Little Heaven

3.5/5

Maybe the most conflicted novel I've ever read. Theirs some aspects I loved. Like the writing, the characters and the ideas put forth. All well done. Nick cutter is so good at describing characters and horrific scenery. I love it. Reminds me of classic King.

My cons are pretty reader dependent. I didn't not care for the structure of this novel. It time jumps but you have the present story and just when things get ramping up. You have a whole middle portion that stops that momentum and starts over. The back story is good. But you keep wanting to know the other half going on in the present state.

Also. The parallels to Jonestown were a bit much. Obviously we got some supernatural stuff. That's excellent but the Jonestown stuff, you know where it's going.

Also. The ending. It's bleak. But I don't think it's earned. And it's kinda not as impactful as it should be.

I love a good chunky novel. But at almost 500 pages. This could've been trimmed. I love the ideas and overall story. I just didn't care for the execution.

Looks like I'm late to the Little Heaven party. Sorry. I really dragged on this one. Which is interesting, considering I devoured The Troop and The Deep. But this one...

Granted, I don't usually care for bounty hunter stories (Cowboy Bebop being an exception), but I reaaaalllly liked The Troop (especially giddy having spent childhood summers on PEI), and I rather enjoyed The Deep. But this one left me cold. I was excited over the cult aspect, but I was hoping for something like Ti West's The Sacrament. But the characters here never felt quite real enough for me, more tropey. I really only cared about the relationship between Minerva and Ebenezer. Not the backstory so much as how it informed their present relationship. And Nick Cutter is always brilliant at grue and body horror. He's practically flawless. But the story just didn't do it for me, which makes me sad.