Scan barcode
lachese's review against another edition
3.0
An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review. This did not influence my thoughts in any way.
Project Cain is the Young Adult analogue of Cain's Blood. Or maybe Cain's Blood is the adult version of Project Cain. Either way, the two books are identical in almost every aspect, including characters, plot, and facts presented. However, if I didn't know better, I would have thought that two completely different authors wrote these two books. This is a testament to Mr. Girard's ability as a writer. He successfully managed to write the same book, two completely different ways for two different types of audiences.
Where Cain's Blood was written for adults in a typical thriller format (3rd person, several different point of views), Project Cain was written from the sole 1st person perspective of Jeffrey Jacobson, a kid plagued by the misfortune of carrying the DNA of serial killer all-star Jeffrey Dahmer. The way Project Cain was written felt very much like Jeffrey was writing a journal and reminiscing about times past. Late in the novel we find out that this is exactly the case.
Formatting is a bit unusual in this book. At first, I found the use of capitalization to EMPHASIZE any crucial words a bit jarring until I eventually adjusted. The lack of quotation marks is not necessarily confusing, but serves to make conversations feel more abstract, as if the reader is experiencing character interaction through a transcript and not watching it directly. This book was specifically written and formatted for young adult male readers (see the full blog post written by the author), which is especially evident when comparing this book to Project Cain, which is written in a much more traditional style. As a reader who happens to not be a teenaged male, the written style of this book just wasn't my cup of tea. However, I encourage any young adult readers to give this book a try. Don't worry, parents, there's not an overabundance of blood and gore (surprising for a novel about serial killers). All that was saved for this book's counterpart.
I'm not going to analyze the plot in this review, since it was exactly the same as Cain's Blood. For that see my review here.
Overall, I recommend picking one of the two books to read. Although each book provides slightly different viewpoints, the plot is exactly the same, and knowing what will happen stole some of the excitement out of the reading. By the middle of Project Cain, I was ready for it to be over. There wasn't enough new information presented to make the second book worth reading. For adult readers, I recommend Cain's Blood (provided you are mentally stable and have a strong stomach). For young adult readers, I'd recommend Project Cain. I'm not sure Cain's Blood would be a good choice for impressionable minds.
Project Cain is the Young Adult analogue of Cain's Blood. Or maybe Cain's Blood is the adult version of Project Cain. Either way, the two books are identical in almost every aspect, including characters, plot, and facts presented. However, if I didn't know better, I would have thought that two completely different authors wrote these two books. This is a testament to Mr. Girard's ability as a writer. He successfully managed to write the same book, two completely different ways for two different types of audiences.
Where Cain's Blood was written for adults in a typical thriller format (3rd person, several different point of views), Project Cain was written from the sole 1st person perspective of Jeffrey Jacobson, a kid plagued by the misfortune of carrying the DNA of serial killer all-star Jeffrey Dahmer. The way Project Cain was written felt very much like Jeffrey was writing a journal and reminiscing about times past. Late in the novel we find out that this is exactly the case.
Formatting is a bit unusual in this book. At first, I found the use of capitalization to EMPHASIZE any crucial words a bit jarring until I eventually adjusted. The lack of quotation marks is not necessarily confusing, but serves to make conversations feel more abstract, as if the reader is experiencing character interaction through a transcript and not watching it directly. This book was specifically written and formatted for young adult male readers (see the full blog post written by the author), which is especially evident when comparing this book to Project Cain, which is written in a much more traditional style. As a reader who happens to not be a teenaged male, the written style of this book just wasn't my cup of tea. However, I encourage any young adult readers to give this book a try. Don't worry, parents, there's not an overabundance of blood and gore (surprising for a novel about serial killers). All that was saved for this book's counterpart.
I'm not going to analyze the plot in this review, since it was exactly the same as Cain's Blood. For that see my review here.
