Friday, March 10, 2017

REVIEW: The Thirteen Hallows

The Thirteen Hallows
Authors: Michael Scott & Collette Freedman

I was browsing my local library's online digital offerings for a horror or thriller book, and the cover of this book really jumped out at me. Then I saw the authors' names, and thought I'd like to give adult fiction by Michael Scott a try. I chose the audiobook format for The Thirteen Hallows, narrated by Kate Redding.

The Basics: 2000 years ago 13 objects were endowed with the power to protect the world from demons. The Hallows were guarded by keepers through the centuries and last handed to 13 children during World War II. The children were charged with keeping them safe and secret. But now, in modern day England, someone is brutally murdering the keepers. Now in old age, their bodies are being found mangled and bloody, each dying in a tortuous manner. Sarah Miller comes across one of the keepers, an elderly woman named Judith Walker,  being attacked by thugs. She feels drawn to help the woman. Unfortunately she gets pulled into the violence surrounding these hallowed objects and finds herself in possession of a 2000 year old broken sword -- one of the hallows. Violence, torture and chaos ensue. Will Sarah Miller and Judith Walker's nephew, Owen, be able to prevent the demons from once again gaining access to the world?

The basic premise of this book sounded really interesting, but, for me, the execution was lackluster. This book just didn't work for me. From multiple torture scenes to gross-out sex scenes, it just seemed the author was maybe trying too hard to step away from the Young Adult genre by jumping full-force into overtly adult situations. I don't have a problem with sex or even with torture scenes if they further the plot and are well-written, but this book came off as cheesy and a bit forced. It made me think of Miley Cyrus and her over-the-top way of getting past her Hannah Montana character. The plot and action of this book came off like a twerking session through written word. Scott wanted to leave Nicholas Flamel behind, but it was just a bit much. This wasn't a frightening book or really even an interesting horror story but just a bit of a hot mess. It was a bit like listening to a bad B-movie.

This is just my opinion, however. Others might really enjoy this book. For me, it was a miss.

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