Sex, drugs, and... mysoginy

A young reporter is sent to a compound in New Mexico with the assignment of his life: writing about a cult ready for the apocalypse, and sharing the space with this group of people, who are planning how to kill themselves to save themselves before the end. I expected the book to circle around the compound and show how people’s beliefs crashed with the reporter’s. I was ready for something weird and unique, but the story soon derailed, and the book was not about a reporter living with a bunch of crazy people, but about his personal madness, where semi-lucid moments and vivid dreams were interwoven to the point that it was difficult to know what was real.

I am not going to reveal more of the story to avoid spoilers, but let me tell you that this came out much differently than expected. Worse? I am not sure, maybe just different. I did not mind the drugs or the sex, but I was quite bothered but how women were portrayed in the book. It is not only that most characters, and definitely the main ones, were male, but the female ones were just mere pawns or an accessory to the story. They were victims without a pinch of self-esteem, to be used by the male characters and by Dodds to show the degeneration of not only society but also the male characters’ in the book. The only female characters were a victim of the cult, a dishonored prostitute, and a maid.

The plot felt a bit disjointed, but it is something that I was expecting due to the nature of the story. It is something that I do not mind if it is done well. I found the ending a bit anticlimactic, but the part just before was sort of original and unexpected. It was just difficult to decide if the truth was something to be believed or not. I have the feeling that there were three or four stories in this book, and this was, by far, the most interesting. I wish this part was better explored and the book had focused on it.

Charles Allin Cromer’s narration was okay. It is clear that he does not have many audiobooks under his belt, as there were some things that could have been polished, like his intonation and the end of many sentences, and some strange pauses or lack thereof throughout the narration. There were some swallowing noises that were lightly audible. His narration speed was a bit higher than average. This did not bother me but I just wanted to mention it.

This was an okay book. It was entertaining and weird and original. I just wish it was less misogynist, and this is why I don’t recommend it.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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