Nicole

Mediocre Thriller

I'm not much of a reviewer so I hope it has just enough.

I picked up this book on recommendation from my boss. She said it was dark and twisted. Well I like some thrill in my life so I was eager to read this.
What I didn't know was that a Satanic theme was going to emerge. I expected some gothy stuff but nope, Flynn went with Satanism. Obviously Ms. Flynn does not understand Satanism or if she did, she did not make it clear that her characters did not understand Satanism. I was immediately dismayed. I am a Satanist so I'm very disappointed with this. The story was different from some thrillers out there but I found myself guessing who the killer was before I even got half way through the book and turns out I was mostly right. Ms. Flynn did deliver a little twist I didn't see coming. Otherwise the characters were predictable and underdeveloped.

I guess that's my cue to stick with true crime?

Please note: these are my opinions based solely on my own personal tastes in literature. And always remember: TRUE Satanism is not the belief or worship in the Christian idea of Satan. We are atheists who do not fear our human nature.

To me, “Brothers In Darkness” was complete genius! The storyteller, Lucas, was a very interesting character to know. You could tell that he's given in to what he is but at the same time he's compassionate for other human lives. Almost like he puts on a face of not really caring, but it's a façade, to a certain degree.

Just like every other thriller that I love, this book started with a climax and that climax only got more exciting as the book went on and even to the ending! In fact, when I got to the last page, I noticed the bio on the next page. I said to myself, “Oh jeeze!”. I finished the page, shut the book and said aloud, “This can't be it!!!” Which is exactly how I felt when I read “Odd Thomas” for the first time. I was very pleased when I heard that Dean Koontz had written a sequel and later, turned it into a trilogy.

The only thing I found a little lacking was getting to really know Donna, Nikki and Ginny. But then again, they may not be in the next installment so then I could understand not getting to know them all that well.

I really loved the fact that the book wasn't drowned out with massive amounts of details. I once tried to read “Dreamcatcher” by Stephen King and put it down after only a couple chapters because the details were killing the actual storytelling. Same thing with the later half of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. I'm half way through book 8 and I keep putting it down because all the detail that Jordan put into that book is just killing the story.

“Brothers In Darkness” really is an amazing book. The story was ORIGINAL and new. I can't think of ONCE when I said to myself, “Hey, this is like...”. The details about Portland, of course, were dead on. It's exciting to see your hometown talked about in detail, especially in a fictional novel. I mean, lots have used Portland as a setting but could never describe anything detailed. Like Fox's epic fail of using Lake Oswego in the opening scene of Season 2 of “24” (http://hphotos-sea1.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/251625_10150318608955218_637010217_9760554_6845893_n.jpg) It's really freakin' sad. And for those who don't know what Lake Oswego looks like, it's not that.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who really needs something new to read. The twists and turns keep you guessing and completely unable to put the book down.