Post by Shevy on Jan 18, 2006 21:05:04 GMT -5
I wrote this review about three years ago, but dug it up since it's the most recent book review I've written sadly enough...
The Crow is one of my all time favorite movies, if not my favorite movie of all time. I can't say I ever got into the comic book series, but I was impressed to find that a series of novels inspired by James O'Barr was available. Looking over the authors, I was nothing short of psyched to find that the one and only Poppy Z. Brite had even contributed to the series back in 1998. Of course this had to be the one that I started with.
Unfortunately, with all the great things that people had to say about this book, I'm not sure if I want to continue reading the rest of the series. In a nutshell, The Lazarus Heart had some good points, some bad points, but overall it was a very quick read even though at times it felt like sloshing through a swamp just to turn the page.
First and foremost, the book concentrates on a homosexual S&M photographer by the name of Jared Poe who was sentenced to death after being wrongfully accused of killing his lover Benny DuBois. As to be expected, Jared is resurrected and accompanied with a faithful crow to seek vengeance on those who had a part in his death.
So the name of the main character is Jared Poe? Does anybody else find this tacky? Sure, this is gothic, but does it have to be so blatant. What's more, this novel involves a serial killer who has incorporated Edgar Allen Poe's poem "The Raven" into his killings. I'm sure some people think this is a great idea, but to me it's just so forward that I almost take offense to it. Then again, subtlety isn't Brite's strong point.
Enough ranting and on with the good points...
Gruesome violence. Nothing is as simple as a bullet to the head, and disembowlments are around every corner. As a gore hound, this is what kept my interest at certain points all through the story. If you don't want to read about something like this in vivid detail, or cringe to think of something like this happening to a baby, this might not be the quality read you were looking for. It certainly doesn't make the story, but it gives incentive to press further on at times.
Even though this book isn't big into character development, there is a police detective by the name of Frank Gray who was very well done. In my opinion he was the only likable character in the book and sprang to life. My only complaint is he was featured quite a bit and we learn a lot about this man, but he is relatively useless to the plot.
Finally, The Lazarus Heart does go by quickly. Poppy Z. Brite is a wonderful writer even when it feels her work is slightly uninspired. It weighs in at about 320 pages, but feels more like 150. This could have something to do with the "teen romance novel" sized print, as well.
It looks like this novel has some strong points, but they are outweighed by the bad points...
Characters and character development are the biggest culprits. Anybody who is familiar with Poppy Z. Brite already knows that she mostly writes about homosexual men. This is no exception. In this dark world, apparently 95% of the population is gay (that was sarcasm, no need to correct me). Anybody not familiar with her style might be shocked when they find they just can't relate to any of the main characters...even the sole woman, Lucrese, used to be a man.
If you already know what to expect out of the wonderful Poppy, then you would probably be expecting her to craft some deep and involved characters. Not in this case. When I read a book I want to enter a portal into the author's mind and see what they see without questioning motivation or actions. Instead, all these people are bland fleshy cardboard cut-out's whose death's are forgotten about by the reader by the time they turn to the page. Not only do I expect more out of the likes of Poppy, but I would expect more out of a high school creative writing classroom.
Not nearly enough time is spent on Jared Poe. Yeah, you know who he is, you know where he's been, and you know why he was sent back among the living...but that's all you're given. You pick up little scraps of history here and there, but it's more like napkin trivia than anything.
Another major flaw to note is the plot seems to be inconsistent. At times you'll read something and think, "Okay, that's probably going to be relevant somewhere down the road". Of course, it won't be. Too much time is spent in the past, and not nearly enough time is spent in the present. There is plenty in here that runs parallel to the first Crow film, but action and vengeance are substituted with love and emotions. I assumed the whole time this was used to justify the actions of Jared Poe, but there wasn't much action to cover for. Basically, Poppy wasn't asked to write the next Tale Of Two Cities, and keeping things simple would have given me more motivation to read this from cover to cover.
Also, the serial killer was not the least bit scary or intimidating. He is an annoying madman that apparently just popped up out of the blue one day and came up with some reason to start killing certain types of people. If there is one person that needed to be described just as well as Jared Poe, it should have been this name changing killer. There is more reason to feel bad for this guy than there is to hate him. It's because of this that makes the resolution to the story feel so empty.
Finally, as I just mentioned, the ending of the book is poor. That's being nice, actually. To put it bluntly, approximately the last fifty pages were some of the worst pages I have ever had the misfortune of reading. I don't like giving away any details about the story, but even in the world of The Crow it's unbelievable nonsense. The book ends and I feel bad for no one except myself for being cheated out of a potentially good story.
Overall, if you're a fan of Poppy Z. Brite or The Crow than I would suggest picking up The Lazarus Heart. Just don't expect too much out of it. Everybody else new to both the author and the story should avoid this book entirely. If you would like to read a good Poppy Z. Brite book, by the way, start with something like Wormwood or Drawing Blood.
