Dead Man's Song

Maybe there's a groove we readers need to fall into with certain authors and I certainly needed to find it here, or at least for the first novel, but fortunately, I had no problems with this one.

Maybe it's just the fact that the established MC's that I've grown to love are still alive and kicking and raising hell when the time is right. That's pretty satisfying in any book, but this does a really fine job of characterization. The evil men aren't quite so cardboard here. My sympathies are only strengthened in the pain soup Val undergoes. And Mike? I'm always loving the hell out of him. Crow's a geeky dream, but I'm equally horrified and rooting for Mike.

This is shaping into a horror that SK could be proud of. Hell, just thinking about show more putting all these books together into one long story gives it exactly that kind of edge. Epic Horror! That is: a huge cast of characters in a small town besieged by an old evil that will consume them all if something isn't done kind of horror. :)

I'm quite happy with this. :) show less

Opinions vary. I found this second book in the Pine Deep trilogy to be draggy at times. I enjoyed how the master plot evolves and exposes, turning a 'ghost' story into something closer to a 'monster' tale.

Maberry also threw more twists into the mix. Some are cheap shots, where a reader has no chance to pick up or notice a critical item. I'm thinking of when Val meets Boyd in the barn near the end. I mean, we know Vic has some sort of special bullets in his Luger. There was no hint that what Val did to Boyd was even possible. I call that a cheap shot.

Maberry is holding back a lot on the bad guys. I understand he needs to do that for suspense but I'm feeling the need for more foreshadowing, such as how the roach swarm reacted to sunlight show more or the note saying that the found dime on a string is going to save Newt's life. Those were sweet touches.

On the other hand, Maberry is doing a masterful job of exposing Mike's empowerment, bit by bit and with foreshadowing. When he does whatever he'll do (I assume in the next book) it should not feel so cheap. He's also deconstructing Terry nicely. When he takes drastic action it was believable by then.

Another benefit of such an extended series is my complaint about cliche characters is diminished. They are starting to feel more three-dimensional and unique.

Definitely looking forward to the third book and some sort of showdown, now that more characters know something is supernaturally wrong. show less

Did I ever say how much I hate series books? The ending here was even worse, suspense-wise, than the first volume; you actually could have quit after [b:Ghost Road Blues|125965|Ghost Road Blues (Pine Deep, #1)|Jonathan Maberry|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1388231808s/125965.jpg|121320] but here the cliff-hanger is so unresolved that there is no way you cannot read the next book in the Pine Deep series, [b:Bad Moon Rising|2314130|Bad Moon Rising (Pine Deep, #3)|Jonathan Maberry|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1388195588s/2314130.jpg|2320556]. This trilogy is going to make [b:It|18342|It|Stephen King|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1309376909s/18342.jpg|150259] look like a pamphlet before it's over.

I show more had to lower my rating for this one, probably actually 3-1/2 stars. It was too slowly paced and seemed to have a bit of filler that didn't move the plot forward much. Good character development in a couple of new characters and one old one from GRB. The other weakness over GRB is that there just isn't the sense of novelty and the unique plotting ideas that there were in GRB, with the gangsters coming to town, etc. This seems to be devolving into a conventional vampire and werewolf fest. I'm not all that keen on most of the standard horror tropes and there just isn't the creativity in the plot here that there was in GRB.

Still, well written and with enough suspense thriller elements to keep you turning the pages. It is not a "deep" book so reading it fast isn't going to leave anything behind. [b:Ghost Road Blues|125965|Ghost Road Blues (Pine Deep, #1)|Jonathan Maberry|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1388231808s/125965.jpg|121320] was just so much better I think Maberry may have made a mistake by stretching this to three 500 page volumes. Some people just can't get enough of the characters they love, but I'm not one of those. I don't read for that. We'll see if volume 3 justifies my fears or makes me a liar.

