Sunday, April 26, 2015

Book Review: Maplecroft by Cherie Priest



Title: Maplecroft
Author: Cherie Priest
ISBN:9780451466976
Series/Novel: The Borden Dispatches (Book #1)
Genre: Horror, Fantasy, Historical Fiction
Pages: 435
Publisher: Roc Trade
Year Published: 2014
First Line: “No one else is allowed in the cellar.”

“Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her mother forty whacks, and when she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one…
The people of Fall River, Massachusetts, fear me. Perhaps rightfully so. I remain a suspect in the brutal deaths of my father and his second wife despite the verdict of innocence at my trial. With our inheritance, my sister, Emma, and I have taken up residence in Maplecroft, a mansion near the sea and far from gossip and scrutiny.
But it is not far enough for the affliction that possessed my parents. Their characters, their very souls, were consumed from within by something that left malevolent entities in their place. It originates from the ocean’s depths, plaguing the populace with tides of nightmares and madness.
This evil cannot hide from me. No matter what guise it assumes, I will be waiting for it. With an axe.”

My Rating: 3.5/5

This book has taken me a long while to finish (damn you college). I’ve been reading this book for far too long and since it’s the end of the year I’ve decided it’s about time to get my but in gear on free reading time. Who needs a beach body when you’ve got reading to prepare for!
This book is much different than I thought it would be. I assumed that the book would be closer to historical fiction; perhaps the madness that ensued after the murder had taken place. It didn’t cross my mind that this rendition would be so far fetched. That being said this book certainly had moments that intrigued me, whilst making my skin crawl.
Cherie Priest has an interesting imagination, and this book shows her writing talent. The fact that she was able to make me truly believe in things that are unthinkable shows that she has true talent.
I was intrigued by the characters as well as amazed at the way the story carried out. I never thought that this book would take so many twists and turns.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes thrillers with a mix of fantasy. This book touches on both of these genres.

Thanks for reading,
Love,

Sidny xoxo

Spoiler: Maplecroft by Cherie Priest

As mentioned above this book took me completely by surprise. I have been fascinated by Lizzie Borden since I watched the Lifetime movie about her trial and the death of her parents.
I expected this book to follow Lizzie through what many assume that she did, but rather this book took a turn towards fantasy. Claiming that the murder was in self-defence as her parents turned into monsters. At first a believed this was descent into madness, but as I continued to read I understood that this book was taking a completely different spin to the story.
In all honesty, this is not my favourite book of all time. And that’s alright, you won’t like them all. There will be some that simply will not be for you and that’s a-ok. This story just didn’t make sense to me. The idea of things coming from the ocean to take over was interesting and at times horrifying, but it didn’t gather my full interest, rather it bothered me that such an interesting real story had been changed so dramatically into this fantasy.

Characters♥
♥Lizzie: I noticed that Lizzie is portrayed as a hero in this telling of her story. If you do not know who Lizzie Borden is a highly suggest you look it up. It is an interesting case in history that I found fascinating. This story changed the ideas that are shared by many about the case of the Borden deaths. I can’t say that I like the character of Lizzie. Perhaps this is because I’ve assumed she was the villain for so long that this book could not change my mind.
That being said I felt for Lizzie after Nance is “infected” it couldn’t be easy to see the love your life become something that you have had to kill previously. That would mean that you would have next to no one to look after, other than Emma who has apparently just decided to peace out of the whole situation.

♥Emma: I think that Emma has an interesting side to this story. What made her sick? Why is she this way? And how did she come to realize her true calling of science, considering such things were not very lady-like in her time. I believe that she is smart, although very self-concerned. I know that Professor Zollicoffer was coming, but she didn’t appear the least concerned about what the death of Nance would do to her sister, or the fact that the rest of the town was going straight to Hell.

♥Dr. Seabury: It is terribly sad that he began to go crazy by the end of the whole scenario. Increasingly so because of the way his solution worked out to help Emma and Lizzie. Although he may not remember it, he did save the town. Lucky for them, but they will only stay safe as long as he doesn’t go through the full transformation as Zollicoffer.

♥Professor Zollicoffer: So this guy was crazy, simply because something came from the ocean. And in today’s world there are only a ton of cities by the ocean in the 21st century. No reason to fear the Mother. Any who, I thought that this man would be smarter about defeating Emma and Lizzie, but really he seemed to be decently easy to overcome. In reality, they all should have died.

♥Nance: Curiosity killed the cat. Don’t go to the basement could not have been clearer, but apparently the call was too great for this girl.


♥Moments to Remember♥
♥Pg. 173
“‘I saw the Hamiltons’ bodies.’
 I wouldn’t have been more stunned if he’d taken off his shirt and done a little dance.”

♥Pg. 230
“She so beautifully disturbed the darkness, all flapping shape in gray and white. Like an owl. With that kind of grace and silence.”

♥Final Line: “Perhaps I can be of greater service to mankind without you.”

Thanks for reading,
Love,

Sidny xoxo