The Conqueror Worms by Brian Keene Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $3.20 You Save: $3.79 (54%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.89 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of The Conqueror Worms
Book Review: Don't let the title fool you!
Summary: 5 Stars
His work is above any writers' of today. If you want that fear that the world has just ended and you are on your own with what little provisions that you have...you got it. He makes you feel that you are one of his characters and that feeling in which he gives his readers is pure addictive. When you finish reading it, you will buy his other works. He is that good.Book Review: Don't let the title turn you off
Summary: 5 Stars
I'll be honest, I never would have read this book if I hadn't read previous works of Brian Keene and enjoyed them. "The Conqueror Worms" (henceforth ref. to as TCW)is a strange title for a book and doesn't even really convey the plot of the book as much as it seems like it blatantly does. The cover art shows giant worms shooting out of a city street and wreaking havoc and you think to yourself "here comes some 1950's style monster movieish story about radioactive worms taking over the world!" But nothing could be further from the truth. This book is a lot better than that.
Keene fans looking for blood and gore ala "The Rising" will be dissapointed. Not much, if any, of that here. And slash 'em up horror fans in general will be equally dissapointed.
Firstly, the "worms" in a suspenseful build-up akin to the original "Jaws" are rarely seen until later in the book and are merely implied through strange sounds, marks on the ground, etc. If you didn't know the title of the book you probably wouldn't even be thinking of a monster story for quite some time. When they do appear they're gruesome and ferocious and everything you'd expect from the mind of Brian Keene.
The story focuses on an old man living alone in the mountains and as far as we can tell it's been raining all over the planet for the last 40 days (biblical refference anyone)? He's cut off from his town which is underwater, craving tobacco, (I can relate), and just generally lonely and doesnt know what to do with himself as he thinks over his departed wife, his younger years, his family, etc. A lot of this book focuses on the thoughts of this man, Teddy, who by all accounts was and is a kind and decent man faced with a strenuous and bleak situation. We're not introduced to another character until Teddy tries to make it down the mountain to maybe find some tobacco or god forbid, another human being. When his old pal shows up it's a heart-warming but bittersweet reuinion as they are still alone and in no better shape but thankful to have someone else to talk to after over a month of solitude. There's a lot more talk about the old days, the rain, the strange sounds and shadows in the woords, etc.. and the suspense builds up quite well.
Eventually some other characters show up when their helicopter crashes in Teddy's yard while trying to find some dry land. When this happens Teddy takes them into his home, gives them food and a place to stay and the story abruptly shifts focus. Our new survivors recount in detail what they have gone through over the past 40 days and the novel shifts to their perspective as they survived on the rooftoops of Baltimore dealing with other survivors, crazed gangs, and strange creatures.
This perspective persists for several chapters and is a nice break from the depressing solitude of Teddy's rooftop home. I don't recall exactly how long this break lasts but it's a mini-story in and of itself and provides great perspective and another layer to the novel.
Eventually "things" happen and our characters decide to do something about it and that brings us to our encounter with the worms and to our conclusion which I won't expound upon here for fear of giving away more than I already have.
The rain is really the main enemy here as it covers much of the world and therefore only mountaintops and the highest buildings provide safe haven. It'd be hard enough to survive with ferocious monsters outside but not be able to truly "GO" anywhere... well, the monsters are really just adding insult to injury at this point.
All in all this book is much better than the title and the cover art would have a casual observer believe and for the most part the monster aspect is almost secondary to the rain and isolation as antagonist. A real decent portion of the book is about life, family, love, friendship, and the human spirit. I daresay that someone who is not a Keene fan or even a horror fan could enjoy this book if they were willing to suspend disbelief just a bit and encounter some of the more touching and dramatic themes of the story.
Book Review: Entertaining and Unusual Post-Apocalyptic Fiction
Summary: 4 Stars
I was first attracted to Brian Keene's work after I heard that he had written a short story about a day when it started raining and never stopped. I read that short story, entitled "The Garden Where My Rain Grows" and enjoyed it. The Conqueror Worms revisits that same world, incorporating that short story into it's second act, but adding an engaging story about an old man watching the waters rise around the mountain where he dwells.
I found this novel thoroughly engaging and read it in two days. It avoids unnecessary characterization or dialogue. There were no slow or boring parts. I really don't have any criticisms. Granted, it's not super-sophisticated, but that's not what I was after. It felt like a really good and really long episode of the X-files or the Outer Limits. It was like watching a good horror film. His writing is clear, concise, and efficient.
I look forward to reading his other work.
Book Review: Excellent character development for an apocalyptic thriller!
Summary: 4 Stars
Lately I've been on an embarrassing pulp fiction kick. I've been gravitating towards zombies, sharks and cheesy time travel, so this review must be taken with a grain of salt. ;)
I saw this book in B&N, and looked at several used bookstores hoping to find it cheap. I was surprised to find only a couple of Keene's books in the used bookstores, so I had to go to B&N, sandwich this book between a Japanese travel guide and a history of the Battle of the Bulge, and hurriedly pay my $8.00, hoping not to see anyone I knew.
I consider all of that stealth to be worth it, however, since this was such a fantastic horror/apocalyptic tale. I could not put it down - the story was told in first person by an elderly man and had a very down-to-earth feel to it, with excellent dialogue between characters. The artwork is deceiving, however, since the entire story takes place after almost 2 months of world-wide rain, and the only things not inundated are the mountain tops, where our main character lives in a cabin. He is joined by a handful of heroes who crash land in his forest and they share the tale of their exodus from a flooded Baltimore, and together the group fight off bus sized earth worms that the water has driven to the surface, while trying to survive and make it to higher ground.
The story is not just about physical survival, but spiritual and emotional survival as well. What do you do when you are one of the last people alive in a flooded world with no sign of the rain stopping? The way the characters handle impending death and yet struggle to hope was beautiful.
Book Review: Fantastic and suspenseful read. Keene is brilliant
Summary: 5 Stars
Ok,
I'm a writer, not a reader, but I sat with Brian Keene on a panel recently at Hypericon and got a chance to chat with im a lot, so he was generous enough to give this book to my daughter.
Well, I started reading it, and couldn't put it down. Keene has a way of preparing you for the terror, then you never know when it's going to come. I'm almost finished the book, but it has inspired me to be a better writer...and buy more of his books!!!!