Thursday, October 4, 2012

Blog Tour: What Hides Within by Jason Parent

What Hides Within Tour Banner.pngInside all of us, there is darkness. Inside Clive, it's tangible, and it's aching to get out. What Hides Within tells the story of a man held captive by an unknown evil. Clive Menard is a spineless slacker leading an ordinary existence. But when Chester enters his life, it becomes far from ordinary.

A disheveled Clive stands alone in a hospital waiting room. A series of incidences have led him to undergo unnecessary neurosurgery. A voice inside Clive’s head nags him to kill the doctor.

Weeks prior, a murder investigation and an unrelated kayaking excursion set the story’s interlocking events in motion. When a remorseful killer, a bomb-happy psychopath and a mysterious widow spider converge upon Clive, they bring with them destruction and death. Clive must discover who or what is steering his very existence before he, too, is consumed by the carnage around him. With a driven detective following his every step and a vicious killer hiding within his circle of friends, Clive must walk a narrow and dangerous path, teetering between salvation and damnation. He must confront Chester and his own demons. But is he powerless to overcome them? (GoodReads).

 We are participating in the What Hides Within Blog Tour here at YAF and WS. Since this is a bit of a horror book, Goosie Mama was going to read it, but life got busy and I did. Friends, I have just relearned that am not the audience for scary books (or books peopled with unlikable characters.) But I bucked up and read this creepy spider book (spiders are creepy period, never mind when they are the potential bad guys!)

 Absurdity: 2. this seems like a basic murder mystery tinged with paranormal. But there is an entire section about a terrible doctor and a dirty hospital, too. YUCK, why? an extra two points for that absurdity.
Originality: 5. Murder mystery in Fall River ( hey, Rhode Island!) + spiders +mind control + moms dying of cancer. I am not kidding, all of that is in this book! This score reflects this combo.
Level of Paranormal Romance: 2. Clive is a bit sleezy so romance doesn't really factor in here.
Level of Harry-Potterness: 3. This was not my favorite read- I know you don't have to like a main character to like a book (as John Green often points out re: Catcher in the Rye) but I did not like Clive. He is like a character out of Office Space-- disengaged, slightly homophobic and misogynistic, and lazy. This is a book for people who like their characters dark and murders grizzly.
FTC Full Disclosure: I received a review copy as part of the blog tour. We do not accept or receive compensation for reviews at YAF and WS.
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4 comments:

  1. fakestephOctober 5, 2012 at 8:50 AM

    Hmmmmmmmmmmm........ Sounds interesting. I think it's always hard to read a book you aren't the main audience for.

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  2. Jason ParentOctober 5, 2012 at 9:50 AM

    A fair review, and I thank you for taking the time to do it despite the book not being your normal read. It's funny - you bring up a topic that I have much debated. Some people need a strong, likable protagonist, and some don't. Clive is not the strong, likable type. I wrote another piece called In a World Without Heroes that one reader said he loved except for the fact that it had no strong protagonist. In other words, no "heroes."

    But since this novel isn't so explicit in its title, I'll just come out and say it. No one's gonna fall in love with Clive.

    Thanks again for the review and taking part in the blog tour. I wish you and your blog the best!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Grad StudentOctober 6, 2012 at 10:47 AM

      Dear Jason-

      Thanks SO much for taking the time to stop by our blog- cool! It is always good to read a book beyond what I normally pick up, it reminds me that there are so many good kinds of books out there. I think the questions you pose about likable characters and antiheroes is a fascinating one that I had never thought about authors grappling with (which obviously I do, and is obviously why I am a reader not an author :-))

      Best of luck!
      GS

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    2. Jason ParentOctober 9, 2012 at 5:23 PM

      Spoiler Alert - in future works, readers will find that Samatha Reilly is becoming a strong protagonist, my only recurring character. Of the 3 novels I have in the works (all independent stories), two of them have strong, likable protagonist and the third, mentioned in my earlier post, is a book for those who like complex villains.

      Yep, authors have to consider these things. A book with a strong protagonist is usually better received and more marketable, but for me to write a book for that reason only would be like selling out.

      Thanks again for your comments. I can only grow as a writer if I am told what's good and what's not.

      Delete

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