rickjones's Reviews (1.66k)

Having only read Hendrix's first novel, I didn't have high hopes for the quality of writing within this one. Thankfully Hendrix has impressively grown as a writer over the years, and most of my qualms about the characterization, or lack thereof, I might find within the book were settled. Lynnette is an interesting and whirlwind protagonist for many reasons. She's intensely paranoid but makes one poor decision after another, resulting in a ricocheting plot that hardly allows the reader to catch their breath. She's also immensely unlikable, but despite her selfish, judgmental and avoidant nature I found myself understanding and forgiving one of her mistakes after another. 

Hendrix has a lot to say about horror franchises and their repetitive, exploitative and misogynistic nature, most of which is done through the characterization and dialogue of Lynnette and the other woman of the Final Girl Support Group. In between chapters various fictional archival interviews and journal articles are plastered to the pages, adding to the realism of the story and to the mythology surrounding this group of survivors and their monsters. For the most part I felt this was done very well. I only felt dissatisfied with Heather's characterization; she serves as a stereotypical "junkie" figure and is widely disrespected by both the characters within the book and the narrative that gave them life. What she survived and how is also defined the least, which only becomes more disappointing as the book continues. The other women's stories are revealed in segments, by their own admissions, Lynnette's memories, or their respective archives. Since each of them were inspired by an existing horror franchise most readers can assume the bulk of the violence they witnessed and endured, negating the need to force the women to rehash the most traumatic moments of their lives. Lynnette is the only character who has in depth flashbacks of her encounters with her monster after a tortuous accusation of who was truly responsible for her family's slaughter. 

The book primarily focuses on Lynnette's efforts to survive in the present, while attempting to solve the mystery of who wants the Final Girls finally gone. Pieces of this puzzle were fairly obvious to me, while others came as a surprise. Ultimately though, the villains, their motivations, and their weapon of choice, all serve to make a statement about mass violence and horror franchises as a whole. This is a love letter to horror, but a scathing one, fully aware of its flaws and refusing to hold back. 

I had wavering expectations of this book before starting it, but the quality of the writing quickly outpaced them. While Frankenstein is my favorite book, I was continuously distressed by how poorly Elizabeth was characterized and treated throughout it. White's novel approaches Shelley's original with a deep respect, but alternatively presents Elizabeth as a cunning and capable young woman whose meekness and purity are calculated efforts to survive to adulthood. In White's retelling, Elizabeth is not only the protagonist of her own story but a catalyst and witness to the events of Frankenstein we are already familiar with. Her experiences intersect with the story we already know until a dramatic and unexpected end that is entirely White's own.

For the most part I felt this retelling believably complimented the original, and seemed to have been researched well. However the pacing and dialogue of some segments felt awkward to read, and the end wrapped up a little too rushed and sweetly to be taken seriously, so I won't give it a perfect rating. Yet I still highly recommend it to everyone else who loved Frankenstein but wished the women had been more than victims. 

Frankenstein Alive, Alive had a unique vision that tragically did not come to fruition. While the writing within this book is sparse, Wrightson's illustrations are stunningly detailed and bring a richness to every page. He masterfully conveys environments and emotion, which made me excited to turn and absorb each page. While Jones does a decent job of finishing Wrightson's pencils and plans, his work does not flesh out Wrightson's with the the level of detail he was known for and ends the book much weaker than what could have been. The story itself was mediocre in my opinion, but since I was primarily interesting in viewing the Wrightson's art, my enjoyment of it was not deterred. I am excited to view his original Frankenstein illustrations once I finally get my hands on a reprinting. 

While these earlier stories by Butler are not as polished as her later works, they adeptly handle complicated themes of responsibility and mercy within unjust and unique societies. Since they were published for the first time posthumously we will likely never get to fully know and appreciate Butler's inspiration for them and what they meant to her, which I feel is a significant loss. Instead, friends of Butler's introduce these stories and explain how it was a miracle that they were unearthed at all. It's a privilege to get to read a writer's work that was previously rejected for publication, and see how they grew in skill over the years. I would still recommend this collection to those looking to read relevant and morally complex science fiction stories. 

I had high hopes when I started reading this short story collection, and am thrilled to say that all of them were met. Butler's work is masterful, she developed dynamic, complex worlds and characters with more skill in thirty pages than some writers have in hundreds. Each of these stories were told with a precision that made them seem much longer than they actually were, leaving me with the feeling that I had read in epic involving her alien and apocalyptic societies when in reality I had absorbed them in only a half-hour. I also appreciated that this collection included afterwords and essays written by Butler. It was interesting to understand the inspiration behind each of her pieces, and her perspectives on writing in general. Her resolve that writing is a skill to be practiced, and one enhanced not by talent but by persistence, is necessary for any wannabe writer, including myself, to accept. Such an attitude made us fortunate enough to read her award-winning works despite the professors and publishers who did not initially recognize their value.

The description for this book seemed intriguing but the text is written with such long sentences and dense paragraphs that it quickly felt like a chore to finish each page. So far Russ got on my nerves but I assume he learns to be less self absorbed by the end of the book. I may attempt to finish it some other time.

In my opinion the most striking element of The Haunting of Hill House is in how effectively the story enveloped me as a reader. Though Hill House is repeatedly said to be hideous and unsettling, I fully understood Eleanor's growing attachment to it. Portions of her time there are described as idyllic and joyful, especially in regards to her whirlwind relationship with Theodora. Her pleasurable experiences provide an intriguing dissonance once the house starts to inflict disorientation and horror on its inhabitants, along with explanation as to why she does not attempt to flee immediately, or at all. I didn't really find this book frightening, but what it lacked in scares is made up with psychological complexity. Eleanor is a character whose motivations and ordeals can be examined from multiple angles, and whose narration becomes increasingly unreliable as the book goes on. She pulls us into her thought process and disorients us as Hill House has done to her. Her perspective grips and disturbs us, all while throttling towards a shocking finale that stuck with me long after reading. I'm not a person who is usually interested by ghost stories but felt this book was thoroughly engaging, memorable, and worthy of the praise it's earned over the years.

This book's plot was wildly unlike what I had expected from its synopsis, yet I quickly grew to appreciate its lyrical telling and off-putting story. Ultimately this is a tale of women made outcasts not only by a tyrannical society but by their acts of vengeance to spite it. Their fates are described with a mysterious nature that continues to the last page, and provided more questions than answers. There wasn't a point where I felt I fully understood what was happening, but I enjoyed my reading experience nonetheless. 

While definitely a page turner, Final Girls was somewhat of a letdown for me. It probably doesn't help that I read Home Before Dark recently before this, where Sager's writing is much stronger in my opinion.

The main merit of this book is how easily it held my interest. I checked it out from the library planning to read it over several days, and ended up finishing it in a matter of hours. Unfortunately I felt that the twists in the plot were somewhat predictable, and I don't say that lightly, as I actively try not to predict the answer to mysteries as I'm reading them. This led to an anticlimatic end in my experience, made all the more unsatisfying by my mild investment in the characters. As much as I wanted to love these stubborn, surviving women, they felt a little too much like flat, paperdoll people to spark my investment or pathos. 

Though I have more harsh notes on this book than positive ones, I don't feel that it's altogether terrible and I don't regret reading it. The writing isn't excellent, but it's entertaining nonetheless and I would still recommend it to others looking for an engaging thriller to read.