Reprehensible characters in an unforgiving environment - not my cup of tea
342354
I tried to watch this on cable when it originally came out. I gave it the old college try, but after 6 or 7 episodes I began fast forwarding through them, looking for interesting bits. I didn't even slow down.
I was offended by the sexism, racism, class system, and general lack of principles on the part of the characters. The main character, Thackery, is a thoroughly reprehensible human being. He's based on Halsted, who was a leading light of surgery in that time period, but was also a cocaine and morphine addict.
As a physician, I am aware that surgery was not well developed during this time, but it still bothers me to see the lack of sterile procedure and spotty anesthesia on display.
I received this Season 1 set as a Christmas gift from a well meaning relative, but I am returning it unopened and unwatched, for the reasons outlined above. I have watched more than half this series, and think I am qualified to express an opinion.
2050846
Unfortunately. this roller coaster ride of a "who done it" falls short of expectations for the characters, while given detailed back stories and are meticulously drawn, are so unlikable that it is difficult to empathize with them or care about them.  Even worse, I came to despise all of the characters.  They were an odious lot.  For this reason I chose to quickly read through the pages to get to the denouement and be through with this novel that was replete with contrivances and unlikable characters.  In my opinion this novel belongs in the horror genre.
523043
Although interesting and unpredictable, it just didn't do it for me. Characters have  absurd behaviors that start tiring you quickly
1606756
I am not sure if this was my 1st Harlan Coben book or not, but I can say that I was unfamiliar with the 2 main protagonists.  The book started out with a graphic scene of violence that certainly got my attention.  I expected the plot would unfold in a way that I was used to reading, but several times; maybe 3 or 4; I asked myself if the author was kidding or not.  As other ancillary characters were introduced, I felt like my credulity was being tested.  The female wrestlers, the oversized Indian electronic gamer, the one larger than life protagonist, the insensitive mother of one of the kidnapped youngsters raised doubts in the legitimacy of the author's character development.  I certainly never met people like I've mentioned. I did imagine that there were other books by Mr. Corbin with these unlikely characters which only mildly generated a need to further explore these characters.  However I probably will not do this.  I did not find the plot compelling.  I stayed with it because I wanted to see if my assumptions about where the book was headed were accurate.  I figured out the ending even though the last bit seemed over the top.
4611062
Really.  An improbable group of characters, most of whom are barely post-adolescent, who possess skills and abilities far beyond what in the most remote sense might be even marginally believable, find themselves in a position to save the world as we know it.  No extra credit given for pseudo-intellectual trappings employed to disguise a poorly constructed plot.
3407022
unrealistic storyline, insensitive depiction of mental illness and unlikable characters - the main character is irritating and romantic lead drippy
558664
I will not re-read this story. The heroine is a little too good, sweet, overly correct. The hero is a little too penitent. And, what is the deal with the constant stroking of her cheek? The villains are too over the top and the whole premise for their/ his treachery is very convoluted.
This tome at least kept me entertained during part of my holiday travels.
76143
It's hard to layout exactly what I didn't like about the story in this novel without spoiling anything, so It'll have to suffice to summarize. The main character is so incredibly unlikable I could barely stand to keep reading in some places. In the opening (page 21) she notes that "Justice really should prevail", then 2 paragraphs later amends that with "When I walk into court I'm not concerned about justice". This cognitive dissonance about justice continues throughout the entire story. There are some revelations towards the end which I think are suppose to make the character more appear more consistent, but really just make her seem totally unhinged.

Besides a main character that should clearly be sectioned, the plot is sort of all over the place. Again, trying not to spoil, the first 3/4 of the book are something along the lines of a law-and-order style crime procedural, but from the defendant's point of view. In the last quarter I guess they couldn't figure out a good way to ratchet up the tension enough so they throw the whole witness investigation, court house drama thing out the window and just have everybody start shooting.

The plot has so many twists that even Shyamalan would be like "you need to chill out". I have a sneaking suspicion this hopes to get optioned as a mini-series. Almost every chapter ends with some sort of 'revelation' that is supposed to put you on the edge of your seat. Only it does the soap opera/silver age comic thing where half the revelations turn out to be nothing. For example, one chapter ends with a character breaking and entering in order to find evidence but she has to hid when she hears a door opening like she's about to be found; nail-biting suspense. Only in the next chapter it turns out it was just the people she was breaking-and-entering with that SHE ALREADY KNEW WERE THERE. Furthermore, A good portion of the twists that aren't as egregious as the previous example are the kind of one-in-a-million plot convenience/contrivance that makes the mystery part of the plot entirely uninteresting as you soon understand that you will not understand anything that is going on until the book tells you.

