Review: Abomination

Abomination

  • Author: Gary Whitta
  • ISBN: 9781941758304
  • Genre: Dark Fantasy

I received this book from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Abomination is a mashup of History and Fantasy.  In a way, it starts out as an alternative history or at least a Fantasy explanation of certain events.  However, it didn’t take long before it veered away from the history of 9th century England into pure Fantasy Fiction.  It was full of anachronisms, and many of the characters had highly modern attitudes that were flat out ridiculous in the historical setting.  However, most of the story itself, especially the plot, was enjoyable and made me think of the “Diablo” video games I love to play.

If you’ve never played any of the “Diablo” games, then just know that they’re dark, gritty, and graphic, and they involve demonic possession and all the horrors that come along with it.  That is Abomination in a nutshell, and it’s not for anyone who doesn’t enjoy horror or is easily bothered by graphic violence.

A little over halfway through the book, the story took an unexpected turn that I can’t explain without giving away an important detail not mentioned in the Goodreads synopsis.  However, after that, it quickly became extremely predictable, and each turn of events grew more and more implausible and convenient.  I became antsy and impatient for the ending, so as much as I enjoyed over half of the book, I would have rather been playing “Diablo” during the last third or so.  If you enjoy playing “Diablo” or reading Dark Fantasy, maybe give this book a chance.  Perhaps you’ll feel differently than I did about the second half.

#COYER Scavenger Hunt #25: Read a book set in the Medieval Era (9th century).