Constructive reviews (COMPLETED)

Review: Crimson by @LonleyAuthor000

CHAPTERS CONSIDERED FOR REVIEW (1-13) AS OF 6 APRIL 2023

I am not exactly sure how exactly to begin with this dystopian/horror piece of work. As I read Chapter 11, a month ago and even I as re-read it today, I know I like this book. Sorry to break the suspense early... I really enjoyed reading this and will be waiting for future updates.

The crux of the story follows a group of children, (some of them young adults) imprisoned in a laboratory for experimentation. The reason for this is that they have developed mutations/superpowers. It chronicles the grizzly and gut-wrenching horrors that fill their daily lives in the facility, with a public facing front of providing "re-education" to these freaks of nature in order to assimilate them into a "civil" society and lead "normal" lives. Certain incidents occur that shakes the group to the core and they plan an escape.

What this book does best is building an atmosphere which is paramount to a survival story. There is tension in the air and as a reader, it becomes clear that nobody in this story is safe, which elevates the stakes and helps in the immersion. It is this lingering peril around the characters which makes us root for them. The author does a really good job in conveying this through words.

The way the author writes violence is something unique. There is a difference between stylized violence and real guttural violence. There is a certain dirtiness to the violence here. It is not meant to make the characters look cool, but the violence here is more integral to the story, the violent acts backed by emotions giving the characters the development that this kind of story affords to.

It is not a romance novel, but when those elements are portrayed, it hits the target. It is handled in a subtle way and acts like a welcome change of pace to the events going around. Simple dialogues and gestures are used to accentuate the underlying tone of yearning. And as a reader, it was effective, at least on me. The main characters click as a team and the individual roles they take up mitigates the lack of screen time for some of the characters.

While the writing was really evocative and was transportive in a way, what I could observe was a slight lack of flourish structurally. That is difficult to explain, but I did not mind it that much as this is a survival story and an overdose of adjectives has no place here. There are long winded paragraphs in some places (which was a mistake I was called out for)  and some sentences need tighter editing and rephrasing. Individual character development of the group, aside from the main protagonists, sometimes take the back seat. 

As for the plot goes. I have couple of queries regarding the website they are creating and explanations provided for some of the tech stuff that is explained here.  Other than that, so far, it has been functional. Again, I will reserve judgement on the plot as it is an ongoing book. The last chapter does promise a new direction and I am looking forward to it. I hope plotting takes some precedence going forward as what came so far is heavily focused on emotion. It takes both to be a truly good book in my opinion. I am not denying the intrigue built up in places, but that might not be enough for some. 

There is no getting around it, it is highly violent and might turn off some people. So read it at your own risk. I'd suggest putting all the disclaimers in one place before the book starts and avoid chapter wise trigger warnings. It affects the mood of the chapter and sometimes even spoils some events. And I'd also suggest re-evaluating the rating for this book, especially if there is more violent stuff coming up. 

That's about it for the review. I honestly recommend this book.

On a personal note, please try to get this book to people. Try read for read or other review shops who might help with writing. There's no way of finding this. I found it by mere chance and I was looking for stories like this. As this is not a genre that is preferred here,  you should consider trying from your end.

Thanks.