Enough about the plot though. What about the mechanics.

It is entirely readable. While there's a handful of passages that are a bit ambiguous, the writing is largely on point. It's easy to read and follow.

The dialog, especially with witnesses, is the kind of boilerplate dialog that makes your eyes glaze over. Nearly every interview with witness follows the exact same pattern down to the way the main character summarizes what she has been told at the end, you know, just in case your eyes glazed over and you missed something. They're easy to pick out, the sections almost always end with some variation on "I asked some more questions, but [insert witness name] had run out of answers"

The author likes to use a lot of metaphors, not all of them make sense. "I'd be about as welcome as a parrot at a spelling bee" stuck out to me.

There is advertisement everywhere. If the author doesn't have some brand deals I'd be shocked. It's never "shopping online" it's always "Visting HauteLook". It's never "drinking tequila" it's "Having a shot of Patron Silver". It's never a tablet, it's always an Ipad. This to say nothing of constant Facebook/Twitter mentions.

There's lot's of references to current events that are sure to make the book feel dated long before it should have. Trump, Kanye, Taylor Swift all get name dropped.

There's a few "old people tech phrases" that make you groan, but not too many. "Finished deleting my cyber junk mail" was my favorite.

I debated giving the book two stars. And would probably have given it two and a half if I was able. But since it remains readable, and occasionally even compelling, despite all of it's problems, I give it the ever descriptive "okay". Like a summer block buster, it's perfectly adequate while it lasts but you'll probably have completely forgotten it come October.
1721969
I'm only about half way through the book at this point, but will finish it just because I am interested enough in the plot.  However, the characters I find to be thoroughly unlikeable people.  Everyone in this story is either described as nearly perfect, especially the main character, and everyone else seems to be overweight or mean; or both.  I find descriptions of people such as "carrying 20 extra pounds" to be shallow and mean. The author seems totally obsessed with people's appearance and social-climbing.  I'm not sure who the intended audience for this book is, but I know it's not me. This is the first book in the Indigo Tea Shop series that I've read and doubt I will read any others.
2720398
The characters  show possibility for development. Two decent loving police officers, two decent lovable librarians, a loving family and a loving lovers family, for the heroine, and a small town in Ohio. The problem is that the author needed a mystery in which to involve these characters and chose poorly. For no visible reason in the character or situation of the heroine, she is made to appear witless,
Too bad. The book is still readable, there is occasion to fear for her safety, to sympathize with her plight, to root for the Good Guys;  there is just not much occasion to respect her intelligence or  common sense.
If this is going to be a series, I can recommend the book as a lead-in to what might easily become much more appealing. In itself it serves well as an introduction to these characters,  the library setting and the small town feeling. I even find myself rooting for the author and hoping she will find a better mystery theme about which to weave her story.
4233433
I went into this wanting to like and understand the characters, but I didn't quite get there. The story definitely has potential, but the third dimension of the characters was not quite reached. First, I did not like the names given to the characters. Travis, Shepley, America called Mare and Abby called Pigeon as a pet name from Travis. The author did not provide enough descriptors to really help you envision how the characters looked. Travis' attraction and then obsession with Abby does not make any sense. The fact that she presents a meager challenge is not drawn out enough. The writing lost me at times as I would go back thinking I missed a segue, but it wasn't there. There are some good moments, but it reached a point where I didn't read anymore because I didn't care what happened. I have not given up on this author, though. I will maybe check out some of her other stuff. This particular book just wasn't drawn well enough for me, even though it had the potential to do some interesting things with two seemingly opposites who are essentially exactly alike.
2398269
I know this novel is allegorical, and I know the story has evolved out of the author's own violent family history. The premise sounded promising, and I thought I would be drawn into the characters' lives as they grappled with the central horror of the novel. But in the end, I did not much like this story, and I do not think I will be recommending it to very many people.