Overall, I recommend picking one of the two books to read. Although each book provides slightly different viewpoints, the plot is exactly the same, and knowing what will happen stole some of the excitement out of the reading. By the middle of Project Cain, I was ready for it to be over. There wasn't enough new information presented to make the second book worth reading. For adult readers, I recommend Cain's Blood (provided you are mentally stable and have a strong stomach). For young adult readers, I'd recommend Project Cain. I'm not sure Cain's Blood would be a good choice for impressionable minds.
rebelrider's review against another edition
3.0
Not one I'd recommend. The style's a bit odd, and it's got some rather nasty stuff in it, which is to be expected when it's about serial killers. I liked how the author mixed real-world conspiracies with the one he made up. The book did keep my attention.
neenz's review against another edition
I actually tried so hard and I was working through it but it was TOUGH - the idea behind this book is so good but if felt too modernised (all the slang) and it was just missing that something. The middle also dragged on immensely and it just got boring. Sorry.
agkrob's review against another edition
2.0
Maybe 2.5...
This book was actively boring. The beginning and end were okay, but the writing wasn't good. Also for a book based on clones of serial killers I expected there to be some kind of action throughout the story, but the middle 200 pages were just so boring. The most interesting parts of this book were when they started talking about the actual serial killers that the clones came from.
It was a cool idea with bad execution.
This book was actively boring. The beginning and end were okay, but the writing wasn't good. Also for a book based on clones of serial killers I expected there to be some kind of action throughout the story, but the middle 200 pages were just so boring. The most interesting parts of this book were when they started talking about the actual serial killers that the clones came from.
It was a cool idea with bad execution.
blaarrosir's review against another edition
1.0
This book was absolutely terrible. The author spent the entirety telling us what was happening without a bit of showing. The narrator, Jeff, just says what's happening without us actually seeing it. There's also a page break every few paragraphs without anything warranting it. A set of three asterisks denotes a break only for the next sentence after the "break" to be a continuation of the previous thought. The topic of the book seemed interesting but the way it was written made the book a terrible chore to read.
boondocks_09's review against another edition
4.0
This story was so cool. I loved all of the facts about science and genetics and true events that were spun into this fictional story. This book took a unique side to the whole nature vs. nurture debate. I loved it.
nicoleabouttown's review against another edition
1.0
This one had so much promise. The premise was very intriguing. Sadly, the execution was sorely lacking and it was a huge let down.
I couldn't even finish it as it just became so tedious to read about nothing happening and endless time spent in a various motel rooms.
I couldn't even finish it as it just became so tedious to read about nothing happening and endless time spent in a various motel rooms.
anniemariek's review against another edition
2.0
First Look: Before I get started, I'd like to point out that I didn't know anything at all about the author drama surrounding this book until after I read it. For the record, I would've given it the same rating either way. (I'll discuss the drama a little later.) Anyway, I love this book's cover. It bugs me a little that his right hand isn't reflected correctly in the water, but overall I like it. The image is significant to the themes of the novel. From the first moment this book showed up in the mail, that guy on the cover looked familiar. I feel like if he looked up he might be like this:
I really want to see the cover model's face, because I feel like he'd look exactly like Jonathan Crane.Oh my goodness the theories that spring from this. THE THEORIES. A young Jonathan Crane* on the cover of a novel about serial killers.
Setting: The setting didn't play a big role in the novel, so I don't have much to say about it. I would've liked to have a clearer idea of where the characters were at any given moment. They drove around quite a bit to a few different states, but the author never really said where they were going. Also, it seemed like they drove from one place to another faster than would be possible in real life.
Characters: This aspect was, in fact, the part of the novel I enjoyed most. While I wish I could've gotten to know Jeffrey better (through some actual showing instead of telling; more on this later), I could see that he was complex. He acted realistically, always fearing what he might do, being the clone of a notorious serial killer. I grew to like him. I have a feeling that if this book had been written better, he would have been a fantastic and well-developed character. He was dynamic, and even relatable.
