jasonsweirdreads's reviews
935 reviews

adventurous dark emotional funny sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

The HAAR by David Sodergren is my first read by the author. I'm glad that I choose The HAAR because it is a little on the weird side, it's quite gory in parts, it's a lot of fun, and it's a surprisingly touching story about love and loss.

The story is about Muriel McAuley, an old widow who wants to be left alone but a big corporation is buying up all the land of the Scottish coastal town she grew up in to build a golf course. The million-pound offers to buy her property are now turning into threats. Muriel then finds a sea creature with unique powers and it becomes a game changer.

The characters are mostly solid, especially our heroes. The bad guys, mainly the villains, do become what you might think of as "typical", but they really didn't need that much fleshing out. The story is all from Muriel's pov with the villains playing a smaller role. The story is more about Muriel trying to stay where she belongs, to spend the rest of her life with what remains of her friends, to die where she was born. Most of all, to heal from the loss of her husband. The story is a reminder: don't take advantage of life, of the ones you love the most because no one is exempt from the final destination.

The HAAR is a fun fast read. I highly recommend it.

Content Warnings