Aliens take over earth. Except they don't. (view spoiler)[Maybe it was Satan? (hide spoiler)] Author uses characters as mouthpieces for disjointed thoAliens take over earth. Except they don't. (view spoiler)[Maybe it was Satan? (hide spoiler)] Author uses characters as mouthpieces for disjointed thought processes. Magical thinking saves day....more
I'm not entirely sure what Caleb Carr tried to achieve with this novel. Campy, almost farcical, Killing Time could not be more different from the onlyI'm not entirely sure what Caleb Carr tried to achieve with this novel. Campy, almost farcical, Killing Time could not be more different from the only other Carr book I've read (the excellent historical fiction novel The Alienist). The plot can be described as a cross between Hartmann the Anarchist: The Doom of the Great City and the movie The Tourist, a wacky adventure populated by unbelievable characters, served with a side of dystopian future and a sprinkling of romance. The gloomy setting and tragic events are utterly incongruous with the ludicrous plot twists and unintentionally hilarious writing.
To make things worse, Carr's phenomenal grasp of politics, history and world events shines through in places, in sharp contrast with the overall over-the-top silliness of the book. Killing Time explores some extremely powerful and relevant themes, but the puerile delivery ruins it all.
Caleb Carr can, and does, write great fiction. Do yourself a favor, skip this book and read something else by the same author. Two stars for the camp factor, otherwise would have been one....more
There is little to no plot structure in this story. The events and characters in it are unrealistic and seem to happen/appear completely at random. CoThere is little to no plot structure in this story. The events and characters in it are unrealistic and seem to happen/appear completely at random. Coupled with the first-person point of view (a guy in emotional distress, hinting at an unreliable narrator), all these factors contribute to an eerie, surreal, very atmospheric setting. Laymon's prose helped me keep reading through several facepalm moments, and it's a credit to his writing style that it manages to pull you into the story even when the plot holes are glaring and the characters and their actions make no sense.
I was expecting some sort of big reveal at the end that would tie all these nonsensical elements together into a coherent whole. Something like the entire story being a weird hallucination by the main character, riven by guilt over killing the girl who jilted him while indulging his puerile masturbatory fantasies about her very attractive friend. The old woman on the bike, the "trolls" under the bridge, the beautiful girl who appears out of and melts back into the night, the (utterly unbelievable) main bad guy - these had to be symbols for something, right? As a psychological thriller in the vein of L Ron Hubbard's "Fear", this would have made a pretty good story.
Unfortunately, I was wrong. There was no big reveal. But Laymon's style is fluid and captivating, and (for some unknown and unknowable reason) I did enjoy reading the novel, so the 1.5 stars I was going to award to "Night in the Lonesome October" turned into 2. ...more
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