This isn't something I'd ever normally read but it was in a goodie basket that a friend had gifted me for Halloween, so I thought I should give it a tThis isn't something I'd ever normally read but it was in a goodie basket that a friend had gifted me for Halloween, so I thought I should give it a try. After flipping through the pages for a few minutes, I decided I'd need to be slightly drunk to get through this one. Why? Well, I would say because it's gory, but that just doesn't adequately describe the sort of graphic, stomach-turning violence that happens in this thing. So, I got boozed up.
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It helped. I made it through the whole book, stopping only to refill my giant glass of wine. Yay. Ish. But then, last night I had nothing but nightmares. There's this one scene. I just can't get it out of my head! DO NOT CLICK ON THIS SPOILER IF YOU ARE ANYWHERE NEAR AS SQUEAMISH AS I AM! (view spoiler)[ The mom breaks her ankle and wants her husband to shoot her and run with their little 6 or 7 year old daughter. But he won't leave her b/c he thinks the Crossed might be vulnerable to salt or something nonsensical like that. Anyway, the end result is this:
Ohmyfuckinggod. There isn't enough wine for that. You know how many nightmares I had last night?! Me either. I lost count! My entire night consisted of me waking up from some horrific dream, getting up to pee (<- that's normal), going back to sleep, and then having more nightmares.
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I don't normally get up at 5:30 on a Sunday morning, but I am not closing my eyes anytime soon! *refuses to blink*
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The short version of the story (and BELIEVE me, you want the short version) is that something virus/bio-warfare/nuclear meltdown/whatever happens, the majority of the population turns full-on evil, and the survivors huddle together till they get horrifically tortured, raped, eaten, and murdered. Ha! <--my autocorrect tried to chance eaten to beaten...but no, sorry. Once again, you misunderstand what I'm saying, autocorrect.
Ugh. I'm not sure that I truly understand the point to this. It was so far beyond gross (for me) that there is no way in hell I'm even slightly tempted to ever look at this again, much less read more of this title. To me, this is basically boring, unlikable characters meandering around together, getting killed in gag-worthy scenarios, and doing horrible things to survive in the meantime. But even if it were more interesting, I don't think this would have been remotely enjoyable to me. Now. I get that there are a lot of you who enjoy authors who push the limit of the Ick Factor in books and graphic novels. That's fine, and I certainly don't think you guys are awful people. To each his own and all that. However, I just didn't think the story was all that good. Maybe if there had been something about the writing or the characters that made me feel anything other than total revulsion, I might have liked it more? <--LIE. Total lie. There's no way I could stomach that shit under any circumstances. BUT. If you are the sort of reader who enjoys this sort of thing? Go for it! I have several friends who thought this was great. As for me? I've gotta wash the taste of this out of my mouth...
