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Book Review of Bad Man: A Novel

Bad Man: A Novel
virgosun avatar reviewed on + 888 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1


Whew! I wanted to like Bad Man (especially after PenPal); instead, like a trail of crumbs stringing me along from one hopeful lead to another only to grab a fistful of air, I felt gut punched by this heartbreaking culmination of events. It's not horror in the traditional sense, if you don't count the way Ben begins to doubt himself and how an unknown person taunts him with weird drawings and strange acts. When I thought the plot would turn left, it streaked right, which kept me guessing alright, but after a while, it was just too much emotionally. I came away with unanswered questions and loose ends and more than a little frustration after having spent days following this overlong tale that simply blew up in my face. Where was the satisfaction for Ben? For his parents? For his friend Marty? Arrgh. After that kind of upheaval, I wanted some kind of happy, but all I got was agonizing injustice for the characters I grew to care for.