Title: From a Whisper to a Scream
Author: Charles de Lint
Pages: 304
Finished: April 18, 2019
First Sentence: Thomas Morningstar was on traffic duty that month.
Summary: Thomas Morningstar shoots a man during a routine traffic violation in 1988. That man happened to be Teddy Bird, a pedophile and serial killer. So when killings start happening two years later to teenage prostitutes, no one connects them with said pedophile.
Thoughts: De Lint prefaces this book by mentioning it's dark. In fact, he used to publish is darker books under a pseudonym so people would know not to expect his normal affair when they read them.
Guys, this one was dark. I mean, it started out like a procedural. Yes, there's blood and gore. The addition of it being a pedophile was extra dark, but it wasn't worse than watching an episode of Bones or even Game of Thrones.
But then there were chapters from the point of view of Teddy Bird. And those were hard. Those made me sick to my stomach as I read them. And at the end, as we learn about the past from some of the other people... well... dark is definitely apt.
Regarding the setting: this is now the third book I've read set in Newford. I'm starting to get a map of the city in my brain. I have an image of the Tombs and where they are. I don't necessarily like something so dark set in this city I love, but it was nice having some familiarity.
I thought the juxtaposition of Native American traditions with voodoo traditions quite interesting, especially mixing in the deLint fantasy elements. I like how in the end, it's all the same with just different dogma defining it.
The book was a quick read. Like any mystery, you want to know what happens. I was appreciative for the preface warning of the darkness. I even read a couple of reviews to see how dark it was. I might wait a bit before delving into the next novel on my challenge - also a dark novel.
Guys, this one was dark. I mean, it started out like a procedural. Yes, there's blood and gore. The addition of it being a pedophile was extra dark, but it wasn't worse than watching an episode of Bones or even Game of Thrones.
But then there were chapters from the point of view of Teddy Bird. And those were hard. Those made me sick to my stomach as I read them. And at the end, as we learn about the past from some of the other people... well... dark is definitely apt.
Regarding the setting: this is now the third book I've read set in Newford. I'm starting to get a map of the city in my brain. I have an image of the Tombs and where they are. I don't necessarily like something so dark set in this city I love, but it was nice having some familiarity.
I thought the juxtaposition of Native American traditions with voodoo traditions quite interesting, especially mixing in the deLint fantasy elements. I like how in the end, it's all the same with just different dogma defining it.
The book was a quick read. Like any mystery, you want to know what happens. I was appreciative for the preface warning of the darkness. I even read a couple of reviews to see how dark it was. I might wait a bit before delving into the next novel on my challenge - also a dark novel.
I'm intrigued by the sound of this one as I haven't read any of de Lint's darker books. This challenge of yours is definitely making me want to read more of his works in general.
ReplyDeleteThanks. It was definitely a departure, but the writing was still so identifiably his.
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