GtPGKogPYT4p61R1biicqBXsUzo" /> Google+ Book Review: Maplecroft (The Borden Dispatches #1) by Cherie Priest | I Smell Sheep

Monday, October 27, 2014

Book Review: Maplecroft (The Borden Dispatches #1) by Cherie Priest

Maplecroft (The Borden Dispatches #1)
by Cherie Priest
Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her mother forty whacks; and when she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one....

The people of Fall River, Massachusetts, fear me. Perhaps rightfully so. I remain a suspect in the brutal deaths of my father and his second wife despite the verdict of innocence at my trial. With our inheritance, my sister, Emma, and I have taken up residence in Maplecroft, a mansion near the sea and far from gossip and scrutiny.

But it is not far enough from the affliction that possessed my parents. Their characters, their very souls, were consumed from within by something that left malevolent entities in their place. It originates from the ocean’s depths, plaguing the populace with tides of nightmares and madness.

This evil cannot hide from me. No matter what guise it assumes, I will be waiting for it. With an axe.


Words cannot express how much I wanted to love this book. All of the great elements are there with an intriguing storyline, wonderful characters, and an eery twist to a historical event that has reached proportions of great urban legends passed down over time. The tale is told from multiple points of view, which is not a favorite of mine, and while the writing is beautiful and the characters intriguing, the writing style is somewhat language dense, meaning it is written as would be during the time of the occurrence, which for me became a chore to read. 
I picked it up and put it back down four times, and after about fifty percent of the way through called it a rap.

However, I am still intrigued to find out what the twist actually is, even though I have my guesses, and perhaps one day the mood will grab me to finish despite my discomfort, just to find out exactly what is happening and how it all plays out. I would definitely recommend Maplecroft to those who enjoy a denser language and period writing style, as I am sure this would likely be a joy for that reader to dive into. I received this book via NetGalley.

DNF 

DeniseZ


About the Author:
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I write novels. I mean, I do other things too – but the books are probably the reason you’re reading this. So here goes.

To date, I’ve had fifteen full-length projects published, with another half-dozen in the queue. My most recent book is Maplecroft. My best-known book is probably Boneshaker(2009) – which was nominated for a Nebula Award and a Hugo Award. Boneshaker also won the PNBA Award, as well as the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, so yes, my resume is starting to look a little lop-sided. (Not that I’m complaining.)

You can find a mostly proper bibliography over here.

On a more personal note – in 2006 I moved from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Seattle, Washington. Now I’m back in Volunteer Country, in a lovely old house my husband and I bought in 2012. So no, you’re not crazy if you thought I was a southern author, and neither are you nuts if you believed I came from the Pacific Northwest. I’ve been accused of both, and I willingly cop to either (though I was born and have often lived elsewhere).

I’m inordinately fond of zombies, trashy goth music, and cheap red wine. I have a phobic aversion to unfinished ceramics, an allergy to yellow dye #7, and a morbid fear of sloths.

I suppose the rest is merely details.

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