Let's Talk About Books

I had somewhat mixed feelings about the existence of this book. On the one hand, since I felt the overall John Cleaver series went a little downhill with each book, I didn't really like the idea of another. Also, I Don't Want to Kill You seemed like such a good ending for an overall great series, to add another seemed like gilding the lily. All that said, I love Dan Wells' writing style and I love John, so I was also very excited to read this new one. The excitement definitely outweighed the hesitation. 

So far the book is off to a terrific start. Wells puts us right in the middle of the action and John's character is just as endearing as ever. I really missed his sass and I'm glad that that hasn't been lost in this new book. There are a lot more characters than in past books and the cast itself is pretty diverse. So far there isn't a character I don't like, which is always a good sign for me. And the demons - or Withered, I guess - are just as creepy and fantastic as ever. 

The one weak point I find is there might be a tad bit of inconsistency. I haven't read I Don't Want to Kill you since freshman year of college, which was four years ago roughly, so my memory might be wrong, but the way Brooke was left at the end of that novel doesn't quite line up with her behavior in this one. They line up just enough that there's not a big problem or anything, just enough for me to go, "I don't think that's where you left us, Dan." But I could be wrong.

This story is a lot more action-y than the previous ones, which does bum me out a little bit. I loved the simplicity of the first one, that it was a teenage boy against a killer. Now that he's a part of a team, it loses just a bit of what made the story so unique. I still like the story, I just doubt it will live up to the first one. Which, that's not a rare occurrence so it's not a disappointment really. 

Anyway, I'm excited to keep reading. This'll be good, I'm sure.