Friday, April 6, 2012

Kin by Kealan Patrick Burke_Review

I reviewed "Kin" for Great Minds Think Aloud.


KinKin by Kealan Patrick Burke

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Not at all a novel for the squeamish (you’ll find that out on the very first page), this is nonetheless one of the most poetic yet most horrifying novels of horror I’ve yet to encounter. “Kin” is also the first writing I’ve read by Kealan Patrick Burke, of whom I’ve heard so much positive praise, and I’m a convert (despite the near constant twinges and trying to shut my eyes as I would have done if this were a movie, and stop my ears-but the novel just impelled me to continue).

This novel is so compelling that the reader simply cannot stop. Instead of being like an onion and peeling away the layers of clues to get to the denouement, reading this is more akin to burrowing into a hole in the earth and tunneling miles to discover an immense gem cave. Author Kealan Patrick Burke is like no other-he brings the writing principle of “show, don’t tell” to an entirely new and unexpected level. We learn about his characters, not just from their speech and actions, but more so from how other characters react to their words and respond to their actions. In addition, he explicated depths of character so smoothly that the reader doesn’t even realize what all has been revealed till she backs away from the story for a time and thinks it over.

All together, this is is an incredible, awesome, novel. I wish I could recommend it to all, but it is heavily on the graphic end of the continuum (shall we say, Mr. Burke could give “splatterpunk” some lessons?). Nevertheless, if you can, do not miss this one. Again, reading Mr. Burke could function as an entire writer’s course!




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