Scan barcode
mad_about_books's review against another edition
3.0
THE GOAT PARADE is not for the squeamish or faint of heart; however, if you like your horror to be in your face and brutal, this is the book for you. The action, quite literally, starts on page one.
I want every book I read to be a masterpiece, a five star literary firecracker, and if not literary, at least a ripping good page turner. There are parts of THE GOAT PARADE that are that ripping good page turner; however, there are also parts that made me wonder just where the page turning was taking me.
THE GOAT PARADE is a tale of good and evil, and pretty much everything in between. The writing can get pretty intense only to interrupt itself with some banality that seems totally out of place. The dichotomy doesn't always work. This is the first book I've read in a long time that I don't quite know how to rate. Sometimes it seems like a really good book that I don’t want to put down, and at other times, I feel that I must put it down because it has taken a left turn for which I was not prepared.
This is one of the more difficult reviews I've written; however there was one thing that kept coming to mind as I was reading. It was something Stephen King said in his seminal DANSE MACABRE: "I recognize terror as the finest emotion …, and so I will try to terrorize the reader. But if I find I cannot terrify him/her, I will try to horrify; and if I find I cannot horrify, I'll go for the gross-out. I'm not proud." Dudar seemed to be trying out each of these emotional attacks, but it was the gross out that prevailed.
In this book, there is a complex set of characters whose lives and purpose must inevitably converge from various places both physical and spiritual. Some are said to be innately evil, as in soul has been sold to the devil, others seem to be innocents.
One of the more important characters is a child, a young boy, whose age is hard to pinpoint. We know he is in elementary school and that he is more than five years old. Sometimes his actions make him seem quite young, and at other times, his dialog seems much more mature. In context, the two-sided coin seems both necessary and jarring at the same time.
It's been a couple of weeks since I finished reading THE GOAT PARADE, and I'm still not sure what to say about it. The story combines a strange mix of charm and gore. I have a feeling this is a book you will either love or hate but the middle ground seems up for grabs.
I want every book I read to be a masterpiece, a five star literary firecracker, and if not literary, at least a ripping good page turner. There are parts of THE GOAT PARADE that are that ripping good page turner; however, there are also parts that made me wonder just where the page turning was taking me.
THE GOAT PARADE is a tale of good and evil, and pretty much everything in between. The writing can get pretty intense only to interrupt itself with some banality that seems totally out of place. The dichotomy doesn't always work. This is the first book I've read in a long time that I don't quite know how to rate. Sometimes it seems like a really good book that I don’t want to put down, and at other times, I feel that I must put it down because it has taken a left turn for which I was not prepared.
This is one of the more difficult reviews I've written; however there was one thing that kept coming to mind as I was reading. It was something Stephen King said in his seminal DANSE MACABRE: "I recognize terror as the finest emotion …, and so I will try to terrorize the reader. But if I find I cannot terrify him/her, I will try to horrify; and if I find I cannot horrify, I'll go for the gross-out. I'm not proud." Dudar seemed to be trying out each of these emotional attacks, but it was the gross out that prevailed.
In this book, there is a complex set of characters whose lives and purpose must inevitably converge from various places both physical and spiritual. Some are said to be innately evil, as in soul has been sold to the devil, others seem to be innocents.
One of the more important characters is a child, a young boy, whose age is hard to pinpoint. We know he is in elementary school and that he is more than five years old. Sometimes his actions make him seem quite young, and at other times, his dialog seems much more mature. In context, the two-sided coin seems both necessary and jarring at the same time.
It's been a couple of weeks since I finished reading THE GOAT PARADE, and I'm still not sure what to say about it. The story combines a strange mix of charm and gore. I have a feeling this is a book you will either love or hate but the middle ground seems up for grabs.
theartolater's review against another edition
4.0
A lot of good things happening with this one, which leans into a lot of solid ideas and makes for a fun and quick read. Closer to a 3.5, I just wish it leaned fully into its strongest parts.
wellwortharead's review against another edition
4.0
This is a story of sex, drugs, and Satan. A fight against evil, and those who give in and welcome it.
Erik Marsh, ex husband, father of a 10 year old boy, and crime reporter, has had more than his fill of being called "Erik the Black." He is in desperate need of a break from covering news stories on the worst of humanity before it drives him mad. He also hopes that this break will allow him to spend more time with his son. This break is short lived when his son's school is the setting for a ritualistic crime, planned by someone who wants to be written about by Erik. Meanwhile Erik's son is having horrific nightmares, and an old blues man Tobacco Joe is released from prison after serving time for a murder conviction. Tobacco Joe may have earned his release from jail but that doesn't mean he is free. He's still bound by a contract he made with the devil. I don't want to go further into the plot, but this is a violent and gruesome tale that I think all horror lovers will enjoy.
Erik Marsh, ex husband, father of a 10 year old boy, and crime reporter, has had more than his fill of being called "Erik the Black." He is in desperate need of a break from covering news stories on the worst of humanity before it drives him mad. He also hopes that this break will allow him to spend more time with his son. This break is short lived when his son's school is the setting for a ritualistic crime, planned by someone who wants to be written about by Erik. Meanwhile Erik's son is having horrific nightmares, and an old blues man Tobacco Joe is released from prison after serving time for a murder conviction. Tobacco Joe may have earned his release from jail but that doesn't mean he is free. He's still bound by a contract he made with the devil. I don't want to go further into the plot, but this is a violent and gruesome tale that I think all horror lovers will enjoy.
More...