I'm going to start this month off right with a review. It is time for a Netflix DVD review, but the only one I have here at home is one I want to review at my other blog. It might be a while before I can get around to another Netflix DVD because next weekend I hope to be at HorrorHound. I'm still not positive I will be there yet, but I hope to be. If I can go, that will mean reviews from the screenings there. So, I decided to do at home reviews in the mean time. I have a crap load of DVD's and Blu's that I need to get through. But, before I get into those, I have a book review to do. My good friend Cattleworks sent me some more movies to watch, along with the book Righteous Maleficia by Emir Skalonja. It took me right around a week to get this book read, but then again, it is only 140 pages.
It is the year 1392 in England. The Black Death is in full swing and has hit the hamlet of Blythe's Hollow. To add to their misery, the hamlet is being ruled by Lord Kenway who likes to make sure everyone knows who is in charge. Not sure what to do, the people of Blythe's Hollow begin to turn to a witch who is said to live in the woods near by. She tries to help, but this only angers Kenway and the priests of the Church, especially Father Lawrence. Those accused of going to the witch, or for any other "sin" the church or Kenway decide someone has committed, are sent to the dungeon in the church and are never heard from again. Edgar is one of those who feels that life in his little hamlet is getting worse each day. When things take a turn for the worse for Edgar and his wife, Edgar must decide how far he will go to get revenge.
Emir Skalonja is better known as an indie horror director. In Righteous Maleficia, he says that he has always wanted to try his hand at writing a book. With some failed attempts, Righteous Maleficia has become his first published work. This was published just last year, so it is always cool to be able to read a book by a first-time author. I will be honest, I didn't really like the way the novel started. The prologue didn't bother me, but it took a few chapters after that before the story started to draw me in. The story starts with letting us know about the witch and then jumps into what is going on inside the church. While it gruesome and not something I would ever want to go through, I felt I would have been better off not knowing about that right away. It wasn't until Skalonja got into Edgar, his wife, and best friend's lives that I started to get into the story more. Skalonja still goes on to tell us the horrors that the people of Blyth's Hollow are going through, but by then I didn't mind. I was learning this with the characters instead of just having it thrown in my face.
I was also worried that this was setting the tone for the story. It did but it didn't at the same time, There are constantly bad things going on, but with the Black Death hanging over everything, I'm sure it was rare to have some good news when this was actually going on. Even so, Skalonja still lets us know that normal things were going on as well. Edgar's friendship, his love for his wife and father, and so on. It was nice to see these bright spots in a dark story. I was worried about the length of the book as well. The story takes its time setting up the final act, which covers the last 30 pages. It didn't seem like it would be enough, that the ending would be rushed, but it wasn't. It was actually a pretty good ending for the story.
One thing I think would have made the story better would be to have used the other characters more. Edgar is the main character and we learn more about him than anyone else. I was fine with this, but there were times I felt the other characters should have been under the spotlight a bit more. See what they were thinking or doing at certain times. One of the side plots had to do with a priest who isn't so sure of his place in the church anymore. It was a cool side story but I felt it wasn't as fleshed out as it could have been. His story was left hanging slightly towards the end of the book, at least I thought so. The ending of the book was pretty cool. I liked that Skalonja didn't make the ending even darker than he could have gone. It was a good way to end it I thought.
The book itself had some minor mistakes found in it. Like a new paragraph would start in the middle of a sentence. Or sometimes a word would show up that didn't make much sense to be there. These things didn't happen a lot, thankfully, so it wasn't a big deal. I actually gave up on a book once over stuff like that, but it happened a whole lot more in that book. Even though it took a little while to get into Righteous Maleficia, it did manage to win me over. I didn't find it to be a great book, but at the same time, I was still impressed that this was Skalonja's first novel. It is a good start. I see he has a second book out now, so I think I will try to get that book at some point. It is a quick read and worth checking out someday if you think it sounds like something you would like to read.
3 out of 5 How could people live without the internet?!?
It is the year 1392 in England. The Black Death is in full swing and has hit the hamlet of Blythe's Hollow. To add to their misery, the hamlet is being ruled by Lord Kenway who likes to make sure everyone knows who is in charge. Not sure what to do, the people of Blythe's Hollow begin to turn to a witch who is said to live in the woods near by. She tries to help, but this only angers Kenway and the priests of the Church, especially Father Lawrence. Those accused of going to the witch, or for any other "sin" the church or Kenway decide someone has committed, are sent to the dungeon in the church and are never heard from again. Edgar is one of those who feels that life in his little hamlet is getting worse each day. When things take a turn for the worse for Edgar and his wife, Edgar must decide how far he will go to get revenge.
Emir Skalonja is better known as an indie horror director. In Righteous Maleficia, he says that he has always wanted to try his hand at writing a book. With some failed attempts, Righteous Maleficia has become his first published work. This was published just last year, so it is always cool to be able to read a book by a first-time author. I will be honest, I didn't really like the way the novel started. The prologue didn't bother me, but it took a few chapters after that before the story started to draw me in. The story starts with letting us know about the witch and then jumps into what is going on inside the church. While it gruesome and not something I would ever want to go through, I felt I would have been better off not knowing about that right away. It wasn't until Skalonja got into Edgar, his wife, and best friend's lives that I started to get into the story more. Skalonja still goes on to tell us the horrors that the people of Blyth's Hollow are going through, but by then I didn't mind. I was learning this with the characters instead of just having it thrown in my face.
I was also worried that this was setting the tone for the story. It did but it didn't at the same time, There are constantly bad things going on, but with the Black Death hanging over everything, I'm sure it was rare to have some good news when this was actually going on. Even so, Skalonja still lets us know that normal things were going on as well. Edgar's friendship, his love for his wife and father, and so on. It was nice to see these bright spots in a dark story. I was worried about the length of the book as well. The story takes its time setting up the final act, which covers the last 30 pages. It didn't seem like it would be enough, that the ending would be rushed, but it wasn't. It was actually a pretty good ending for the story.
One thing I think would have made the story better would be to have used the other characters more. Edgar is the main character and we learn more about him than anyone else. I was fine with this, but there were times I felt the other characters should have been under the spotlight a bit more. See what they were thinking or doing at certain times. One of the side plots had to do with a priest who isn't so sure of his place in the church anymore. It was a cool side story but I felt it wasn't as fleshed out as it could have been. His story was left hanging slightly towards the end of the book, at least I thought so. The ending of the book was pretty cool. I liked that Skalonja didn't make the ending even darker than he could have gone. It was a good way to end it I thought.
The book itself had some minor mistakes found in it. Like a new paragraph would start in the middle of a sentence. Or sometimes a word would show up that didn't make much sense to be there. These things didn't happen a lot, thankfully, so it wasn't a big deal. I actually gave up on a book once over stuff like that, but it happened a whole lot more in that book. Even though it took a little while to get into Righteous Maleficia, it did manage to win me over. I didn't find it to be a great book, but at the same time, I was still impressed that this was Skalonja's first novel. It is a good start. I see he has a second book out now, so I think I will try to get that book at some point. It is a quick read and worth checking out someday if you think it sounds like something you would like to read.
3 out of 5 How could people live without the internet?!?
