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monbie's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
mellabella's review
4.0
There are a few horror writers like Brian Keene.
That being said, after being taken on this wild ride and actually caring about the characters? How could he do this to me and end this book this way?!
The action starts off fairly quickly. We get a brief intro to the characters. I'm a reader that complains about characters not being fleshed out. So I'm surprised that in this relatively short (221 pages) book I came to get what each of the characters: (Sam: down on his luck depressed author. Stephanie: Pretty Trans woman just looking for acceptance. Terri: Young, single mom to six year old Caleb. Shaggy and Turo: Douchebag and not so bad ne'er do wells who are laying low after robbing The Mob. Grady: Older Vietnam Vet with demons. Mrs. Carlucci (aka My Fave): Older widow who lives with her four cats. One of which (Hannibal we get a pov from) was like. How could I begin to care for serial killer The Exit?
Naked deranged killers attack the complex (and all parts of the city) all these folks live in en masse. They each find the inner courage and strength to work together and protect themselves and the others.
Tense moments, a lot of visceral imagery, and gore... In other words? Great horror reading!
4 stars for not knowing what caused the change and, that ending! The ending was slightly ambiguous. It left us not 100% knowing what happened to the survivors.
That being said, after being taken on this wild ride and actually caring about the characters? How could he do this to me and end this book this way?!
The action starts off fairly quickly. We get a brief intro to the characters. I'm a reader that complains about characters not being fleshed out. So I'm surprised that in this relatively short (221 pages) book I came to get what each of the characters: (Sam: down on his luck depressed author. Stephanie: Pretty Trans woman just looking for acceptance. Terri: Young, single mom to six year old Caleb. Shaggy and Turo: Douchebag and not so bad ne'er do wells who are laying low after robbing The Mob. Grady: Older Vietnam Vet with demons. Mrs. Carlucci (aka My Fave): Older widow who lives with her four cats. One of which (Hannibal we get a pov from) was like. How could I begin to care for serial killer The Exit?
Naked deranged killers attack the complex (and all parts of the city) all these folks live in en masse. They each find the inner courage and strength to work together and protect themselves and the others.
Tense moments, a lot of visceral imagery, and gore... In other words? Great horror reading!
4 stars for not knowing what caused the change and, that ending! The ending was slightly ambiguous. It left us not 100% knowing what happened to the survivors.
mxsallybend's review
3.0
A little too long for my tastes, and while the final twist was fun, there were too many unresolved plot threads. The characters made the story, especially the old cat lady and her transwoman neighbor.
zoe_e_w's review
4.0
I admit, I got The Complex almost right after the ebook came out based on only one short part of the blurb. The book has a trans character in it, and given how extremely rare it is to see this, I had to know, does Brian Keene do such a character justice? For the most part, yes, he does. I'll get back to that in a bit.
First, I should get the plot out of the way. People go crazy, get naked, and start killing their neighbors. Aaaand we're done. G'night, y'all!
Heh, but no seriously, that's the whole plot in a nutshell. There's no explanation for why everyone goes nuts, which makes sense because the characters experiencing this have no idea what's going on. Certainly, all of them speculate on what's happening, but no theory is given weight by the story as it plays out. In a few ways, it reminds me of King's story Cell, which is a good thing. Cell is one of my favorite horror stories in recent years, so seeing something with a similar theme definitely works for me.
This could very well be a by the numbers story if not for the extremely well done character development. The first part of the book is something of an introduction to the various neighbors living in the apartment complex, and regular readers of Keene will spot several references to his other books.
The first chapters are where we first get to know the trans character, Stephanie, who is pre-op and still in the midst of her transition. This is a minor sticking point for me because transition seems to be the one facet of trans life that everyone is fixated on. But I also admit, the internal thought process introducing Stephanie is quite authentic and reminds me of things I'd thought back when I was transitioning.
There is a character who refers to Stephanie as a tranny, but they're the sole exception, and the other characters tend to be surprisingly supportive. One character who Stephanie thinks doesn't approve of her is in fact just not sure how to deal with her. Mrs. Carlucci is curious about what transition is like, but isn't sure if asking is polite. So she says nothing at all. This makes for another authentic feeling contrast of perspectives, the way a transitioning person reads others, and what those other people are really thinking.
Among the other neighbors is Sam, a horror writer losing a battle with depression and giving some bleak views on the state of the publishing industry while he contemplates eating a bullet. Then there's Terri, a young single mother just moving in with her young son Caleb. Her story is all about him, as her son has become her whole world. There's Grady, a Viet Nam war vet; Shaggy and Turo, a pair of stoner criminals laying low after a botched robbery; Mendez, a serial killer whose kills may or may not be keeping the cosmos safe from otherworldly terrors; and the aforementioned Mrs Carlucci, who is a tough old lay who just wants to take care of her cats. Hell, there's even a chapter covering the history and thoughts of one of her cats. And it totally works, making me feel afraid for him and feeling terrible for the choice he has to make to survive.
