OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Pyromania" by Rebecca Maye.]
Telepathy, the state of being between life and death, the Sydney Tar Ponds, a psychopath, a pyrokinetic mutant, and a Great Rat- Pyromania is the bizarre telling of the story of Sysco, a teenaged mutant girl who can produce fire at will, and of Alecto, a "representation" of the Sydney Tar Ponds who is real but not real, not dead but not alive, something like a human being but not, with telepathic and telekinetic powers. The setting is a cabin somewhere in the nowhere of Australia: population- four, three, two, one, and a whole lot of rats, the Great One of which controls the world with her ability to manipulate death, the force she "represents." She, however, is not our primary antagonist. That's Dosco's part. He's a telepathist who was killed and then brought back from the dead by the Great Rat and who wreaks havoc on the world for no other reason other than few people are, apparently, as smart as he is. He likes to appear in places the heroine visits, threaten to kill her, then disappear without a trace or a reason. Then there's Zero, a woman (Just a woman) who is tragically "let down by science." She lives for around three pages, then cocks a gun in her hand, and there's no Zero. I'm saying, "Let's be a little less forward with it..."

The ideas of the story and characters are intriguing. The mysteries McNutt makes of certain plot points, such as the return of Dosco and the identity of the Great Rat, inspire further reading. She is sure to answer the MOST important questions, for instance, that which is raised at the beginning of the story: "Is there hope for the world after almost everyone has been destroyed by creatures without the biological, intellectual, and emotional limits of normal human beings?" She has the Great Rat "reset" the world.

Unfortunately, there are quite a few holes where the details should be. We don't get clear pictures of each of the protagonists until we've nearly reached the end of the book. The world as it has been desolated by Dosco and his forces (Wherever they went) is not very well described, either. Zero's suicide is one of the more emotional parts of the story, or should be, but there are too few words on her to connect her to a reader's empathetic mind. Therefore, her tragedy is left as a "Bang, boom, and, in other news..." Alecto's death, when it finally does occur (I write this in reference to the many moments of coughing and bleeding) is not particularly dramatic. Repetition, repetition, repetition- after enough of that, such foreboding character quotes as "You're not going to die!" lose their power completely and the desired effect of their contrary fulfillment evaporates. There could be a little more detail on The Great Rat in the moments when Sysco gets to speak with her in person. From what McNutt divulges of her appearance, she seems as if she could be arresting. I'm one of those readers who is always fascinated to see the sobstory that makes the villain what he is, but my interest in Dosco was not satisfied to that end, neither was I able to 'see' any more of him in McNutt's words than his red eyes. He is not a fully developed character, though he is one of the focuses of the story.

The dominance dialogue has in the novel over narration doesn't seem to work very well. Not a few words of it seem to keep the reader idle. I'll mention the repetition of phrases and exclamations again, which does not enrich the emotional content of the plot. Rather, to McNutt's work it poses a danger of provoking feelings of boredom in a reader. Repetition is good in moderation, but variation is what keeps the entertainment factor up.

The narrator's voice is perhaps too vivid, very opinionated. This distracts from the psychology and emotion of the characters in the story, who should be the focus at all times.

I wish McNutt the very best in her endeavors as a writer. I hope my words here don't merely read as critical, but as helpful in some way. Any story can work, but its success depends on how it's written and rewritten. I believe "Pyromania" has potential to be something much bigger than it is in the world of the novelists, but a few more drafts may be necessary to make it all that its author purposed it to be. "The perfection of one's craft requires more than one draft." I repeated that to myself several times a day during my writer's therapy sessions, more specifically the hour a day I'd reserve to study the Gotham Writer's Workshop's "Writing Fiction," perhaps the most helpful book on writing I've ever read in my life. My obsession with making the first draft the best and only draft definitely required rehabilitation. I'd like to see this book become a science fiction lover's dream. With further revision, I think it will. In its present form, however, I give it two out of four stars.

***
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Thank you for the great review!

Sounds interesting, but I don't know if it is for me.

It wasn't for me, either... At least not after I started reading it... I find it commendable, though, that our Rebecca McNutt has started a writing career at such a young age. It's awesome, really. I wish I had started earlier. With a little more polishing, she could become a pretty major science fiction authoress in a short time, I believe.

Now that I'm able to, I'd like to extend my condolences to you, Rebecca, if you're reading this, for the loss of your friend. In life, we lose a lot of people, and not one of the losses we suffer is any tear the lesser than any of the others. I wish you hope and time enough for you to move forward with your life. I'm glad for your having found a person you connected to so closely as you did to your friend. Not many of us get that. Hang in there.

Thanks for this review. It reminds me of many, many books that I read as a young person. I was so hungry for anything weird that I just took in stride all the types of technical problems you mention. Now, though, they would probably make me put down the book.

Here's wishing, with you, the best of luck to Rebecca, and condolences as well.

Thanks for commenting, HOLDONthere. I've been trying to polish the style of my reviews to make them as effective as possible. I enjoy a book that's written in something of an eccentric voice or style, myself. I always take the flaws into consideration, though, probably because I've been a classics man for so long. Can't help myself... I hope that doesn't make me sound too critical. I really hope my reviews don't read as if I'm just trying to be mean, mean the way a lot of the professionals like to be just because they're respected and figure they can be.

-- 20 May 2014, 21:41 --

I certainly don't want you to think I'm being cruel, Rebecca. I hope you're doing all right.

Yes, that is something I have been learning too as I write reviews for this site. We may have to make criticisms of all kinds of aspects of the book, but knowing that the author will probably read our review, and may well reply, reminds us to ask, "Why am I making this criticism? Really for the good of the author and readers, or just to show off how smart I think I am?" (... OK, I may be projecting my own issues here ...) ... and to keep a kind tone. I think you've kept a wonderful tone in this review.

That's a relief... I was hoping I was being tactful. I have your same problem with the line between being helpful and just being smart. Being smart is for kids and teens. Being helpful is for grown ups.

Words to live by!

I really like your avatar, just so you know. I just wish I'd have liked this book better... It's hard to find a good book, isn't it?