Review of Descent by Tim Johnston

I liked this one so much that I thought it deserved a place of its own, outside of my two-for-one combined review of Lichgates and The Cater Street Hangman. As you'll see from my review, I found--and still find--it difficult to articulate exactly why I liked Descent so much. Many people assigned some pretty strong positive adjectives to it, but I just didn't think that they really fit its tone. Descent isn't a thriller to me. There was a pervasive sense of creepiness woven throughout, considering that the book begins with a kidnapping, but only very rarely did I find myself desperately trying to finish a few more pages in order to find out how a chapter ended. The last hundred pages or so are definitely a ride that you want to be on if you like excitement, but the rest of the book doesn't feel the same way.

So, why did I like Descent so much? I think it's just Johnston's tone, the way he tells his story. He doesn't force it on you. He doesn't try to make you gasp and shiver and sit on the edge of your seat. He isn't trying, it seems, to be a Great Author and impress everyone with how great he is at telling a story. That said, he is great at telling a story. Reading Descent feels like sitting in a cabin somewhere in the Rockies (and you will imagine the Rockies in vivid detail while reading this, since Johnston is also very good at setting a scene, again without forcing it on you or bogging you down in unnecessary description) and having the characters tell you, plainly and simply, about extraordinary things that have happened in their lives, and not make a big deal out of it. These are things that happened; make of them what you will. I think that this writing style made the story very accessible and real, and made me actually care about what happened to the characters, unlike some books I've tried to get through recently (Gone Girl, anyone?). It was refreshing and just made the read enjoyable.

Without further ado, then, my review:


Descent: A Novel by Tim Johnston
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I don't know what it was about Descent that made it so mesmerizing. I wouldn't call it "thrilling," or "heart-pounding," or many of the other adjectives that have been assigned to it by others, and yet, something about it made me just want to keep reading. I think it was that the characters were just so real, and the writing style didn't try to make the story thrilling or heart-pounding or anything else. The whole time I was reading it, I just got a sense of, "These are things that happened. I'm simply writing them down here for you, in a way that will make you want to know what happens to the people who lived through these things, because you'll care about them." There are no lengthy interior monologues. There are no sudden realizations of deep feelings and changes of heart. There are no chainsaw massacres or unbelievably passionate romances or anything else that would usually be called "thrilling" or "shocking." Up in the Rockies, things happen to an ordinary family. The family members react to those things, living their lives on very different paths that all somehow intersect. For some reason, you become emotionally invested in those lives and want very badly to see how everything turns out. There is an enjoyable level of suspense and creepiness, if you like that kind of thing, without the book turning into a horror story, and the ending does not disappoint.

Maybe someday I'll re-read Descent and find something more eloquent to say about it. For now, all I can do is call it captivating, and recommend that you read it, because it is worth your time. Not a story I'm going to forget anytime soon.

Happy New Year and a Two-for-One Review!

December was exam month, so my reading mostly revolved around textbooks, but I still managed to get a couple of books in, although I didn't end up posting much about them on the blog, as I did most of my reading on the bus going to and from school or work. Still, with the new year rolling around in just a few hours, I thought I really ought to update my blog and finish off my reading year properly.

The 75 Books Challenge total is up to 54! I knew I wasn't going to make it to 75, so everything after 50 has really just been icing on top of what I thought was feasible. The most recent two books that I've read are The Cater Street Hangman and Lichgates, and I reviewed both of them over on Goodreads, so I'll just say a little bit here and then include the review texts. It's a two-for-one!

It's Happening... My First DNF

Today I decided that I don't intend to finish Gone Girl, at least not right now. It's my first DNF on this blog, and let me assure you that I don't intend to make DNFs a habit, but the fact is that this book is just not holding any interest for me right now, and I have a goal of having a certain number of books read by the new year. Not to mention that I received an Early Reviewer copy of Descent that I want to read, and that all of those lovely books that I bought at my school's book fair are still sitting there, gathering dust, because I couldn't start them while still trying to read Gone Girl.

Gone Girl is not necessarily a bad book. It just isn't something that's calling me to finish it right now, and my attempt to finish it before moving on to something else is just slowing down my reading and, more importantly, this blog, which I really enjoy writing and just can't move along with until I get something else to read.