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And just wanted to add: (And this is a huge spoiler. Huge. It will ruin the book for you if you haven't read it. So don't read my blabbings.)Those Who Wish Me Dead
by Michael Koryta
About the Book:
"When 13-year-old Jace Wilson witnesses a brutal murder, he's plunged into a new life, issued a false identity and hidden in a wilderness skills program for troubled teens. The plan is to get Jace off the grid while police find the two killers. The result is the start of a nightmare.
The killers, known as the Blackwell Brothers, are slaughtering anyone who gets in their way in a methodical quest to reach him. Now all that remains between them and the boy are Ethan and Allison Serbin, who run the wilderness survival program; Hannah Faber, who occupies a lonely fire lookout tower; and endless miles of desolate Montana mountains.
The clock is ticking, the mountains are burning, and those who wish Jace Wilson dead are no longer far behind."
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My Thoughts:
Tomislav Tikulin gives this masterpiece a terrific cover.
Michael Koryta honors us with a damn perfect story. The character development involved here, the plot progression and trip-wire-tight tension --
Those Who Wish Me Dead should be in every writing class ever. I am truly just bowing at the feet of a master storyteller when I praise the skill and beauty in these pages.
My anxiety level was Mach Infinity from the get go and it never decreased. It never let up. The suspense and agitation that Mr. Koryta maintained throughout this story is just beyond perfect. When you thought your chest couldn't possibly get any tighter, he would send that needle to 11! Not once did he falter as we moved through the lives of these people.
As I was reading along, I kept thinking, oh please don't mess this ending up. Because we see it happen time and time again. Great story, things going along so nicely and then screech! crash! carnage! -- a hurried conclusion that rushes every element and leaves the reader pissed off, disappointed and unsatisfied.
But Michael Koryta didn't blow it. Patiently but unrelenting, he escalated the action to full steam ahead.
The ruthless hunters reminded me of Jurassic Park's Velociraptors. They were human Velociraptors with their clever and cold skills. The chapters with them just talking chilled me. They were quietly terrifying and obviously deadly. And I loved them every step of the way. They stayed true to their bad, bad selves.
If you haven't read this, you are missing out on what it means to be a writer. What every writer should aspire to, reach for and unleash on their audience.
This is being made into a movie and I can't wait to see who all is cast. Which female part was Angelina Jolie going to be?
And, I will leave you with this:
If you get lost in the mountains, and barring any electrical storms, go up, not down.
And just wanted to add: (And this is a huge spoiler. Huge. It will ruin the book for you if you haven't read it. So don't read my blabbings.)
Mr. Koryta had a Velociraptor moment too. I had a bead on him, and he snuck up behind me.
Not for one minute did I suspect Jamie until the hospital scene. It did go through my mind early on, Why isn't there more boots on the ground? Ethan was promised back-up if things went t*t's up. And it wasn't there. I suspected there was an anonymous inside player, but I didn't immediately jump to Jamie.
But, that changed during Jamie's visit to Allison in the hospital. I immediately thought, "holy hell, she's involved!" I felt it so strongly. Everything about that scene was screaming at me....UNTIL SHE SAID, "He's my son." Then my guard let down and I thought, okay, so that's why I was getting such a weird vibe about this person. I totally bought it. I walked my little fly legs right into Mr. Koryta's web. Right up to the minute he gave us the reveal I believed Jamie was wearing a white hat.
Touché.
Absolutely.Felt exactly as you did re the "spoiler".
My one other concern
When the horse ran off, was he going to survive.
You and Spidey have sold me on this one. I think Flow Joe was praising this book, too. I don't read many mysteries and thrillers anymore. I hope to change that by finding a copy of this book. Excellent review, as always.Those Who Wish Me Dead
by Michael Koryta
About the Book:
"When 13-year-old Jace Wilson witnesses a brutal murder, he's plunged into a new life, issued a false identity and hidden in a wilderness skills program for troubled teens. The plan is to get Jace off the grid while police find the two killers. The result is the start of a nightmare.
The killers, known as the Blackwell Brothers, are slaughtering anyone who gets in their way in a methodical quest to reach him. Now all that remains between them and the boy are Ethan and Allison Serbin, who run the wilderness survival program; Hannah Faber, who occupies a lonely fire lookout tower; and endless miles of desolate Montana mountains.
The clock is ticking, the mountains are burning, and those who wish Jace Wilson dead are no longer far behind."
![]()
My Thoughts:
Tomislav Tikulin gives this masterpiece a terrific cover.
