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franklyfrank's review against another edition
5.0
Holy hell. I may need a few days to process this book.
Either way, Nick Cutter, like Sylvain Neuvel, Lavie Tidhar and Christopher Moore are authors who I’ll read EVERYTHING they’ll put out.
Either way, Nick Cutter, like Sylvain Neuvel, Lavie Tidhar and Christopher Moore are authors who I’ll read EVERYTHING they’ll put out.
radbear76's review against another edition
2.0
The actual writing was good but the plot, character development, and technical mistakes (frogs and toads are different things, suicide bombers heads are usually found intact) worked against it.
mcislovely's review against another edition
3.0
3.5. Not nearly as disturbing as The Troop but still pretty upsetting.
~SPOILERS~
I don’t love the treatment of women in the book. It’s spotty at best. I was disappointed with the handling abortion of scene - in particular the aftermath. It felt like an easy out.
All of that to say that it’s worth a read if you’re into dystopian religious nightmares!
~SPOILERS~
I don’t love the treatment of women in the book. It’s spotty at best. I was disappointed with the handling abortion of scene - in particular the aftermath. It felt like an easy out.
All of that to say that it’s worth a read if you’re into dystopian religious nightmares!
obair's review against another edition
3.0
I love Nick Cutter- but this is my least favorite of his. Still amazing writing, I think he was really trying to find his voice in this one really interesting story just not very developed characters in my opinion. Again will absolutely read everything and anything he writes. Need to check out his non horror/Science fiction stuff still!
aimee4000's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
shaanananaaa's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
bombegranate's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
jbmorgan86's review against another edition
3.0
Take Montag from Fahrenheit 451, change his name to Murtagh, and drop him into the world of the Handmaid’s Tale and you essentially have The Acolyte.
Murtagh is an Acolyte in the Faith Crimes division of New Bethlehem. Essentially, it is his job to hunt down and eliminate anyone who holds beliefs that are contrary to the One True Faith (a weird mishmash of Levitical laws, snake handling, 19th century revivalism, Catholicism, megachurch evangelicalism, and cultism). His life changes suddenly when terrorists set off bombs throughout the city, killing the daughter of the Prophet of New Bethlehem.
I came into this book with high expectations. A friend had recently praised Cutter (but had not read this book). I was underwhelmed. Maybe it’s just the concept of the novel. After 1984, A Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, A Clockwork Orange, Alas Babylon, The Handmaid’s Tale, V for Vendetta, The Giver, The Hunger Games, Divergent, etc., I’m just over dystopian stories where a singular hero takes on the oppressive government.
Cutter’s writing is interesting. This novel had a very “noir” feel to it. Very gritty. There is some dark humor and some overly graphic scenes (in particular a very graphic description of an involuntary abortion).
It’s hard to pull off a first person limited narrator novel. The perspective in this novel made it just seem like Murtagh was just present as the events of the novel unfolded rather than a participant.
Finally, some of the world-building just seems silly. CSI no longer stands for Crime Scene Investigator but Christian Science Investigation (true science has been rejected because it proves the existence of dinosaurs). All products have now been Christianized . . . including Hallelujah Energy drinks.
Murtagh is an Acolyte in the Faith Crimes division of New Bethlehem. Essentially, it is his job to hunt down and eliminate anyone who holds beliefs that are contrary to the One True Faith (a weird mishmash of Levitical laws, snake handling, 19th century revivalism, Catholicism, megachurch evangelicalism, and cultism). His life changes suddenly when terrorists set off bombs throughout the city, killing the daughter of the Prophet of New Bethlehem.
I came into this book with high expectations. A friend had recently praised Cutter (but had not read this book). I was underwhelmed. Maybe it’s just the concept of the novel. After 1984, A Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, A Clockwork Orange, Alas Babylon, The Handmaid’s Tale, V for Vendetta, The Giver, The Hunger Games, Divergent, etc., I’m just over dystopian stories where a singular hero takes on the oppressive government.
Cutter’s writing is interesting. This novel had a very “noir” feel to it. Very gritty. There is some dark humor and some overly graphic scenes (in particular a very graphic description of an involuntary abortion).
It’s hard to pull off a first person limited narrator novel. The perspective in this novel made it just seem like Murtagh was just present as the events of the novel unfolded rather than a participant.
Finally, some of the world-building just seems silly. CSI no longer stands for Crime Scene Investigator but Christian Science Investigation (true science has been rejected because it proves the existence of dinosaurs). All products have now been Christianized . . . including Hallelujah Energy drinks.
haileyldavidson's review against another edition
3.0
Ok like 1984 vibes but also heavy on the L. Ron Hubbard energy
3.5 bc the gore just really nauseates me lmao this guy writes with a tremendous amount of pulpy gore. I gasped aloud at some parts. Had some killer quotes though- "I want to tell you that the greatest freedom you can enjoy is obedience." and "what is the velocity of a prayer?" ate.
Somewhere Lauren just sat up in a cold sweat bc It's been 111 days since I took this book from her
3.5 bc the gore just really nauseates me lmao this guy writes with a tremendous amount of pulpy gore. I gasped aloud at some parts. Had some killer quotes though- "I want to tell you that the greatest freedom you can enjoy is obedience." and "what is the velocity of a prayer?" ate.
Somewhere Lauren just sat up in a cold sweat bc It's been 111 days since I took this book from her
spacem0nkeyyy's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0