Book Summary from Amazon
Michael Shipman is paranoid schizophrenic; he suffers from hallucinations, delusions, and complex fantasies of persecution and horror. That’s bad enough. But what can he do if some of the monsters he sees turn out to be real?
Who can you trust if you can't even trust yourself? The Hollow City is a mesmerizing journey into madness, where the greatest enemy of all is your own mind
My Review - 3 More Sugar Please
Dan Wells is a master at characters, you are totally on their side when you truly should be scared of them. John from I am not a Serial Killer trilogy an all time favourite character of mine was trying not to become a serial killer and Michael Shipman, wow, a brilliant mind with a twist of crazy, trying to convince everyone including himself he wasn't crazy.
Michael was an unreliable character, this was what made the book, he was delusional with paranoia tendencies, scared off all electronics. You didn't know what was reality, is it just in his mind or is he trying to manipulate everyone. You also start to believe in the science fiction futuristic possibilities he discusses. I also enjoyed that there were numerous characters, all playing a huge part. We have the police detectives following the Red Line Killer story, Michael's Doctors, the reporter, his father and girlfriend. Different parts of everyone's story was totally unexpected, great twists thrown in.
I was enjoying The Hollow City almost as much as I am not a Serial Killer trilogy but once we got to the last 25%, the meaning of The Hollow City, I was hit with science fiction/dystopian style and it killed the story for me. I was MAD, why ooh why, sigh. I was deflated by the ending.
I am still a fan and will always recommend the trilogy but this one just didn't do it for me at the end. And I love psychological thrillers, which this is, Dan Wells totally messes with our mind. I recommend you still try it.
The question if Michael is truly insane or has been setup is a brilliant suspense journey.
I love Dan Wells mind, the way he thinks and puts those creative thoughts on paper, an author I will always try. I didn't read Partials, but it has been labeled Dystopian which I have tried a few times, it is just not for me.
Here are my reviews of the I am Not a Serial Killer trilogy. LOVED IT.
I am not a Serial Killer (Book 1)
Mr. Monster (Book 2)
I Don't Want to Kill You (Book 3)
I do love an unreliable character - sorry to see the ending of the book wasn't great.
ReplyDeleteI think this series was recommended to me once. Great honest review.
ReplyDeleteI like an unreliable character too. It's too bad the ending of the book ruined it. This series sounds worthwhile though.
ReplyDeleteNice review.
That's tough when an author doesn't always pull through. I am definitely going to check into his I Am Not A Serial Killer series. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteReminds me of how I feel about Liar... it has the potential to be a great book but I hated the ending.
ReplyDeleteOh, sorry to hear the ending was a disappointment!
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