Sandman Review
Source: Netgalley
Sandman is a hard book to review, because it's a good book in certain ways. On the other hand, it would be easy for me to write an absolutely scathing review of it. Sandman is the very definition of a book that's so bad it's good.
It is not well-written. Some of it I feel might have been been deliberate. For example, the choppy sentences. Those can be used for dramatic purposes quite easily. However, I can't think of a good reason for the author to constantly reuse certain descriptions. The little boy's voice is, past a certain mark in the book, sounds like a 'deep well-hollow'. You are never given a chance to think otherwise, as the phrase seems like it was used at least 20 times!
It is, however, a fine example of cheesy 80s horror. It's awesome in that respect. Paul is the perfect 'evil little boy'. If over-the-top ridiculousness is your cup of tea, you'll love it for the drama of it alone. There's also no way you can read this book and not laugh your butt off at it. There lines that were so bad/good that I kept stopping to read them aloud to my partner. We were both groaning and snickering. It's one of those books that, if you go into it with the right expectations, you might love.
Overall, I definitely enjoyed myself reading this book. However, unless I'm completely off the mark, I probably wasn't supposed to be quite as amused as I was. I wish I knew exactly how the author intended this book to be written, as it would make it much easier to review. As it is, I'm judging it on the assumption that it is actually supposed to be a horror book.
As a horror book, it fails. As a horror-comedy? It's absolutely awesome.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free from the publisher for review consideration.
