Offspring by Jack Ketchum Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Offspring
Book Review: Cannot compare with offseason
Summary: 2 Stars
I finished OffSeason and without hesitation, grabbed hold of OffSpring immediately. Well, one may come to expect sequels may kind of be repetitive but I expect at least some twists from the first one.
Unfortunately, the only twists provided by Jack Ketchum was a twist towards the downside. This book lack the flavor of the first one in the following areas:
1) Dramatic - OffSeason was so much more dramatic, including all the unexpected deaths. In OffSpring, almost the majority survived, which is totally out of character based on Jack's writing style.
2) Cruelty - Well, forget about biting off the balls, eating the liver. Apart from the first few pages, the rest was just plain sailing. Gunshots, screams but nothing more.
3) Story line - It was almost the same, wasn't it. Before you flip on the next page, you kind of anticipate what was coming. Just that it didn't really materialize, because as I said, it was so much lesser in terms of contents compared to the first one.
To round it up, I think if Jack comes out with a 3rd sequel to this, say OffSummer, I will definitely think before grabbing one this time.
Book Review: Children, cows, and continual cycles: the wonder of a world with heavy woodlines
Summary: 5 Stars
The hills are alive with the screams of mothers - or at least that is what the evidence points out as one horrifc crime scene turns to two and as people begin to go missing once more. The numbers of people are small at first, however, and the law enforcement officers think nothing of it considering what they saw once upon an ago. but then a family is sluahgtered in a style that is hard to ignore and certain things are found that seem to say "We are back." This gets some hearts pumping, too, especially one that was there when the first people were found, and he begins to imagine the landscape of the past. He sees the woods and the caves, the unexplored regions and the ease that would be the foundation for the movements he is noticing, and that scares him. It scares him enough, in fact, to make him join in a search for someone that ends up becoming a struggle for life and death. Add in other people to the fray, some just owners of homes and others more vile people, and you have the repeat that the law wants to avoid at all costs.
While some people found this book lesser in content, i liked the way Ketchum put this tale together. He writes so well and gives you mindsets that almost make him seem like a monster with a mask on, and i love that about him. here he explains a lot of things to us, too, from the small remains of a clan making it through thanks to their "cow" and their determination and their sheer will to be nature's finest. The night before was chaos anyhow and, thanks to that, the mother managed to slip out with some of her brood and make a new clan. She also teaches them how to do everything, how to hunt and how to take, and it all seems to be going so well. then there is an incident he describes - he is so good here because he captures thoughts and pins them to the pages like butterflies - that leads people to come looking for them. This makes her mad but, like all mothers, she just wants the love of her family. That, and a little jerky for the road.
Read Off-season, the uncut version, and see what you think. It is a great read and should have been one of the best books of its time, but it was largely forgotten until word-of-mouth revived the book and made people see what they missed. It has so many elements that make it strong and, more than anything, it is stunning graphic and yet filled with writing that goes well beyond what you expect from even the best horror writer. If you like this book then you will like a contiuation of the book, and that is what we have here. It is good, too, and mademe happy when I got it. I actually was a fraid considering some of the things i read about it beforehand, but the beforehand was just smut that missed out on how precious children can be when they are nibbling at a thighbone. Yeah, Ketchum is a master and mastery makes readers like me and you (if you try it out) happy. this, coupled with Red, The Lost, Cover, Peaceable Kingom, and a drove of other books says that he is grand. Check him out and you will see why.
Book Review: DID NOT GET THIS BOOK
Summary: 4 Stars
I DID NOT GET THIS YET, ALONG WITH "THE GIRL NEXT DOOR."
I AM MISSING 3 BOOKS.
PLEASE REPLY
Book Review: Decent, but can't live up to the original
Summary: 3 Stars
I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, ultimately, with Offspring. It's not just that the plot is a rehash of the original Off Season; it is, but there's some interesting variations at first that add some complexities and promises of new directions, and while they aren't taken, they still add some intrigue. But the biggest disappointment is how comparatively "safe" the book feels. The original reminded me of the original Night of the Living Dead, where you realized that the standard rules didn't apply; heroes could die in a heartbeat, and the good guys weren't guaranteed to win. By contrast, Offspring feels softer and more relatively upbeat. Are the villains of the piece still horrific and monstrous? Definitely, and their actions remain gruesome. And yet, you can't help but feel that Ketchum is pulling some punches here, especially with what first seems like a sudden, unexpected death being saved via an unlikely deus ex machina. Offspring still has Ketchum's great writing and his knack for intense experiences, but especially as a follow-up to the no holds barred horror of Off Season, Offspring falls sadly short.Book Review: Decent, though not great, sequel
Summary: 3 Stars
Jack Ketchum, Offspring (Leisure, 1989)
Ketchum returns to the small town in Maine that housed his first novel, Off Season. He also returns to the plot, the characters, and just about everything else. I don't even need to offer a plot synopsis; if you've read Off Season, you've read Off Spring. What saves the book, ultimately, is the fact that Ketchum was a far better writer in the late eighties than the late seventies, and many of the first book's minor problems with plotting and pace are fixed. (The characters are still just shy of cardboard, though.) This one's a much smoother read, though you won't be left with nearly as much to think about at the end.
If you've read Off Season, this is an interesting follow-up, but otherwise, you can probably ignore it. ***