Once the story moves past the introductions and into the unfolding calamity, this could again have fallen into the trap of just describing kills and body parts and buckets of blood. But each character is given a chance to show how they are coping, or failing to cope with the violence going on around them. In this way, I was even able to feel invested in the crudest of the neighbors, and I think it's a fine job of balancing the action with the character's reaction and development.
Something else I thought was interesting was the use of guns in the story. In the first few chapters, several characters have them, and it seems almost like a ringing endorsement for gun ownership. Thing is, having a gun doesn't guarantee anyone safety in this situation. People run out of ammo pretty quickly, and there's still more crazy naked people to deal with after the guns have stopped shooting.
The ending could be taken ambiguously if you were so inclined, but I didn't, and think it's a standard horror ending. Which is okay. You don't go into a horror book expecting puppies and rainbows in the end. It did remind me of a classic horror movie I really love, but I can't say which one without spoiling this story. So I'll just say the comparison also leaves me with a favorable impression.
So overall, I like The Complex and I'll give it 4 stars. It's a good horror story that manages to balance character development and investment with violence and scares, and I wish more authors would make the effort to let me get to know their characters before throwing them into the wood chipper.
First, I should get the plot out of the way. People go crazy, get naked, and start killing their neighbors. Aaaand we're done. G'night, y'all!
Heh, but no seriously, that's the whole plot in a nutshell. There's no explanation for why everyone goes nuts, which makes sense because the characters experiencing this have no idea what's going on. Certainly, all of them speculate on what's happening, but no theory is given weight by the story as it plays out. In a few ways, it reminds me of King's story Cell, which is a good thing. Cell is one of my favorite horror stories in recent years, so seeing something with a similar theme definitely works for me.
This could very well be a by the numbers story if not for the extremely well done character development. The first part of the book is something of an introduction to the various neighbors living in the apartment complex, and regular readers of Keene will spot several references to his other books.
The first chapters are where we first get to know the trans character, Stephanie, who is pre-op and still in the midst of her transition. This is a minor sticking point for me because transition seems to be the one facet of trans life that everyone is fixated on. But I also admit, the internal thought process introducing Stephanie is quite authentic and reminds me of things I'd thought back when I was transitioning.
There is a character who refers to Stephanie as a tranny, but they're the sole exception, and the other characters tend to be surprisingly supportive. One character who Stephanie thinks doesn't approve of her is in fact just not sure how to deal with her. Mrs. Carlucci is curious about what transition is like, but isn't sure if asking is polite. So she says nothing at all. This makes for another authentic feeling contrast of perspectives, the way a transitioning person reads others, and what those other people are really thinking.
Among the other neighbors is Sam, a horror writer losing a battle with depression and giving some bleak views on the state of the publishing industry while he contemplates eating a bullet. Then there's Terri, a young single mother just moving in with her young son Caleb. Her story is all about him, as her son has become her whole world. There's Grady, a Viet Nam war vet; Shaggy and Turo, a pair of stoner criminals laying low after a botched robbery; Mendez, a serial killer whose kills may or may not be keeping the cosmos safe from otherworldly terrors; and the aforementioned Mrs Carlucci, who is a tough old lay who just wants to take care of her cats. Hell, there's even a chapter covering the history and thoughts of one of her cats. And it totally works, making me feel afraid for him and feeling terrible for the choice he has to make to survive.
Once the story moves past the introductions and into the unfolding calamity, this could again have fallen into the trap of just describing kills and body parts and buckets of blood. But each character is given a chance to show how they are coping, or failing to cope with the violence going on around them. In this way, I was even able to feel invested in the crudest of the neighbors, and I think it's a fine job of balancing the action with the character's reaction and development.
Something else I thought was interesting was the use of guns in the story. In the first few chapters, several characters have them, and it seems almost like a ringing endorsement for gun ownership. Thing is, having a gun doesn't guarantee anyone safety in this situation. People run out of ammo pretty quickly, and there's still more crazy naked people to deal with after the guns have stopped shooting.
The ending could be taken ambiguously if you were so inclined, but I didn't, and think it's a standard horror ending. Which is okay. You don't go into a horror book expecting puppies and rainbows in the end. It did remind me of a classic horror movie I really love, but I can't say which one without spoiling this story. So I'll just say the comparison also leaves me with a favorable impression.
