A fantastic reading.

Divine Scream is an amazing reading. It is impossible not to fall in love with Banshee and at the same time root for Jared to get free from his curse.

The ending is specially surprising. ( )

Not something I typically read, but I wanted to give it a shot. I can't say that I got real attached to the main characters, but I did enjoy and get a little creeped out by the Assembly. Reading from their point of view was some of the better parts of the book. And heck I liked the little, old Korean couple too. It felt very creative and original and I enjoyed the book very much. ( )

Let me state up front that I received an eBook edition of this book from the publishers (www.journalstone.com) in return for a review, and that I also have taken longer than agreed to read the book and write my review. My apologies to JournalStone for that.

I also should state that I don't normally read horror, but was willing to give the book a fair go. And I'm glad I did, as I enjoyed it more than I expected. It's not really "horror", as far as my definition of "horror" goes, more like extremely dark fantasy, with lashings of humour as well. Is this a new genre? I don't know, but I'm going to look for more books written in the same style.

The plot involves one Jared Kare, who is quite possibly the most annoyingly cloying character I have read for many years. Possibly on the low end of the Asperger's scale, he is scared by everything and could not survive without the support given to him by family, friends and neighbours. Unfortunately for him he is scheduled to die, and his personal banshee, a spirit who watches you during your life and appears at the end to take you to your destination, be it into the light, or to somewhere worse.

In Jared's case his banshee has seen far too many people die in the past and when she learns he has been scheduled by the powers that be to be given as a gift to the Assembly, so he can be tortured for eternity for their amusement, she cannot accept this and is determined to same him.

What follows is a fast-paced and exciting chase as Bansh (the highly original name that Jared gives to his banshee) tries to get Jared to the safety of the ocean. (Apparently banshees and other fantasy inhabitants of the world the novel is set in cannot survive in the sea. Don't think about it. Just accept it.) Problem is Jaren is useless at doing anything to help them, or at least he is at first, and gradually becomes more able to not only stand on his own too feet, but also to plan and take action against the Assembly himself. So it is also to a certain extent a coming of age story.

As I mentioned I don't normally read this genre, but one of the features which makes "Divine Scream" such a good read is that the world the book inhabits has been well thought out, and provided you are willing to go along with its rules, the events in the book are "logical".

I give it 4 out of 5 stars. If you particularly like this genre, make it a ****1/2. ( )

The Assembly is the best part of this book. As a blood soaked group of ten functioning as a single organism, they are creepy and terrifying. I would not want to come across them in a sunny field of daisies let alone dark alley. And, yet, they were also the most sympathetic characters in the novel, because their function is vital in holding reality together and because it is their very job that has made them the disturbing creature they are. It was easy to pity them and though I couldn't quite route for them (because no person good or evil deserves to be placed at their hands), I couldn't help wanting them to receive some sort of gain out of all that happens.

The good guys on the other hand were entirely uninteresting to me. Jared Kare, who is scheduled to be granted to the Assembly as a Gift, is an anxiety ridden man in his 20s incapable of functioning on his own and apparently without any passions. The banshee, who doesn't even have a proper name, is a manic pixie dream girl in every sense, including metallic blue-purple hair and cerulean eyes, who literally drags the reluctant Jared into the unseen magic of the world in order to save him from the assembly. The banshee, a being that sings mortal souls into the light, is willing to help Jared out of all the other human's she serves because of her particular fondness for him (though it's hard to understand why, since he's as bland as white bread and is incapable of functioning as an adult in the world, with friends cooking, cleaning, and even depositing his checks for him). The banshee doesn't understand human girls who go for confident men and don't coddle all these good-hearted nice guys, like Jared, into being the greatness they secretly are (because what is the purpose of a woman, if not to make reluctant men great). For the first half of the book, she drives all of the action with Jared just dragging his feet by her side.

I probably would have not bothered finishing this one, if the Assembly didn't scare the crap out of me every time they showed up, which kept things interesting. Thankfully, the second half of the book got more interesting and wrapped up well, making it mostly enjoyable.

Note: I received this book as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program. ( )

I wasn't able to finish Divine Scream. There wasn't anything particularly wrong with the book, it just wasn't my cuppa tea. Didn't keep my attention, I guess. But thanks for the opportunity to read the book! It was a nice experience.