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leighsnerdlife 's review for:
Alice Isn't Dead
by Joseph Fink
Joseph Fink has kind of become an auto-buy author for me, due to his fantastic podcasts. Welcome to Night Vale is my all-time favourite - and the books are pretty good too! Alice Isn’t Dead is based on Fink’s podcast of the same name. To be honest, I’ve only listened to a few episodes. But as soon as I heard that this book was coming, I knew I needed to read it - whether I ended up finishing the podcast or not.
Fink is really good at detailed storytelling/world-building, and the quality of his writing has improved with each new book. He is also great at setting the tone, and Alice Isn’t Dead definitely shows it. It is also a leap beyond his previous books - he’s drifted into rather graphic thriller territory. The plot is more than a little disturbing, as it blends the monotony of long road trips with a supernatural element - monstrous, cannibalistic creatures called thistle men.
The central character, Keisha, has become a cross-country truck driver in order to search for her missing wife, Alice. To the rest of the world, Alice is dead. Keisha doesn’t believe it, and is determined to discover the truth. But things go sideways after her first encounter with one of the thistle men, and she is then pulled into a conspiracy of epic proportions.
It’s a complicated plot, and I think that is where the book starts to falter. Fink has packed a lot of complexity into a rather short novel, so the last third felt kind of rushed. Unfortunately, that created some distance between myself and the characters, so I didn’t feel emotionally invested in their fates. I think if Fink had flushed out the novel a bit beyond its 320 pages, it would have flowed a bit better.
So yes it has some wobbles, but overall I really enjoyed Alice Isn’t Dead - I actually read it in a single sitting. I’ve seen some reviews online that say the book is exactly like the podcast. But the Author’s Note at the end claims that the novel veers in a different direction and POV. I’m interested in seeing which is right - I guess it’s time to start listening to the show again!
Fink is really good at detailed storytelling/world-building, and the quality of his writing has improved with each new book. He is also great at setting the tone, and Alice Isn’t Dead definitely shows it. It is also a leap beyond his previous books - he’s drifted into rather graphic thriller territory. The plot is more than a little disturbing, as it blends the monotony of long road trips with a supernatural element - monstrous, cannibalistic creatures called thistle men.
The central character, Keisha, has become a cross-country truck driver in order to search for her missing wife, Alice. To the rest of the world, Alice is dead. Keisha doesn’t believe it, and is determined to discover the truth. But things go sideways after her first encounter with one of the thistle men, and she is then pulled into a conspiracy of epic proportions.
It’s a complicated plot, and I think that is where the book starts to falter. Fink has packed a lot of complexity into a rather short novel, so the last third felt kind of rushed. Unfortunately, that created some distance between myself and the characters, so I didn’t feel emotionally invested in their fates. I think if Fink had flushed out the novel a bit beyond its 320 pages, it would have flowed a bit better.
So yes it has some wobbles, but overall I really enjoyed Alice Isn’t Dead - I actually read it in a single sitting. I’ve seen some reviews online that say the book is exactly like the podcast. But the Author’s Note at the end claims that the novel veers in a different direction and POV. I’m interested in seeing which is right - I guess it’s time to start listening to the show again!