Castillo was the weaker character, in my opinion. He seemed unpredictable, in that one minute he'd act like he cared about Jeffrey, and the next he'd act like Jeffrey was just some obnoxious kid trailing him around.
What I really wanted to see was some more interaction between Jeffrey and the other Dahmer clones. I have a feeling that this would have had some excellent conflict.
Plot: I have mixed feelings about the plot. I didn't really dislike it, but I have nothing specific to complement, either. My issues are specific, but I can't pinpoint a good reason why I didn't outright dislike it.
My main issue is with the focus of the plot. It seemed like it would shift suddenly between two objectives. First, they wanted to catch the murderous kids on the loose. Then, out of nowhere, there was a secret weapon that they had to find. The "secret weapon", though, was introduced briefly, in a way that I didn't place too much importance on it, but it became vital in the past few chapters. If you're going to make something a big deal in the climax, you can't just pull it out of close to nothing towards the end of the book. It needs to be woven into the entire book along with everything else.
Uniqueness: Although there are many other books dealing with clones, this one puts a unique spin on it. I love the premise of this book--take the DNA of famous serial killers, make clones, and see what happens. It's not something I would approve of in real life, but it's a great idea for a novel. (Actually, though, what were those scientists thinking? Who in their right mind would think this is a smart idea?)
Writing: And now we come to what I liked least, by far, about this novel. It was 368 pages of solid telling. And no, I'm not exaggerating at all. There was no showing whatsoever in this novel. (See this post for an explanation of showing vs. telling. In short: showing=good, telling=bad.)
So, apparently, the author of Project Cain is under the impression that using no showing and all telling throughout an entire novel is an innovative way of writing a novel targeted towards more reluctant readers. He considers this use of constant and incessant telling an example of "devices, voice and structure I simply didn’t see being used in most other current YA novels". (This quote came from here.)
Um. There is one very good reason why most current YA novels don't read like a textbook. It's that people don't like to read telling. People want showing. Showing is engaging and enjoyable. Telling, not so much. And it didn't work for me in Project Cain any more than it has in any other novel I've read.
The use of the word "like" also bothered me. The narration (first person, from Jeffrey's point of view) would, like, say "like" in casual narration. And that, like, grated on my, like, nerves. Just because, like, many teenagers say it, like, all the time doesn't mean you have to use it in your narration. There's, like, a fine line between making narration sound realistic and being too realistic.
Likes: Nothing not already mentioned above.
Not-so-great: 1. Yet another wild author-responding-poorly-to-uncomplimentary-review appears! I'm not going to take the time to rant about my full views on this subject, because 1. you probably don't want to hear it and 2. it makes me so mad, it might not fit into this review anyway. If you want to know more about what happened, go here. I will say, though, that I don't like the idea of authors directly interacting with book bloggers, whether the review is positive or not. There needs to be a healthy amount of space between bloggers and authors, otherwise the reviews can't be honest, because we'll all be afraid of authors with lawyers watching over our shoulders all the time. An author once commented on my review of his book, and even though it was a four star review, it still made me a little uncomfortable.
2. Did anyone else feel a bit of eye strain and the beginning of a headache after watching this book's trailer? So many yellow dots...my eyeballs do not thank me for watching that.
3. Am I the only one becomes suspicious when an author's name is similar to the main character's name? I understand that Geoffrey Girard was using the name of an actual person, Jeffrey Dahmer, to name his main character. Still, though, whenever I see this kind of similarity, I can't help but think that the main character is just a thinly disguised version of the author. This might or might not be true, but it bothers me. It would be like me, whose name is Anne, writing about an Ann. It would be weird.
Overall: This is how the author described this novel: "If there were a party of good YA books about serial killers, Project Cain would indeed be the creepy one standing outside the window. But it’s not to join them. It’s to douse their house in gasoline, and just maybe strike a match…" (quote source) Good grief. I don't even know how to respond to that. In my opinion, Project Cain was an entire novel narrated entirely by telling, which was not enjoyable. Some aspects I liked, like the main character, Jeffrey, and all his complexities. Otherwise, though, I didn't enjoy this much. The plot was unfocused, and, again, THE TELLING.
