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fai_aka's review against another edition
2.0
Well, I definitely didn’t expect this kind of storyline. It has characters that are different from characters I’m used to read so that’s interesting.
But the story’s not as thrilling as I thought it would be, and there’re unnecessary details that I think the story could definitely be without.
But the story’s not as thrilling as I thought it would be, and there’re unnecessary details that I think the story could definitely be without.
kerry2046's review against another edition
3.0
very intriguing, not the greatest book but enjoyed it immensly
titanic's review
2.0
"It was Devil who had my finger..."
This story had a very weird starting, and it continued throughout the book and I thought that was really interesting. Chas gets the tip of his finger chopped off, and I've read a handful of books where an injury is forgotten about within a few pages or it's magically healed but the author didn't do that. I got a sense of time passing with how the finger healed, and it was refreshing to read a book where someone was injured and they actually suffered problems because of it. He had pus, and pain and embarrassment and it made me happy to read about. It was continually mentioned in the book in such a way that it reminded you that this was how the book started, teenagers messing about, and the results had led to this. It was really fascinating.
I did get heavily let down with the book though because although it was a good read, it was nothing like it said it was. The blurb screams: boy writes to killer and danger happens. And with a quote "An absolute nail-biter..." by the Sunday Times on the front, I expected this to be a hardcore book with threatening letters, and somehow the killer escaped, and he's hunting down this kid, and everything is spooky and set in Winter where it gets dark earlier so that it's more of a scarier setting, but it's not. Instead, you have a stuttering man, skinny and pale sending four letters during Summer. Not exactly a nail-biter. This book is 320 pages, and I could easily write it in less than that.
Lenny, the killer, gets acquitted not long after receiving the letters, (WHAT A SHOCKER!) and chases down his school bullies. Only finding one, he dates his school bullies ex and makes her cry a lot. Then traps her child, plus his other bullies children in a crane. Shoots a few bullets, which isn't very realistic in the UK, and then goes after one of the original bullies. The book is told in the perspective of Chas' point of view, and it's very focused on him and his life more than it is on the storyline of the killer coming from America and trying to get revenge or whatever it is he wants. You're practically halfway through when he's let out of youth prison, and it takes a while for things to start happening in relation the Lenny and the justice he wants. I mean, things really get good when they're at the construction site but even that got a bit eye-rolling, in all honesty. I expected more horror from this book.
Seriously, the best bit of this entire book was when Lexi told Lenny she was the daughter of Satan. Although it doesn't make sense as her brother goes by the name Devil and Satan is another name for Devil, right? I don't know, it felt weird reading it. Another bit I liked, was that the author wrote about a mentally ill character, you don't often see them, and if you do they're made to be horrible, but Ally did a great job in making his mother human, and lovable. The way she wrote Chas to be protective of her warmed my heart because people are actually like that in real life and when you get characters that mimic human nature it's flattering.
This story had a very weird starting, and it continued throughout the book and I thought that was really interesting. Chas gets the tip of his finger chopped off, and I've read a handful of books where an injury is forgotten about within a few pages or it's magically healed but the author didn't do that. I got a sense of time passing with how the finger healed, and it was refreshing to read a book where someone was injured and they actually suffered problems because of it. He had pus, and pain and embarrassment and it made me happy to read about. It was continually mentioned in the book in such a way that it reminded you that this was how the book started, teenagers messing about, and the results had led to this. It was really fascinating.
I did get heavily let down with the book though because although it was a good read, it was nothing like it said it was. The blurb screams: boy writes to killer and danger happens. And with a quote "An absolute nail-biter..." by the Sunday Times on the front, I expected this to be a hardcore book with threatening letters, and somehow the killer escaped, and he's hunting down this kid, and everything is spooky and set in Winter where it gets dark earlier so that it's more of a scarier setting, but it's not. Instead, you have a stuttering man, skinny and pale sending four letters during Summer. Not exactly a nail-biter. This book is 320 pages, and I could easily write it in less than that.
Lenny, the killer, gets acquitted not long after receiving the letters, (WHAT A SHOCKER!) and chases down his school bullies. Only finding one, he dates his school bullies ex and makes her cry a lot. Then traps her child, plus his other bullies children in a crane. Shoots a few bullets, which isn't very realistic in the UK, and then goes after one of the original bullies. The book is told in the perspective of Chas' point of view, and it's very focused on him and his life more than it is on the storyline of the killer coming from America and trying to get revenge or whatever it is he wants. You're practically halfway through when he's let out of youth prison, and it takes a while for things to start happening in relation the Lenny and the justice he wants. I mean, things really get good when they're at the construction site but even that got a bit eye-rolling, in all honesty. I expected more horror from this book.
Seriously, the best bit of this entire book was when Lexi told Lenny she was the daughter of Satan. Although it doesn't make sense as her brother goes by the name Devil and Satan is another name for Devil, right? I don't know, it felt weird reading it. Another bit I liked, was that the author wrote about a mentally ill character, you don't often see them, and if you do they're made to be horrible, but Ally did a great job in making his mother human, and lovable. The way she wrote Chas to be protective of her warmed my heart because people are actually like that in real life and when you get characters that mimic human nature it's flattering.
ozias's review against another edition
4.0
As an audiobook, I really enjoyed this! I think if I'd read the physical text, it would have felt too young, but the narrator is so effective!
kirstyjuliette's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
susie77's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I enjoyed the book, however, I found the part of the book where the main action takes place (towards the end), less interesting than the build up to the story. All motives were revealed at the end, however, there wasn't any tension or mystery along the way, so it didn't feel like what I would expect from a thriller.
Although it wasn't as thrilling as I would have liked, I would still recommend it as it was an interesting read and quite humorous.
Although it wasn't as thrilling as I would have liked, I would still recommend it as it was an interesting read and quite humorous.
pandemoniumpizza's review
3.0
Berserk had a really intriguing premise which is what drew me to the book in the first place. I have to say that the summary I read of it doesn’t really give the best idea of what the book is about because I had an idea about what the book would be about but it was completely different.
I still enjoyed it though. The ex convict actually made me think of Hannibal Lector, i.e Anthony Hopkins, and so every time Lenny Darling was mentioned or in it all I could think of was Hannibal Lector. Even though Lenny wasn’t a cannibal or anything like that.
Oftentimes there were events that didn’t seem to be a part of the main story but then they prove to be useful later on in the book which was really cool. I did think that some of the events happened to be a little too convenient but that was what made it interesting to be honest.
Berserk was really interesting. I thought it would be a thriller of sorts but it was more of a contemporary novel with a little bit of action at the end.
The character interactions were all really interesting and they weren’t perfect which is what made their behaviour and interactions all the more believable.
I didn’t think the ending was the best but I did enjoy Berserk enough to say that it is well worth a read if you’re looking for something light that is set in England.
I still enjoyed it though. The ex convict actually made me think of Hannibal Lector, i.e Anthony Hopkins, and so every time Lenny Darling was mentioned or in it all I could think of was Hannibal Lector. Even though Lenny wasn’t a cannibal or anything like that.
Oftentimes there were events that didn’t seem to be a part of the main story but then they prove to be useful later on in the book which was really cool. I did think that some of the events happened to be a little too convenient but that was what made it interesting to be honest.
Berserk was really interesting. I thought it would be a thriller of sorts but it was more of a contemporary novel with a little bit of action at the end.
The character interactions were all really interesting and they weren’t perfect which is what made their behaviour and interactions all the more believable.
I didn’t think the ending was the best but I did enjoy Berserk enough to say that it is well worth a read if you’re looking for something light that is set in England.
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