Michael Koryta honors us with a damn perfect story. The character development involved here, the plot progression and trip-wire-tight tension --
Those Who Wish Me Dead should be in every writing class ever. I am truly just bowing at the feet of a master storyteller when I praise the skill and beauty in these pages.
My anxiety level was Mach Infinity from the get go and it never decreased. It never let up. The suspense and agitation that Mr. Koryta maintained throughout this story is just beyond perfect. When you thought your chest couldn't possibly get any tighter, he would send that needle to 11! Not once did he falter as we moved through the lives of these people.
As I was reading along, I kept thinking, oh please don't mess this ending up. Because we see it happen time and time again. Great story, things going along so nicely and then screech! crash! carnage! -- a hurried conclusion that rushes every element and leaves the reader pissed off, disappointed and unsatisfied.
But Michael Koryta didn't blow it. Patiently but unrelenting, he escalated the action to full steam ahead.
The ruthless hunters reminded me of Jurassic Park's Velociraptors. They were human Velociraptors with their clever and cold skills. The chapters with them just talking chilled me. They were quietly terrifying and obviously deadly. And I loved them every step of the way. They stayed true to their bad, bad selves.
If you haven't read this, you are missing out on what it means to be a writer. What every writer should aspire to, reach for and unleash on their audience.
This is being made into a movie and I can't wait to see who all is cast. Which female part was Angelina Jolie going to be?
And, I will leave you with this:
If you get lost in the mountains, and barring any electrical storms, go up, not down.
It's very good. I would really like to hear your thoughts about it when you read it.You and Spidey have sold me on this one. I think Flow Joe was praising this book, too. I don't read many mysteries and thrillers anymore. I hope to change that by finding a copy of this book. Excellent review, as always.
You will not be disappointed. Gather some snacks and sit down for the ride.You and Spidey have sold me on this one. I think Flow Joe was praising this book, too. I don't read many mysteries and thrillers anymore. I hope to change that by finding a copy of this book. Excellent review, as always.
Amazon still sells them.PURE
By Julianna Baggott
About the Book:
"We know you are here, our brothers and sisters...
Pressia barely remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Before. In her sleeping cabinet behind the rubble of an old barbershop where she lives with her grandfather, she thinks about what is lost—how the world went from amusement parks, movie theaters, birthday parties, fathers and mothers . . . to ash and dust, scars, permanent burns, and fused, damaged bodies. And now, at an age when everyone is required to turn themselves over to the militia to either be trained as a soldier or, if they are too damaged and weak, to be used as live targets, Pressia can no longer pretend to be small. Pressia is on the run.
There are those who escaped the apocalypse unmarked. Pures. They are tucked safely inside the Dome that protects their healthy, superior bodies. Yet Partridge, whose father is one of the most influential men in the Dome, feels isolated and lonely. Different. He thinks about loss—maybe just because his family is broken; his father is emotionally distant; his brother killed himself; and his mother never made it inside their shelter. Or maybe it's his claustrophobia: his feeling that this Dome has become a swaddling of intensely rigid order. So when a slipped phrase suggests his mother might still be alive, Partridge risks his life to leave the Dome to find her.
When Pressia meets Partridge, their worlds shatter all over again."
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My Thoughts:
Tomislav Tikulin gives us the cover for this book that sums up the struggle within.
I have had this book a long time and I'm disappointed that it took me this long to read it. Strong plot. Engaging characters. This is a story of dropped bombs and dystopian tropes. The Pures -- chosen and safe in a Dome City; and the Wretches -- what's left of humanity after the Detonations. The people who were trapped outside the dome when the bomb dropped were fused to things that they were near. One of my favorite lines in the book is talking about "the boy with the birds in his back." Fascinating visuals of mutations and alterations to the survivors. The struggles and the remembrances. I have to admit, I was weepy here and there.
And apparently this is a damn trilogy! Fuse and Burn continue this story, and I must have them. I must. Are they out there in the wild or did I miss my chance to read these? Were these only offered by Cemetery Dance and are now out of print? I hope they had a wider release because I will be looking.
Very good writing.
YAY! I will be getting them. Thank you!Amazon still sells them.
Season 2In episode 3 (I think) there is a shot showing the reflection of Joy in a window, X'd out by wood strips over the pane. I can never see reflections in film as simply that. I always assume them to be a symbolic representation of a fractured mind, a two-faced person or identity dissociation. This shot came around the time Joy started to question her life as her mother had always explained it to her. It could have represented an irreversible departure from who Joy knew herself to be. But I also believe it could mean Joy will die by the conclusion of the season.