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Neuropath (2008)

by R. Scott Bakker(Favorite Author)

3.48 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0752882791 (ISBN13: 9780752882796)

languge

English

genre

Horror

publisher

Orion

review 1: (Snarky, critical, slightly spoiler-y review ahead)I found elements of this very good but was largely distracted by the author's interference in his own writing, whether by driving a point too hard, or playing up an illusion to a grandiose level for the sake of creating dramatic effect. In most of my experiences with good novels, less is more. Bakker's compulsive need to tell us Thomas was an intellectual with honourable intentions felt like forcefeeding. From only two pages in I found Thomas' self-analytic narration irritating, distracting, and condescending. Just because someone is a cognitive psychologist doesn't mean they go meta on themselves and objectively critique their every emotional response, including those of their children. It made HIM sound like the sociopat... moreh, and it was hard to win back my sympathies after so terrible a first impression. The text is ridden with little hints of ugly character on behalf of the author with an almost conscientious need to moralize himself. In one particular passage introducing Mia, the stereotypical gay character, his speech is described as "inflection somewhere between Alabama wife-beater and California gay". Chapters later Bakker adds an awkwardly placed side note of a cringe response from Bible when Nora uses the term 'fag'. There are race-focused notes similar to this as well, but I will leave those for another critic to pull apart.In addition, the female characters were either ball-busters or oversexed, and Bakker does a really horrible job writing women. Logan early on served as the focus of all Bible's (and possibly Bakker's) male fantasies. Jumping from funny, vulnerable, gutsy, sexy, crass, intelligent, unfeeling, and everywhere in between one second to the next made her feel less like a perfect woman and more like a gun-toting manic pixie dream girl. On one or two occasions she makes a lewd joke that feels more like awkward 'one of the guys' shoulder rubbing banter you'd find in men's locker rooms than something a rough-and-tumble girl would ever say. Of course in the end Bible is wronged by her and she was secretly a psycho bitch all along. How original.'The Argument' itself was a well fleshed-out sci-fi genre explanation of what we covered during my first week at high school Philosophy about the self, except taken to a nihilistic and, if you'll forgive the pun, neurotic level. Bakker's concept, if stripped of the romantic diversion and hollow deus ex machina ending, would make a great think-piece, but the writing kept pulling me out of my own analysis more than it supported the arguments made.In short, I can see what Bakker tried to pull off by writing a psychological thriller, but the writing made it almost impossible to sympathize with Thomas as he did not feel genuine in his internal dialogue. The story either dragged (with endless conversations in coffee shops or while driving) or sped up, as it did at the end, with little time to analyze and reflect on the abrupt changes. Clever writing, but not good characters or execution.
review 2: Read this book, just don't read it alone or after dark. All the criteria for a good read are there: believable characters, exciting story, drive; but this book also makes you think, and that's what makes it truly scary. Don't mind the actual events inside the book, events that are horrible, because this book will make you doubt the way the world works. Kind of like some people were affected by The Matrix, only terrifyingly scary. less

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