Is it art? Well, it left me feeling very disturbed and emotionally unsettled. So if "art" is a man-made work that moves you on a fundamental level, this fits that definition. But if "art" is supposed to elevate you to greater understanding or self-awareness--uh, no.

A lot of reviewers have noticed what I initially thought, too: this book is like "Lord of the Flies" meets "Deliverance." But also throw in "The Mission" and the weird/creepy Zen grandpa right out of a Sam Beckett play.

None of the five characters is likable, and that's probably what the author is saying--that at our core, none of us is likable. Or redeemable, for that matter.

Here we have the main character, the narrator, who describes events that happened on an annual hunting trip when he was 11. As his party approaches the family hunting camp, which is on a ranch they own, they see a poacher. The boy's dad invites him to take a look at the poacher through his rifle scope, and the boy instinctively also curls his finger around the trigger, and then shoots. He kills the poacher instantly.

This is the springboard for a lot of big questions: what is life, death, responsibility, evil, redemption, filial loyalty, etc.?

The boy's father decides that he is going to protect his son, no matter what. The grandfather, the most singularly unattractive fictional character I have run across in the past decade, continually tries to lead his son, and grandson, to accepting responsibility by realizing what they've done. The foil to the grandfather, the family friend Tom, is the Jiminy Cricket (add Pinocchio to the list of fictional influences) of the group, insisting that they return to civilization and turn in the kid.

There are some very harsh and disturbing scenes in this book. The victim's corpse is the fifth character--a nameless man who dies in the first pages but who remains part of the story until the last pages.

I did like that David Vann attempts to address our cultural heritage of violence, and that he doesn't shy away from bringing up religion--specifically Christianity, and by inference Catholicism. He incorporates the Real Presence of the Eucharist, even though what he has to say about it is not particularly respectful. But he does get points for acknowledging what Catholics believe is true.

This book comes out of a place of deep personal pain. Although there are elements of Vann's writing that I admire, there's also not a little pretentiousness.

But if this review piques your interest at all, go ahead and read it. You may get a lot more out of it than I did.
2743362
I am just not a fan of this Author; could not find the characters interesting enough to keep my attention
4208512
The characters weren't nice people, there was profanity, and violence.  It just wasn't my cup of tea.  And as I tried to read it, I wonder why I even downloaded it.  Maybe because it was free at the time.
1957938
Although I enjoyed this book, I could not relate to the characters. Their actions were often incomprehensible. Living in a different world from mine the characters seemed one dimensional at times. I enjoyed the authors descriptions of daily life and the story was interesting. Definitely a good read for someone looking for a unique setting and voice.
4897018
Had I known how difficult THE INHERITORS was going into it, I probably wouldn't have read it. Please understand that when I say "difficult", I don't mean "mildly challenging", I mean "one of the four or five hardest novels I've read in my entire life"; if you can picture a version of Faulkner's&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Sound-and-the-Fury-The-Corrected-Text/dp/0679732241/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Sound and the Fury: The Corrected Text</a>&nbsp;in which Benjy, instead of merely being the point of view character for the first quarter of the book, serves the same function for 90% of it, you'll have some idea of what I'm talking about.

William Golding was a writer of enormous imagination and subtlety; he requires readers of this novel to empathize with the protagonist, Lok, in a fashion and to a degree that, as far as I'm aware, is unprecedented in fiction. He also never lets the narrative slip into the kind of facile misanthropy that I suspect a lesser writer would. Having said that, it would be disingenuos of me to suggest that I enjoyed this more than I would have if a skilled writer of popular fiction had handled the same subject. THE INHERITORS was, in sum, a fascinating story that for me was largely drained of pleasure by the effort required to figure out what the hell was going on. I wouldn't recommend this novel to anyone who isn't prepared to tackle a very challenging piece of work.
3710285
I'm a fan of transgressive fiction and consider myself virtually unoffendable.  But attempts to shock aren't their own justification and after the first couple of chapters, it was hard to see what else Campbell had to offer.  A single character (or even a handful of characters) who continually degrade others can add spice to a novel or provide an opportunity for commentary.  But when every character seems to act and think the same way, it's hard to escape the impression that you are getting a window into the author's world view.

This novel felt malignant and unpleasant.  The plotting was uneven and there were two competing explanations for what even caused the zombie outbreak.  As a statement, it's an unsettling read.  And as a recreational read, it just isn't enjoyable.