I love Christopher Golden. I think he's one of the most imaginative and prolific writers today, and I'm surprised he doesn't have a bigger following among the "fangirl nation" that helped series like Twilight ride the pop culture wave to super best-seller status.
My own fangirl-ness aside, however, I have to admit -- I was a little underwhelmed by Soulless. I liked the idea -- three powerful mediums merge their talents for the first live, on-air mass seance, after which supernatural chaos ensues -- and Soulless is certainly well-timed for the recent surge of interest in zombie books, TV and movies.
But at the risk of sounding glib, Soulless just doesn't have much soul.
Soulless tells the story of a modern zombie apocalypse through many different points of view. We're first treated to a first-hand account of the phenomenon through the eyes of the daughter of Professor Joe Cormier, a gifted and ambitious medium who is one of the catalysts of the event. With the help of his spirit guide and the pooled powers of two other well-known mediums, they join hands in a New York City TV studio, "pooling" their power and resources to open the lines of communication to all the spirits in the area and urging them to seek out and communicate with their loved ones.
Instead of just making contact, legions of dead rise from their graves all over New York. Unfortunately, these are not the people that their families knew and loved. They're manipulative and intelligent husks, motivated only by a ravenous hunger and a desire to fill that emptiness -- by devouring their friends and loved ones, piece by bloody piece. The result is a gore-splashed splatterfest worthy of Bentley Little. (shudder) Golden is a gifted wordsmith and artful with his descriptive language, and that talent produces some stomach-turning sequences. Squeamish (or young) readers may want to stay away.
The ensuing race to end the zombie uprising -- and survive -- is predictable, but fun. There is a full cast of stock characters (arrogant college boy and his good-guy class rival, closeted pop star, misguided gang-banger) who unfortunately don't have much time to develop, what with all the dismembering and running-for-their-life going on. Fortunately, the well-paced action and witty dialogue compensate for this weakness.
Honestly, Soulless reads like more like a movie script than a book. And that's not what I've come to expect -- and what I most enjoy -- about Golden's writing. Books like Strangewood, Straight on Til Morning and The Boys are Back In Town are propelled by introspection and the inner monologue of the main character. There's none of that here. Just lots of gore, a predictable, pat ending and the a few mindless hours of guilty pleasure reading.
But then again, if I need character development with my zombies, there's always The Walking Dead on AMC. ;-)
My own fangirl-ness aside, however, I have to admit -- I was a little underwhelmed by Soulless. I liked the idea -- three powerful mediums merge their talents for the first live, on-air mass seance, after which supernatural chaos ensues -- and Soulless is certainly well-timed for the recent surge of interest in zombie books, TV and movies.
But at the risk of sounding glib, Soulless just doesn't have much soul.
Soulless tells the story of a modern zombie apocalypse through many different points of view. We're first treated to a first-hand account of the phenomenon through the eyes of the daughter of Professor Joe Cormier, a gifted and ambitious medium who is one of the catalysts of the event. With the help of his spirit guide and the pooled powers of two other well-known mediums, they join hands in a New York City TV studio, "pooling" their power and resources to open the lines of communication to all the spirits in the area and urging them to seek out and communicate with their loved ones.
Instead of just making contact, legions of dead rise from their graves all over New York. Unfortunately, these are not the people that their families knew and loved. They're manipulative and intelligent husks, motivated only by a ravenous hunger and a desire to fill that emptiness -- by devouring their friends and loved ones, piece by bloody piece. The result is a gore-splashed splatterfest worthy of Bentley Little. (shudder) Golden is a gifted wordsmith and artful with his descriptive language, and that talent produces some stomach-turning sequences. Squeamish (or young) readers may want to stay away.
The ensuing race to end the zombie uprising -- and survive -- is predictable, but fun. There is a full cast of stock characters (arrogant college boy and his good-guy class rival, closeted pop star, misguided gang-banger) who unfortunately don't have much time to develop, what with all the dismembering and running-for-their-life going on. Fortunately, the well-paced action and witty dialogue compensate for this weakness.
Honestly, Soulless reads like more like a movie script than a book. And that's not what I've come to expect -- and what I most enjoy -- about Golden's writing. Books like Strangewood, Straight on Til Morning and The Boys are Back In Town are propelled by introspection and the inner monologue of the main character. There's none of that here. Just lots of gore, a predictable, pat ending and the a few mindless hours of guilty pleasure reading.
But then again, if I need character development with my zombies, there's always The Walking Dead on AMC. ;-)
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