The Crow is one of my all time favorite movies, if not my favorite movie of all time. I can't say I ever got into the comic book series, but I was impressed to find that a series of novels inspired by James O'Barr was available. Looking over the authors, I was nothing short of psyched to find that the one and only Poppy Z. Brite had even contributed to the series back in 1998. Of course this had to be the one that I started with.
Unfortunately, with all the great things that people had to say about this book, I'm not sure if I want to continue reading the rest of the series. In a nutshell, The Lazarus Heart had some good points, some bad points, but overall it was a very quick read even though at times it felt like sloshing through a swamp just to turn the page.
First and foremost, the book concentrates on a homosexual S&M photographer by the name of Jared Poe who was sentenced to death after being wrongfully accused of killing his lover Benny DuBois. As to be expected, Jared is resurrected and accompanied with a faithful crow to seek vengeance on those who had a part in his death.
So the name of the main character is Jared Poe? Does anybody else find this tacky? Sure, this is gothic, but does it have to be so blatant. What's more, this novel involves a serial killer who has incorporated Edgar Allen Poe's poem "The Raven" into his killings. I'm sure some people think this is a great idea, but to me it's just so forward that I almost take offense to it. Then again, subtlety isn't Brite's strong point.
Enough ranting and on with the good points...
Gruesome violence. Nothing is as simple as a bullet to the head, and disembowlments are around every corner. As a gore hound, this is what kept my interest at certain points all through the story. If you don't want to read about something like this in vivid detail, or cringe to think of something like this happening to a baby, this might not be the quality read you were looking for. It certainly doesn't make the story, but it gives incentive to press further on at times.
Even though this book isn't big into character development, there is a police detective by the name of Frank Gray who was very well done. In my opinion he was the only likable character in the book and sprang to life. My only complaint is he was featured quite a bit and we learn a lot about this man, but he is relatively useless to the plot.
Finally, The Lazarus Heart does go by quickly. Poppy Z. Brite is a wonderful writer even when it feels her work is slightly uninspired. It weighs in at about 320 pages, but feels more like 150. This could have something to do with the "teen romance novel" sized print, as well.
It looks like this novel has some strong points, but they are outweighed by the bad points...
Characters and character development are the biggest culprits. Anybody who is familiar with Poppy Z. Brite already knows that she mostly writes about homosexual men. This is no exception. In this dark world, apparently 95% of the population is gay (that was sarcasm, no need to correct me). Anybody not familiar with her style might be shocked when they find they just can't relate to any of the main characters...even the sole woman, Lucrese, used to be a man.
If you already know what to expect out of the wonderful Poppy, then you would probably be expecting her to craft some deep and involved characters. Not in this case. When I read a book I want to enter a portal into the author's mind and see what they see without questioning motivation or actions. Instead, all these people are bland fleshy cardboard cut-out's whose death's are forgotten about by the reader by the time they turn to the page. Not only do I expect more out of the likes of Poppy, but I would expect more out of a high school creative writing classroom.
Not nearly enough time is spent on Jared Poe. Yeah, you know who he is, you know where he's been, and you know why he was sent back among the living...but that's all you're given. You pick up little scraps of history here and there, but it's more like napkin trivia than anything.
Another major flaw to note is the plot seems to be inconsistent. At times you'll read something and think, "Okay, that's probably going to be relevant somewhere down the road". Of course, it won't be. Too much time is spent in the past, and not nearly enough time is spent in the present. There is plenty in here that runs parallel to the first Crow film, but action and vengeance are substituted with love and emotions. I assumed the whole time this was used to justify the actions of Jared Poe, but there wasn't much action to cover for. Basically, Poppy wasn't asked to write the next Tale Of Two Cities, and keeping things simple would have given me more motivation to read this from cover to cover.
Also, the serial killer was not the least bit scary or intimidating. He is an annoying madman that apparently just popped up out of the blue one day and came up with some reason to start killing certain types of people. If there is one person that needed to be described just as well as Jared Poe, it should have been this name changing killer. There is more reason to feel bad for this guy than there is to hate him. It's because of this that makes the resolution to the story feel so empty.
Finally, as I just mentioned, the ending of the book is poor. That's being nice, actually. To put it bluntly, approximately the last fifty pages were some of the worst pages I have ever had the misfortune of reading. I don't like giving away any details about the story, but even in the world of The Crow it's unbelievable nonsense. The book ends and I feel bad for no one except myself for being cheated out of a potentially good story.
Overall, if you're a fan of Poppy Z. Brite or The Crow than I would suggest picking up The Lazarus Heart. Just don't expect too much out of it. Everybody else new to both the author and the story should avoid this book entirely. If you would like to read a good Poppy Z. Brite book, by the way, start with something like Wormwood or Drawing Blood.
