despite loving the original The Texas Chain Saw Massacre), and it seems as though I was correct. Off Season is the first novel I have read from Jack Ketchum, and I am underwhelmed.
Despite being left with them for Parts I and II, the characters are uninteresting and one-dimensional. We spend so much of the novel with them, yet I did not feel attached to any of them. It is almost like the "Final Destination" franchise, where you are just waiting for the characters to meet a gruesome end. But when you have no attachment to the characters, their eventual end means nothing to you.
I must also say that Ketchum is terrible at writing women. If I were to take a shot every time a woman's breasts were mentioned for no reason, I would not have written this. There is a peculiar sexualization to the women of Off Season; I suppose I should not be surprised given the sexualization of women is often prevalent in horror media, yet it still made me sigh. We will be here all day if I get into that, however, so I will not.
Overall, Ketchum's Off Season was disappointing for me. If you are someone who just wants to see cannibals kill and eat, you may have a good time. But if you're searching for more substance, you will not find it here.
Despite being left with them for Parts I and II, the characters are uninteresting and one-dimensional. We spend so much of the novel with them, yet I did not feel attached to any of them. It is almost like the "Final Destination" franchise, where you are just waiting for the characters to meet a gruesome end. But when you have no attachment to the characters, their eventual end means nothing to you.
I must also say that Ketchum is terrible at writing women. If I were to take a shot every time a woman's breasts were mentioned for no reason, I would not have written this. There is a peculiar sexualization to the women of Off Season; I suppose I should not be surprised given the sexualization of women is often prevalent in horror media, yet it still made me sigh. We will be here all day if I get into that, however, so I will not.
Overall, Ketchum's Off Season was disappointing for me. If you are someone who just wants to see cannibals kill and eat, you may have a good time. But if you're searching for more substance, you will not find it here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Cannibalism, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death