So overall, I like The Complex and I'll give it 4 stars. It's a good horror story that manages to balance character development and investment with violence and scares, and I wish more authors would make the effort to let me get to know their characters before throwing them into the wood chipper.
redshoe's review
3.0
Predictable but still enjoyable if you need a fast paced, short story to fill in your reading gaps between hardier books.
meaganlr's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
lucasm12333's review
4.0
Back on Top
Brian Keene has always been an important writer for me. It was through his work at Leisure that I discovered so many of my favorite writers. I've read most of his books (Ghoul, Earthworm Gods, and Dead Sea being my favorites) but I'd lost interest in his more recent work. When I saw the announcement for this book on his website, I had high hopes.
He delivered. This is a ripper of a story with interesting characters and bloody action. HIGHLY recommended.
Brian Keene has always been an important writer for me. It was through his work at Leisure that I discovered so many of my favorite writers. I've read most of his books (Ghoul, Earthworm Gods, and Dead Sea being my favorites) but I'd lost interest in his more recent work. When I saw the announcement for this book on his website, I had high hopes.
He delivered. This is a ripper of a story with interesting characters and bloody action. HIGHLY recommended.
david_agranoff's review
4.0
With two novels out this year and a successful podcast Brian Keene has been earning his Grandmaster of Horror award. Hitting the road this year with a tour to promote both Pressure his return to mass market publishing and Complex a paperback on Deadite our mutual publisher. Keene has been on the road alot promoting these books.
I listen to the horror show with Brian Keene most weeks, saw Brian Live here in San Diego and read both novels. To say I am a fan is not a stretch. It's funny I think in many ways Pressure was better written of the two but overall The Complex is the better story. Both were fun reads worthy of your time but I suspect The Complex with it's interesting characters will appeal more to the readers of this blog.
I liked the concept of the novel which anyone who listens to the podcast understands is inspired by an apartment building Keene lived in a few years back. There is a a horror writer character who stands in for Keene and the novel from my understanding ties many of his fictional works together more like F.Paul Wilson's Secret History of the World than Dark Tower.
My favorite aspects of the novel related to the character the Exit who is Keene's fictional serial killer. It made me realize I had not read enough of Keene's back catalog. I read books here and there. I realized that this novel would be stronger if I understood his whole catalog.
The concept is that Crazies or 28 days later style madness comes to the community and together the very different residents of Pine Village have fight together. Meth-heads, a Trans woman, a horror writer, a single mother a serial killer are all neighbors in Keene's universe. As a person who lives in apartment building the idea that I don't know my neighbors and how interesting it would be to struggle to survive beside them makes for a excellent horror concept.
The novel is written like a huge action piece, with unrelenting pace. This is the power of the novel. Is it's Keene's best? No but it is alot of fun and I enjoyed myself. I was sick when I read sorry if this review is short. Thumbs up.
bobmetal's review
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
azeryk's review against another edition
4.0
So I've been reading Brian Keene's books for a while now, in fact he's my most read author according to Goodreads so gaining a new Keene book is always a good thing. Especially as the last couple of years have been fewer releases; this seems to be a step back to the times of DEAD SEA, GHOUL and URBAN GOTHIC.
So the plot is fairly simple, the residents of a low cost living complex become under attack from a group of naked, crazy people. Each of the residents are introduced at the beginning and are a varied bunch ranging from on-the-run criminals to an elderly widow, but must band together in order to survive the onslaught.
If you've never read a Brian Keene book before then you'll have no problems jumping straight in and enjoying the story. But fans of his will find the usual 'other level' to his work and pick up on characters from other novels, such as the popular The Exit, which just adds to the fun.
I can see some people being quick to complain about the ending, which I won't say anything about to keep this spoiler free, but let me just say this. Think about it for a couple of days once you've finished the book and let it sink in and you'll likely see it as a fitting ending.
So to sum it up, yes it's a very good novel, well written and with loads of action, gore and interesting characters, and as mentioned before; more similar to the Keene books of the past. Very good fun and highly recommended.
Thanks to Deadite for advance copy of this new novel from Brian Keene in return for an honest review.
So the plot is fairly simple, the residents of a low cost living complex become under attack from a group of naked, crazy people. Each of the residents are introduced at the beginning and are a varied bunch ranging from on-the-run criminals to an elderly widow, but must band together in order to survive the onslaught.
If you've never read a Brian Keene book before then you'll have no problems jumping straight in and enjoying the story. But fans of his will find the usual 'other level' to his work and pick up on characters from other novels, such as the popular The Exit, which just adds to the fun.
I can see some people being quick to complain about the ending, which I won't say anything about to keep this spoiler free, but let me just say this. Think about it for a couple of days once you've finished the book and let it sink in and you'll likely see it as a fitting ending.
So to sum it up, yes it's a very good novel, well written and with loads of action, gore and interesting characters, and as mentioned before; more similar to the Keene books of the past. Very good fun and highly recommended.
Thanks to Deadite for advance copy of this new novel from Brian Keene in return for an honest review.