Blood / Joseph Glass

Blood

category: thriller, author:

Joseph Glass

book 2 of Dr Susan Shader
original copyright 2000,
read in Jul 2011

Agamedes' opinion: 6 out of 10

The library has categorised this book as "horror". Perhaps it does have "the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror." Perhaps I'm just too blase...

There are rapes, murders, mutilations, combinations of all three. Plus various other nasties. There is some detail -- but far less than in the gore-porn of tv shows such as Silent Witness.

On the other hand -- there is never any real threat to the heroine. Not after she's already survived a previous book! Though one character seemed pointless until she became a final victim.

All in all, I felt neither horror nor terror. Perhaps some sympathy for the victims, some disgust at the baddies -- including the legal baddies. The author is very strong on the role of the legal system in letting loonie killers loose in society... Really, though, the violence was so over-the-top it was just too unbelievable.

Okay, these mad killers do exist. And it would be nice if psychics could help catch them. But it's too far removed from my reality to have a strong impact...

So it's "thriller" rather than "horror". A very nasty thriller. But easy to enjoy.

While berating the legal system for letting killers loose in our society, Glass also points the finger at news media. Killers, he writes, get their ideas from the media. And from literature... And here is Glass giving ideas to psycho killers... Oh dear!

Still. Let's assume that you -- like me -- are inured to graphic descriptions of sexual violence. You like villains who are truly evil -- and you like to see them defeated by morally superior heroes. Like one of the minor characters, you may not believe in second sight but are happy to accept any useful clues...

This is a book that will keep you entertained -- and guessing -- for a few long hours.

---

PostWord

I also meant to say...

The quality of the English is not the best. There are occasional -- very occasional -- really bad grammatical errors. So what, it's not "literature", it's entertainment.

There's a heap of cheap psychology... Well, the heroine is a psychiatrist, so that makes sense. Is the analysis too glib? Too simplistic?

Perhaps.

But -- again -- so what.

This is a book to be read and -- for those inured to nasty villainies -- enjoyed. Enjoy it and move on. If you want great literary quality and exact truths -- read on faster.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.