I received this copy for free to review from Blogging for Books.
I didn't mean to start a new series. I had no idea this was only book 1. Thankfully, it doesn't have an open ending. So the book is good to stand alone which I liked. It has its good and bad points, I give it 3 stars. It takes place a bit in the future. Far enough that 9/11 is a bit of a memory which is why this "second attack" seems such a surprise. At first I thought the whole country was messed up but it is just New York. I mean the country is WAY messed up but not by the attack. Also there is this weird virtual reality thing going on that kind of makes my skin crawl. I can't say more without spoilers see below if you dare.
I would say check it out. If you don't mind a very dark story. It's not a bad book but it is disturbing.
**Spoilers**
Talk about depressing! Seriously, it is like slit your wrist depressing at times...most times. The whole premise. Simple life. Guy loves girl. Guy and girl can't have babies. Guy becomes an addict, first to alcohol then to tapping (Virtual Reality). Girl and guy fight a lot. Girl gets killed in a terrorist attack, guy never recovers becomes a murder for hire. He "takes out the trash". All because 6 crazy people decided to set off a subway bomb and a dirty bomb in NYC. It literally killed the city. Like a cancer. It is no longer New York, it is a cesspool of depravity that the rest of the country seems to have written off since the attack.
Honestly when I downloaded it, I thought it was going to be more of a Vigilante story. Nope, he's just a murderer. It's sometimes bad people but not always. At least he wont kill kids and apparently pregnant women. I am not sure how I feel about the story. It was hard to get into because of the way it was written. It's very choppy, almost in riddles. Sometimes it is hard to tell who is talking. It jumps to the past then back to the present quite a bit. Once you adjust to that it gets a little easier to follow but it's a bit annoying.
While the whole book made me extraordinarily uncomfortable I was never emotionally involved. I never connected to Spademan, Persephone, Mark, Harrow or Simon. The most emotional response I had was when Mark revealed he was gay and was in love with his childhood BFF. Totally didn't see that coming. The characters are all sick in the head. Well not Mark...he thinks something is wrong with him because he's gay but honestly he is the most normal. You have spademan who is just (see above). Persephone or Grace or whatever, I don't trust her. She lies. . .A LOT. She seems to enjoy not just murdering people but slaughtering them. Harrow is scary. He could be real. There are many people out there who totally justify their actions with religion, which I guess includes raping your own daughter in this case. Simon is also sick. He is a body guard for a madman. He impregnated said madman's daughter (totally didn't see that coming either). He also seems to enjoy killing people in intricate ways.
Truthfully the entire premise is sick. Society becoming addicted to "tapping" in. People preferring to live in a dream state to escape from responsibilities as their bodies waste away to nothing. Also, the amount of people that seem to be a-okay with murder is astounding. He he effed me over, lets kill him. It just disturbs me.
I will say by the end I was enjoying Spademan more. He has sort of adopted Persephone but there are these undertones that I am not sure how to read yet. Based on the story she is 18 and he is that plus 15, so 33. Not a ridiculous age difference mind you. But the author almost hints at an attraction but doesn't address it. It's played off as being protective, almost fatherly but then not. It's hard to explain but I caught it a couple times and am not sure how I feel about it.
Below are my ramblings as I read:
Page 12 — December 11, 2014
"Bitch cut my face!"
What on earth am I reading
Page 17 — December 15, 2014
"I just tell them I work on missing persons. Don't tell them how the persons end up missing."
Nice Spademan
Page 19 — December 15, 2014
"Sweatpants and a crisp tuxedo shirt, untucked and opened at the throat. Can't tell if he's halfway to getting dressed or just all the way to no longer caring."
I look like this every Saturday
Page 41 — December 15, 2014
"They time it out to the second. Hire someone to stand by. Lean in. Make sure the lids are fluttering. Clock hits zero. Put you down. Sounds weird, I know. But then again, people used to hang themselves while jerking off."
Humanity is sick
Page 50 — December 15, 2014
"No. You heard me wrong.
Hugs them harder. Arms round the knees. Arms round her baby.
I said, he's the father. He's the father. That's what I said."
Ahhhhhhhhh!
Page 69 — December 15, 2014
"And do you know what happens when the Lord is displeased with you?
No.
You end up in New York, outside a library, begging some stranger to put you in the ground."
Interesting, uh Mark...wtf dude
Page 70 — December 15, 2014
I'm depressed now. Young girl preggo with her fathers baby...a dumpster baby found but didn't live.
Page 78 — December 15, 2014
Huh....I find myself oddly interested
Page 95 — December 16, 2014
"Truth was, I wanted her to leave. I had an appointment to keep that morning."
Oh no wonder he feels so guilty! He pushed her away to go get in a bed to escape reality!
Page 97 — December 16, 2014
"The violinist came down with a rare sarcoma and died the following Easter. The mayor sent an aide to the funeral."
Omg! This keeps getting worse and worse!
Page 99 — December 16, 2014
"The day it happened, I was in Chinatown sleeping. Deep in a custom-made dream. Stooped over, wringing my hands in a waiting room. Then slapping backs and unwrapping cigars. Bright blue balloons kissing the ceiling. Congratulations all around."
Oh god his "dream" was having a baby and he was having it while his wife died in a bombing.....omg!
Page 129 — December 16, 2014
"It was their life, exactly re-created. To the last detail. Same apartment. Same suits. Same view of the city. Same celebrity endorsements. All of it identical. Except without her. She'd been erased. So she returned the favor."
Ugh, what a toolbag! Kinda glad she hired Spademan to kill him.
Page 135 — December 16, 2014
"He prods the panties with the gun muzzle. Scoops them up. Retrieves them from the end of the pistol, like a fresh-caught fish on a hook. Balls them up. Inhales them. A perfumer's inhale. Eyes slip closed for a second."
Dave the doorman is a creeper
Page 138 — December 16, 2014
"Yet these dirty fucking panties won't fit all the way in his mouth. So she cuts a wider smile."
Ummm I liked Persephone....but she's starting to scare me
Page 145 — December 16, 2014
Why do I think I might like this book.....
Page 150 — December 17, 2014
"But you loved her. He looked at me. Not her. Him.
Oh what?!? Wait....did not see that coming! So Mark is a gay preacher. Okay, cool. .
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