Customer Reviews

Like Death

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Now in his thirties, Scott Raymond has spent much of his life trying to recover from the trauma of witnessing the slaughter of his family as a child, an event whose specifics he has managed to suppress since that time. After seeing consulting with countless mental health professionals and consuming numerous medications in an effort to ease his pain, Scott has seemingly finally settled down with his wife Gayle and child David, pursuing a career as a true crime journalist.

Lately, however, Scott has been subject to sudden rages, episodes which have resulted in his estrangement from his wife. Already shaky from this development, Scott is pushed to the edge of insanity by his investigation into the year old disappearance of six-year-old Miranda Tanner. His probe into her presumed kidnapping leads him into unexplored territory, as he encounters a mysterious teenager who, coincidentally, goes by the name of Miranda. Scott feels a powerful attraction to the girl, who introduces him to strange shadow worlds existing just beneath the fabric of our own reality. Scott doesn't realize it, but he's being groomed to accept and fulfill a strange and dangerous destiny.

LIKE DEATH is a book which will probably provoke extreme reactions in readers, as Waggoner, who obviously enjoys pushing the envelope, sometimes strays over the boundaries of good taste; some may abandon the book in a fit of anger at the sheer outrageousness of some of the set pieces he offers, in particular a surreal scene set in a children's playground early on in the book. There's no need to go into the particulars of that scene, only to comment that what some might see as daring and unconventional, others might find offensive or just plain stupid.

That's not to say that the scene is gratuitous, only that Waggoner could have achieved the effects he sought in another manner. The author's choice to go in that direction, however, proves to be only a small distraction in an otherwise smooth read. The book's definitely worth sticking with, delivering plenty of chills and thrills as it moves to its satisfying and unconventional conclusion--as far out as some early portions might be, Waggoner is careful to leave none of his numerous plot threads dangling.

Boiled down to its essentials, LIKE DEATH provides a unique take on a hero's journey, as Scott discovers his purpose in life. Although a bit overlong, and sometimes exasperating, the book's original take on this familiar premise, coupled with the freshness of Waggoner's outré imagery, makes for engrossing reading.

Oh my sweet lord, this is a prime example of what good, fresh, original horror writing is all about. I had this book for a while and finally got around to reading it, and once started, could not put down. Basically to give a synapsis of the story, it's about a man on the verge of divorce, a true crime journalist, who is going through what appears to be a slow and hallucination filled mental breakdown. He's a likable fellow, but with some dark undertones to his personality that he cannot get a grip on at times. This is written deftly and while the subject matter is quite intense, Mr. Waggoner makes the man likable anyway. The cover of the book is absolutely stunning. Scary, seductive, horrifying, you will not want to put it down. High recommend.

Tim Waggoner's literate prose at times has a haunting lyricism to it, and he has a deft way of evoking creepy, subtle terrors. But LIKE DEATH, his debut mass-market original, also packs a raw, visceral punch that rivals the likes of Edward Lee and Jack Ketchum. The mix of surreal imagery and gruesome horrors is handled superbly throughout, and the narrative never flags, taking the reader through a truly bizarre landscape of mysteries and dark wonders not easily forgotten once the final page has been turned. I suspect Waggoner is a writer we'll be hearing a lot more from in the future.

Rather than rehash a set formula that is all too well-known in the genre, Waggoner's story breaks free from it. Intricately planned, the plot is original, creative, and flows in an interesting way. Sure there are a few plot holes and character inconsistencies, but it's only after reading the book that you notice it. And lets be honest, at that point, the fun from connecting the dots and clues overshadows the windy, claustrophobic atmosphere. The only problem I had with the story was that the antagonist's genetics was foreshadowed far too early and was easily predictable.

Now, aside from that one character flaw, the cast was amazing. Interesting and well-rounded, each character is described to perfection. Instead of only revealing each player's physical description and granting you a peak at their psyches, Waggoner gets into each one's head and then exposes it to you. With that in mind, I have to warn you, what you read may offend you. That's right people; some of these characters are downright nasty and despicable and their thoughts alone may make you feel dirty and ashamed. It's okay; that just means you have what most of these players lack - a conscience.

With a natural dialog that is both tight and concise, Waggoner's style of writing is fresh and inventive. Written in a conversational tone, he keeps the descriptions flowery, but steers clear of the purple prose we've all grown to loathe and condemn. I love a writer who can get to the point without taking the scenic route to get there. Also, props to Waggoner for establishing and maintaining his active voice (I'm looking at you Ms. Mitchell).

You'll notice that I haven't dissected the pace. Well, you see, the pace is all about perception. Depending on how easily Waggoner sucks you into his tale and how easily repulsed you are, the speed of the book varies. So good reader, the movement is all up to you and how deep you want to submerge yourself into Waggoner's world.

