Reviews

Oracle 2 The Dreamland Murders by Andrew Pyper

Only show reviews with written explanations

joan_anne's review

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4.0

3 stars book, 5 stars Joshua Jackson

melarain78's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

While not a book per se, but more of a modern radio play (read: episodic podcast), Oracle 2 was fabulously entertaining. Joshua Jackson returns as the melancholic and burdened Nick Russo--a "seer" of sorts who is consistently haunted by a figure called the "Boneman". He works as a consultant with two FBI agents: Claire Hernandez (played well by Humberly González) and Agent Tillman (a most excellent performance by Devon Bostick, redeemed from his poor character in The 100--not his fault, mind you). The series picks up threads from the first book, so I would definitely recommend reading/listening to Oracle first.

The repartée between Russo and Tillman provides a humorous and even endearing character development that was not so apparent in the first book. Agent Hernandez fades into the background at times, but Oracle 2 focuses on building the relationship between these three characters which added unexpected depth to the story.

When I heard the preview, I thought I would find the added foley and soundtrack distracting, but it is actually rather effective (save for a few clichéd "bum-bum-BUM!!!!" moments). It was like watching a movie with one's eyes closed, which I really liked, as outside of Russo (who I can't help as see as Joshua Jackson), I had formed images of the characters in my mind already. Bostick's voice does not really match up with his appearance in my mind, so "my" Tillman looks different.

Without giving too many spoilers, the Boneman is still here (originally voiced by Jackson in the first audiobook, here I'm not certain...), but he takes a backseat to a new evil. I felt Pyper underexplored this connection and the role of the Boneman a bit, but appreciated the twist. Russo's monologues grew tiresome on occasion, and as a character he seemed to degrade a bit from the first book. A climactic scene in the House of Mirrors was very good except for a brief and unnecessary moment of "in case you didn't get it" explanatory nonsense regarding the evil figure who is central to the story. There's a new love interest (of sorts) for Russo, but as with the first book, this is very understated and at most results in a one-night stand.

The supernatural element is kicked up several notches here, but Pyper is sure to give us enough character development to keep us guessing about who is trustworthy and who is not. And while abandoned amusement parks are de facto creeptastic settings, Pyper keeps the clichés to a minimum (no scary clowns--coulrophobes rejoice!) and the story is a nod to the witch hunts of history and small-town networks.