A Blog on Books

Child of God is horrific. It’s fantastic. And it’s one of the most disturbing books I’ve ever read. People love to talk about Blood Meridian as Cormac McCarthy ’s darkest and most disturbing work, and while it certainly is, Child of God affected me far more. I think part of that is because Blood Meridian is an epic—its violence feels distant, almost mythological. As readers, we’re pulled back, observing Glanton’s gang from afar. Even the protagonist, "the kid," remains nameless; his identity doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. This narrative distance makes the horror feel abstract, part of something larger. But Child of God is different. It’s intensely personal. We are trapped with Lester Ballard, forced to witness his descent in an uncomfortably intimate way. This difference isn’t a flaw in Blood Meridian —it’s by design. But for me, it made Child of God feel so much more brutal, for lack of a better word. As much as this book disturbed me, I also loved it. N...

Dan Simmons is one of my favourite authors of all time. He’s incredibly consistent in quality and can successfully write across so many genres and styles. I’ve never really been the biggest fan of horror, at least not in novel form. For that reason, Stephen King hasn’t clicked with me yet. I’d love to find something of his that works for me, but reading The Shining and The Dead Zone didn’t quite do it. I discovered Dan Simmons through the Hyperion Cantos . Science fiction is my genre—it speaks to me—so it’s no surprise that Hyperion left an incredible first impression. I followed it up with The Fall of Hyperion but haven’t yet continued the series with Endymion or The Rise of Endymion . This isn’t because of a lack of interest; I just haven’t gotten to them yet. Then I read Ilium , which blew my mind. I loved it, though, like with Endymion , I haven’t read its sequel ( Olympos ) yet. Finally, I picked up Drood , and that’s when I discovered a completely different side of Dan Simmo...