I really wanted to like this book. [warning- here be spoilers!]
After the bombshell of 'Prey' I was expecting some truly excellent writing and plotlines throughout this novel.
Instead, what I got was 'characterization' laid on with a trowel, a whirlwind romance between two people twenty years apart, some grody poachers, trite dialogue, and little to no Predator action.
The story starts off with a nature-loving guy, Paul, in a park in Alaska, loving the grizzly bears and thinking 'I will get along so well with these guys.' See how well that goes.
Nature Guy Paul inevitably gets torn to pieces by the bears, the park ranger guy complains about what a moron Paul was, Paul's sad sister comes to visit and see the place where he was brutally ripped to shreds because nature took its course.
The sister's name is Mary. Her characterization is put on thick, with her playing the gentle school teacher delicate woman with the typical hidden backbone of steel. As a character, she sits and muses about how "Guns are evil things!" I'd feel sorry for her loss of Paul, but Perry's lackluster writing makes her sorrow seem unreal. His attempts at description, characterization and imagery seem like just that - an attempt. The futile works of a poor writer - though Perry has produced many good things in his day.
The park ranger, Sloane, is a grumpy veteran from the Vietnam War who plays the lone ranger out on his park and packs enough heat to blow away a small town in his little ranger hut. He's an ex-sniper, he's gruff, tough and mean.
Mary and the park ranger dislike each other at first, (can I say Sloane, the park ranger, is almost sixty years old?) but after discovering the presence of Predators and poachers and having horrifying experiences together, they fall head over heels in LOVE. Or at least enough to get down and dirty in a sleeping bag in an abandoned bear den.
I'm annoyed by this already, as the pairing is unlikely, he's almost twenty years older than her, they've known each other for about two days, and it isn't simply them just getting really aroused randomly - Perry hints that they'll go on to become good friends/lovers/whatever.
The poachers are typical characters, except I guess Perry decided to be a rebel and make two of them gay lovers, which did nothing at all to make them interesting. The leader is a nasty rapist who cares only for himself, as expected.
The Predators - oh, wait, what Predators? The biggest beef I had was the limited presence of the Predators, and Perry's complete failure to expand upon them and their mythos. Couple that with poor, uninteresting characters, a startlingly boring plot, slow action and obnoxious cliches, and you have this book. Hardcore predator fans will be disappointed; casual readers will be bored.
If you're looking to hit every book in the series, by all means, take a stab at this book. Hopefully, you'll find it more enjoyable than I did.
After the bombshell of 'Prey' I was expecting some truly excellent writing and plotlines throughout this novel.
Instead, what I got was 'characterization' laid on with a trowel, a whirlwind romance between two people twenty years apart, some grody poachers, trite dialogue, and little to no Predator action.
The story starts off with a nature-loving guy, Paul, in a park in Alaska, loving the grizzly bears and thinking 'I will get along so well with these guys.' See how well that goes.
Nature Guy Paul inevitably gets torn to pieces by the bears, the park ranger guy complains about what a moron Paul was, Paul's sad sister comes to visit and see the place where he was brutally ripped to shreds because nature took its course.
The sister's name is Mary. Her characterization is put on thick, with her playing the gentle school teacher delicate woman with the typical hidden backbone of steel. As a character, she sits and muses about how "Guns are evil things!" I'd feel sorry for her loss of Paul, but Perry's lackluster writing makes her sorrow seem unreal. His attempts at description, characterization and imagery seem like just that - an attempt. The futile works of a poor writer - though Perry has produced many good things in his day.
The park ranger, Sloane, is a grumpy veteran from the Vietnam War who plays the lone ranger out on his park and packs enough heat to blow away a small town in his little ranger hut. He's an ex-sniper, he's gruff, tough and mean.
Mary and the park ranger dislike each other at first, (can I say Sloane, the park ranger, is almost sixty years old?) but after discovering the presence of Predators and poachers and having horrifying experiences together, they fall head over heels in LOVE. Or at least enough to get down and dirty in a sleeping bag in an abandoned bear den.
I'm annoyed by this already, as the pairing is unlikely, he's almost twenty years older than her, they've known each other for about two days, and it isn't simply them just getting really aroused randomly - Perry hints that they'll go on to become good friends/lovers/whatever.
The poachers are typical characters, except I guess Perry decided to be a rebel and make two of them gay lovers, which did nothing at all to make them interesting. The leader is a nasty rapist who cares only for himself, as expected.
The Predators - oh, wait, what Predators? The biggest beef I had was the limited presence of the Predators, and Perry's complete failure to expand upon them and their mythos. Couple that with poor, uninteresting characters, a startlingly boring plot, slow action and obnoxious cliches, and you have this book. Hardcore predator fans will be disappointed; casual readers will be bored.
If you're looking to hit every book in the series, by all means, take a stab at this book. Hopefully, you'll find it more enjoyable than I did.
