The Cover's the Best Thing

One can't help but feel disoriented going into Lee Cushing's Vladek. Chapter 1 feels like the continuation of the previous book. I have no way of knowing if this is true, but the way we're dropped right into the middle of things with no explanation, I can only assume that is the case. The lack of details leaves the reader very little to go on. When you read, you rely on the author to paint a picture that you can envision in your mind. Reading this is like looking at a blank canvas while stick figures move around.

The author also assumes the reader has read the previous books (I'm guessing) because we're introduced to characters, and you get the impression you should know who these people are, but for somebody coming into the series fresh, we have no clue. As above, there's nothing about the characters, so they become paper dolls being moved around the stage. We find out that they were on the plan when it crashed (we later find out it was a bomb), and they walk away as if they're taking a stroll on the beach. They're being pursued by military types (?) with guns, but you never at any time feel a sense of menace or threat. When you find out that there's a bounty on the man's head, you'd figure the would-be assassins would know what type of creatures they are dealing with and be armed accordingly, but they stumble through and are easily (too easily) dispatched. When they arrive at the lodge, a descript of the surroundings would be helpful, but the author gives us nothing, so we assume the desk clerk is the only one present. But wait, there's a man there also, which I'm sure our hero would have noted when he took in the surroundings. Oh, and wait, there are more guests that magically appear when the author realizes he needs more people present. These people should have expressed some reaction when these strangers arrived, strangers who have been stumbling around in the wild and should appear dirty and disheveled and the woman is barefoot, but there's nothing. 

I really wanted to like this based on the cover, which is awesome, and the synopsis, but sadly, those are the best parts of this book. It is badly in need of some editing. Sentence structure if often awkward and the reader stumbles over it like the characters stumble over dead bodies. There are sentences where words are missing or misspelled, and the misspellings are often comical -- sceptic when skeptic is meant. Sceptic gives a whole new meaning to the sentence, and not in a good way. In Chapter 5, a character's last name changes from one sentence to the next: first, Billy King, and in the very next sentence, it's Billy Welles. 

Should the author decide to revisit this, giving it a full revision, fleshing out details, then turn it over to an editor, I would love to read through this again to enjoy the story, but as it stands now, it's just painful to read.