Similar Books: It reminds me of The House of the Scorpion in that the main character is a clone, and is a little like Unwind in the same regard (though Unwind doesn't technically involve cloning). It involves top-secret, sketchy science experiments like Virals or Mila 2.0.
*This is totally random, but does anyone else know the Imagine Dragons song 'Bleeding Out'? There's that line "With the darkness fed/I will be your scarecrow". That line never made sense to me, but now whenever I hear it, I think of Jonathan Crane/the Scarecrow. And suddenly it makes so much sense.
I really want to see the cover model's face, because I feel like he'd look exactly like Jonathan Crane.
Setting: The setting didn't play a big role in the novel, so I don't have much to say about it. I would've liked to have a clearer idea of where the characters were at any given moment. They drove around quite a bit to a few different states, but the author never really said where they were going. Also, it seemed like they drove from one place to another faster than would be possible in real life.
Characters: This aspect was, in fact, the part of the novel I enjoyed most. While I wish I could've gotten to know Jeffrey better (through some actual showing instead of telling; more on this later), I could see that he was complex. He acted realistically, always fearing what he might do, being the clone of a notorious serial killer. I grew to like him. I have a feeling that if this book had been written better, he would have been a fantastic and well-developed character. He was dynamic, and even relatable.
Castillo was the weaker character, in my opinion. He seemed unpredictable, in that one minute he'd act like he cared about Jeffrey, and the next he'd act like Jeffrey was just some obnoxious kid trailing him around.
What I really wanted to see was some more interaction between Jeffrey and the other Dahmer clones. I have a feeling that this would have had some excellent conflict.
Plot: I have mixed feelings about the plot. I didn't really dislike it, but I have nothing specific to complement, either. My issues are specific, but I can't pinpoint a good reason why I didn't outright dislike it.
My main issue is with the focus of the plot. It seemed like it would shift suddenly between two objectives. First, they wanted to catch the murderous kids on the loose. Then, out of nowhere, there was a secret weapon that they had to find. The "secret weapon", though, was introduced briefly, in a way that I didn't place too much importance on it, but it became vital in the past few chapters. If you're going to make something a big deal in the climax, you can't just pull it out of close to nothing towards the end of the book. It needs to be woven into the entire book along with everything else.
Uniqueness: Although there are many other books dealing with clones, this one puts a unique spin on it. I love the premise of this book--take the DNA of famous serial killers, make clones, and see what happens. It's not something I would approve of in real life, but it's a great idea for a novel. (Actually, though, what were those scientists thinking? Who in their right mind would think this is a smart idea?)
Writing: And now we come to what I liked least, by far, about this novel. It was 368 pages of solid telling. And no, I'm not exaggerating at all. There was no showing whatsoever in this novel. (See this post for an explanation of showing vs. telling. In short: showing=good, telling=bad.)
So, apparently, the author of Project Cain is under the impression that using no showing and all telling throughout an entire novel is an innovative way of writing a novel targeted towards more reluctant readers. He considers this use of constant and incessant telling an example of "devices, voice and structure I simply didn’t see being used in most other current YA novels". (This quote came from here.)
Um. There is one very good reason why most current YA novels don't read like a textbook. It's that people don't like to read telling. People want showing. Showing is engaging and enjoyable. Telling, not so much. And it didn't work for me in Project Cain any more than it has in any other novel I've read.
The use of the word "like" also bothered me. The narration (first person, from Jeffrey's point of view) would, like, say "like" in casual narration. And that, like, grated on my, like, nerves. Just because, like, many teenagers say it, like, all the time doesn't mean you have to use it in your narration. There's, like, a fine line between making narration sound realistic and being too realistic.
Likes: Nothing not already mentioned above.