Accompaniment: Willie Dixon, Slim Harpo, Robert Johnson. show less

The second installation in Jonathan Maberry’s Pine Deep Trilogy continues the story with the same magnificent lyrical flow. I was surprised to find that I enjoyed Dead Man’s Song even more than I did the first novel in the series, Ghost Road Blues. Though the first novel was good it barely scratched the surface of Pine Deep’s supernatural nature, focusing instead on the chaos caused by three dangerous criminals stranded in the small Halloween town. This second novel delves deep into Pine Deep’s past and its terrifying future. I found myself getting much more involved in Dead Man’s Song as I became more attached to the characters and as the action built to an intensity that made it impossible to put the book down! I absolutely show more love Crow; he is funny and can kick some major ass if he needs too! For anyone who has read Ghost Road Blues I would definitely suggest reading this book! I can’t wait to read Bad Mood Rising! show less

In Pine Deep, a town known for its supernatural composition, evil never dies. Thirty years ago a massacre reared its ugly head and a group of children survived only to find themselves facing a similar terror today. The book starts with a trio of criminals arriving at a local prominent farm. Needless to say, bad things happen. However, it becomes clear quite quickly that there is a supernatural factor at work and that a darker evil is brewing. The survivors from before begin to notice a pattern of blight and murder resurfacing that they thought they buried many years ago.

Jonathan Maberry does a pretty decent job at keeping the pace of the story going, but at times I was tempted to skim ahead a few pages to see if the action would pick show more up. The story is reminiscent of Stephen King: Large cast of characters, good vs. evil and a great deal of psychological horror blended with the gore. However, where Maberry let me down was with the dialogue. Conversations felt very forced and lines that were intended to be witty fell short with a groan. Another beef I had was a section about 3/4 of the way through that spent just a little too much time describing every element of two characters' romantic rendezvous. The scene felt very out of place and did nothing to enhance the story.

In spite of the books faults, I want to know more about Pine Deep. I have a very strong suspicion that book three in the Pine Deep trilogy will be added to my bookshelf in the near future. A fairly quick read with some unique twists on the vampire/werewolf mythos. show less

The terror continues in Pine Deep and I am scared, nervous and excited to see how this ends. I love the characters and can't wait to see others get what they deserve. This series is written by Jonathan Maberry who I love. I first enjoyed his writing in the Rot & Ruin series. I was excited to find that he has written other books and I love them just as much.

This book is part X-files, part Stephen King and all enjoyment.

I'm now moving on to book 3. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Chills and Thrills!

Backstory:

As Halloween approaches, the town of Pine Deep starts having bodies pile up and something is still not right in the town as bodies that were dead start coming back to life. Things have escalated in the town since all the horrific trouble went down in the first book "Ghost Road Blues". The citizens of the town are trying to learn what is really going on and why bodies that are supposed to be dead are up and wandering the town!

What kind of evil is hiding out in the town of Pine Deep? Why are bodies not staying dead? Who or what is behind the slayings of the town citizens? Can anyone stop what is happening in Pine Deep?

No spoilers here as you will need to read this trilogy!

Thoughts:

This second book picks up show more exactly where the first one left off and the main characters that were in the first book are back in this second installment. The town is in a continual upheaval with bodies being killed and no one seems to know what is really going on or what is actually killing the towns people.

The author keeps the mystery of what is really happening within the town a secret and the story is slowly built up with suspense. The pace picks up the more I read of the story and I learned more of what is exactly happening to the towns people the closer I got to the end of the book. By the end of the book I knew what was causing the havoc by the description of what was happening to the bodies. But the how and why of it all was wrapped within the mystery of the story.

Looking forward to reading the last book in the trilogy to learn more of the secrets and mysteries of the town of Pine Deep. Giving this book five "Creeped Out Chiller" stars!

Highly Recommend!


Note to readers: The books are not stand alone - they must be read in order to understand the storyline as each book runs on the heels of the previous book. :) show less