I enjoyed this one almost in spite of itself.
Being on a Hollywood/LA kick, I decided to tackle this during a space in my schedule where I’d have a lot of time to read. And I was able to binge it in two days. It helped that the writing is good. I loved Baker’s prose, his smooth storytelling ways, etc. And the characters were interesting enough to indulge in.
The execution though. That was…something.
Frankly, I can stand the weird stuff that Barker is known for: the strange sex, the body horror, etc. It didn’t all work but I appreciated what he was trying to say. It’s just that the story takes too many random jumps, losing momentum along the way. We’re following Todd and then we’re not. And most of the non-Todd characters aren’t interesting…but one is. I enjoyed this most of the way through but it definitely could’ve shaved 25-50 pages of plot without losing anything.
Also, the ending didn’t do much for me. It felt unfocused and incomplete. I can’t say how without spoiling and I really don’t want to spoil. I think Barker stayed too long at the party, well past the time someone suggested he pack it in, and this was the result we got.
But I enjoyed it. It’s like if Damien Chazelle’s Babylon was a horror flick. It’s clear that I need to read more Barker. Most put this on the low end of his work but if that’s the case, I’d like too see what he writes that’s considered good as this one held my attention well enough.