Not-so-great: 1. Yet another wild author-responding-poorly-to-uncomplimentary-review appears! I'm not going to take the time to rant about my full views on this subject, because 1. you probably don't want to hear it and 2. it makes me so mad, it might not fit into this review anyway. If you want to know more about what happened, go here. I will say, though, that I don't like the idea of authors directly interacting with book bloggers, whether the review is positive or not. There needs to be a healthy amount of space between bloggers and authors, otherwise the reviews can't be honest, because we'll all be afraid of authors with lawyers watching over our shoulders all the time. An author once commented on my review of his book, and even though it was a four star review, it still made me a little uncomfortable.
2. Did anyone else feel a bit of eye strain and the beginning of a headache after watching this book's trailer? So many yellow dots...my eyeballs do not thank me for watching that.
3. Am I the only one becomes suspicious when an author's name is similar to the main character's name? I understand that Geoffrey Girard was using the name of an actual person, Jeffrey Dahmer, to name his main character. Still, though, whenever I see this kind of similarity, I can't help but think that the main character is just a thinly disguised version of the author. This might or might not be true, but it bothers me. It would be like me, whose name is Anne, writing about an Ann. It would be weird.
Overall: This is how the author described this novel: "If there were a party of good YA books about serial killers, Project Cain would indeed be the creepy one standing outside the window. But it’s not to join them. It’s to douse their house in gasoline, and just maybe strike a match…" (quote source) Good grief. I don't even know how to respond to that. In my opinion, Project Cain was an entire novel narrated entirely by telling, which was not enjoyable. Some aspects I liked, like the main character, Jeffrey, and all his complexities. Otherwise, though, I didn't enjoy this much. The plot was unfocused, and, again, THE TELLING.
Similar Books: It reminds me of The House of the Scorpion in that the main character is a clone, and is a little like Unwind in the same regard (though Unwind doesn't technically involve cloning). It involves top-secret, sketchy science experiments like Virals or Mila 2.0.
*This is totally random, but does anyone else know the Imagine Dragons song 'Bleeding Out'? There's that line "With the darkness fed/I will be your scarecrow". That line never made sense to me, but now whenever I hear it, I think of Jonathan Crane/the Scarecrow. And suddenly it makes so much sense.
nerfherder86's review against another edition
3.0
A seriously creepy and violent, but also interesting book--about a young man who learns he is a clone. And not just any clone, but the clone of a serial killer. The man whom he'd thought for 16 years was his father, turns out to be a scientist who cloned him from Jeffrey Dahmer's DNA, in a lab experiment only 8 years ago! Along with six other teen clones of other serial killers. And then his "dad" abruptly disappears, leaving Jeff on his own to deal with that earth-shattering news, as well as the armed government thugs who are arriving to search his house. Hiding for his life, he's rescued (practically kidnapped!) by Castillo, another government soldier-type guy who convinces him he's a good guy, but who needs Jeff's help to decipher his father's cryptic notes. Together Castillo and Jeff go on a bizarre road trip, following a trail of murder sites to try to find the other cloned killer teens, who have escaped in a bloody rampage from the clone institute and are Bonnie-and-Clyding their way across multiple states (including Ohio, where the author is from--this is the first teen novel I've ever read that mentions McArthur, Ohio, a tiny town not too many people know of). The book is about as confusing as all of that sounds, and for much of it Jeff is alternating between terrified and morose. There are scenes of terrifying brutal action (although much of the killing is not described in detail) and suspense, lots of pages about conspiracy theories, actual secret government experiments that no doubt inspired this book, a character who thinks he is the descendant of Jack the Ripper, and facts and photos of real serial killers. The book is rather depressing, with sort of a happy ending but open-ended. The most interesting aspect to me was learning that the author also wrote an adult novel telling the same events, but from the point of view of Castillo--so I am guessing that book has even more gore and killing in it. I dunno, I've enjoyed other teen serial killer books more (I Hunt Killers comes to mind).