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the_coycaterpillar_reads's review
3.0
The Bride Stripped Bare, a deadly synopsis that threatened to push boundaries and scare the wits clean out of you. The execution however was quite far off the mark. I enjoyed the book to the extent that I believed it was intended to deliver upon. However, some elements just seemed to be injected into the plot for purely shock factor, but it had the exact opposite effect on my reading experience. Don’t get me wrong shocking implications have a place but not in the sacrifice of the plot.
You’ve met the woman of your dreams. Stunningly good-looking, money falling out of the sky when she’s around and power that will ultimately be yours when you tie that symbolic knot. What’s the catch, right? I mean surely this would be a question at the forefront of your mind? Everything is going just a little bit too well, there’s bound to be something off. This is Gord’s problem. The planets have truly aligned when Gord met Venus Baer. They are now engaged to be married and he has invited his best friend, Chris to be best man. Their relationship has stood the test of time and more importantly he sees Venus for what she is – Evil and manipulative.
What The Bride Stripped Bare excels at is the addictiveness at keeping you reading. The story delves deeper and deeper into a seedy and horrific underworld and although there were elements that didn’t work for me personally, I just couldn’t tear my eyes away. At different points it felt like a drug – and Gord knows all about that! The translation of human emotion is brought to life so expertly that I had to wipe sweat off my brow. The adrenaline was pumping throughout. We also see survival instincts at play – flight or fight is a recurrent theme in The Bride Stripped Bare.
Now, the parts that I most definitely struggled with. The plot had a strength and a resilience all of its own, but I did get the impression that the author believes that shock sells. Rape, incest and cannibalism were elements that felt forced and a tad contrived – it filled up time and space, but I never had the impression that it enriched the story. For me it lowered my overall impression and experience of the storytelling. It is a bit of stretch to assume that people of this cult could remain hidden under the radar for so long.
The Bride Stripped Bare was my first outing with Rob Bliss but it won’t be my last. I have heard incredibly complimentary things about his writing and will venture his way again. In this instance I thought the story was good, but journey frazzled my brain a little. Sometimes I felt like I had taken some particularly strong acid and I was experiencing a zany comedown.
You’ve met the woman of your dreams. Stunningly good-looking, money falling out of the sky when she’s around and power that will ultimately be yours when you tie that symbolic knot. What’s the catch, right? I mean surely this would be a question at the forefront of your mind? Everything is going just a little bit too well, there’s bound to be something off. This is Gord’s problem. The planets have truly aligned when Gord met Venus Baer. They are now engaged to be married and he has invited his best friend, Chris to be best man. Their relationship has stood the test of time and more importantly he sees Venus for what she is – Evil and manipulative.
What The Bride Stripped Bare excels at is the addictiveness at keeping you reading. The story delves deeper and deeper into a seedy and horrific underworld and although there were elements that didn’t work for me personally, I just couldn’t tear my eyes away. At different points it felt like a drug – and Gord knows all about that! The translation of human emotion is brought to life so expertly that I had to wipe sweat off my brow. The adrenaline was pumping throughout. We also see survival instincts at play – flight or fight is a recurrent theme in The Bride Stripped Bare.
Now, the parts that I most definitely struggled with. The plot had a strength and a resilience all of its own, but I did get the impression that the author believes that shock sells. Rape, incest and cannibalism were elements that felt forced and a tad contrived – it filled up time and space, but I never had the impression that it enriched the story. For me it lowered my overall impression and experience of the storytelling. It is a bit of stretch to assume that people of this cult could remain hidden under the radar for so long.
The Bride Stripped Bare was my first outing with Rob Bliss but it won’t be my last. I have heard incredibly complimentary things about his writing and will venture his way again. In this instance I thought the story was good, but journey frazzled my brain a little. Sometimes I felt like I had taken some particularly strong acid and I was experiencing a zany comedown.
errantdreams's review
2.0
Just to be clear, so you have some idea of whether the things that I liked or dislike would matter to you: I have nothing inherently against the grotesque in books. I enjoy the occasional bloody horror novel. However, I like to feel that the violence and blood and sex serve a purpose in the telling of the story, rather than being the point of the novel in and of themselves. In this case, I felt the blood, drugs, sex, cannibalism, rape, and incest were the point of the story rather than being a means to tell the tale. I felt like I was reading an internet fetish story.
Things also get quite weird. There’s magic afoot, and a bear cult, and a world-spanning depraved family capable of having one person squeeze out 10+ babies in an hour or two. I fail to comprehend how these folks have remained beneath the radar. The birth and conception material gets particularly hallucinogenic.
The characters aren’t that great. The only positive female character is a stereotypical horror heroine–goes through trauma and then rallies to coldly put bullets in the bad guys. Chris is a little too into the depravity for a good protagonist. Gord is basically at the mercy of whatever anyone wants him to do in order for more coke. Venus and her father and brother are vicious and crazy.
The pacing is actually pretty decent, but it isn’t really in service of anything worthwhile. If you just want to read a litany of depravity with an utterly bizarre cult of excess, you might enjoy this. Otherwise, I’d skip it.
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/09/review-the-bride-stripped-bare-rob-bliss/
Things also get quite weird. There’s magic afoot, and a bear cult, and a world-spanning depraved family capable of having one person squeeze out 10+ babies in an hour or two. I fail to comprehend how these folks have remained beneath the radar. The birth and conception material gets particularly hallucinogenic.
The characters aren’t that great. The only positive female character is a stereotypical horror heroine–goes through trauma and then rallies to coldly put bullets in the bad guys. Chris is a little too into the depravity for a good protagonist. Gord is basically at the mercy of whatever anyone wants him to do in order for more coke. Venus and her father and brother are vicious and crazy.
The pacing is actually pretty decent, but it isn’t really in service of anything worthwhile. If you just want to read a litany of depravity with an utterly bizarre cult of excess, you might enjoy this. Otherwise, I’d skip it.
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/09/review-the-bride-stripped-bare-rob-bliss/
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