I found this book when I was about 12 years old. I read it from cover to cover and was completely engrossed. Some might say I was a sick child, but to each his own. I looked the book up again at age 17 since I couldn't quite wrap my mind around the fact that this book existed. Yes, this book is twisted and is clearly marked "horror" for a reason. Horror doesn't just mean scary though, if its sick, twisted, and jaw dropping, I'm going to assume it'll be in the horror section. I could not set this book down either time I read it. Everyone has an opinion and while no one is wrong, someone obviously thought this book was worth publishing. I mean, look at Twilight. At least Waggoner doesn't write like a high school freshman.

The fact that Tim Waggoner no longer is a writer for Leisure is about as bad as having your hemorrhoids run over by a lawn mower.

This novel is told in a manner which will demand you to stay glued to it until all of its terrifying weirdness is revealed to you. Or at least until you fall asleep reading it late into the night.

It's about a crime novelist discovering a doorway to another world, or to seeing our own world as it actually is, by way of a more-than-peculiar girl. It will remind you of seeing people as they truly are, their actions and physical appearance literally resemble disgusting innerselves. And makes for one hell of a weird and horrific story. If you're not scared by Waggoner's acid-burning descriptions, you will be at the overwhelming barrage of weirdness that he's able to conujur.

Like Death made me a permanent fan, and made me go out and buy Pandora Drive and Darkness Wakes. I can't recommend this book enough.

Horrordude.

I've written a long review of this novel that should be appearing in a few weeks in the CEMETERY DANCE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER.

For now, let me just say this. LIKE DEATH is a dark ride. It starts out wild, in the midst of a massacre, and things get crazier. LIKE DEATH is a trip into a dark and twisted imagination. This book is not for the easily offended. The images that Waggoner conjures up will stick to your brain cells like caro syrup. It's wet and wild and nasty. Tim Waggoner has written something very different here, and folks who are looking for a journey like nothing I've read, might want to pick this one up.

Yours in horror,

Steve Vernon

I am not a person whose stomach easily turns. I am not one to turn away from gore nor a person easily frightened by another's imagination. Bring on the horror!, I think, having been obsessed with Freddy Krueger and Chucky since I was about three and having read Stephen King's "It" at seven... Strange, unusual, and gory entertain me --or so I thought.

Recently, I was given a book titled Like Death by Tim Waggoner. Quickly skimming the back, I thought this book was too "Stephen King" to pass up. Bring on the excitement, right?

In the beginning, the writing was great; each character was well defined; each scene easy to see, emotions easy to feel. Even the storyline seemed great: A true-crime author left by his wife and child whom he still tries to visit and show love to despite his angry past, is researching about a girl who has gone missing when a strange girl appears in his life and, well... let me not tell everything.

It didn't take me long, however, to want to toss the book into a fire and purge the pages I'd read from my memory. While the storyline stayed intact, somewhere between Frisbee-golf poles becoming women's heads on sticks catching circular saw blades and a man giving birth to vampire-maggots, it began to seem as though Mr. Waggoner had made a list of the most gruesome things he could think up and just wrote them one scene at a time.

The storyline did its job, though, and I kept reading. But, page after page, I found myself disgusted by a twisted mixture of gore and sexual exploits; scenes which I cannot even bring to repeat --scenes so explicit that even my 23-year-old mind could only rant about them; scenes that even my 35-year-old husband could not stand to hear as I narrated to him.

With scenes so extreme as to have a boy mutilating a body under the eye of a "teacher" who offers a prize if the boy does not get excited; how can anyone enjoy this?

Overall, I truly feel that this book could've been really good, but the scenes that Mr. Waggoner chose to include damaged, more than furthered, his storyline and --as far as anyone I'll ever talk to is concerned, his reputation as writer. Linking together a list of gruesome scenes does not, to me, constitute entertainment; Instead, I feel that it shows a lack of talent --if you cannot entertain a reader with some kind of normalcy to your scenes, then why ruin a good story with unnecessary gore and sex? I think that Mr. Waggoner forgot that he was writing for a publisher and audience, and thought that has was writing for "S&M and Gore Magazine."

Of course, the storyline ended up being quite predictable (a big disappointment after 374 pages), and, with the horrific imagery still in my mind, I was left thinking only one thing: How did that get published?

Tim Waggoner, Like Death (Leisure, 2005)

Somewhere roundabout page seventy or so, Like Death gets good-- real good. Like, Tom Piccirilli or Caitlin R. Kiernan good. While it unfortunately doesn't hold on for the rest of its length, the fact that it gets there at all shows great promise.

Like Death is the story of Scott Raymond, who, we learn in the first chapter, cowered under a kitchen table at the age of seven, watching the murder of his family. Fast-forward a good number of years, and Scott is now a true-crime writer who has, over the past couple of years, come slightly unhinged. Previously a loving husband and father, he has become sullen and threatening toward his wife, who moved out and took their son with her. She moved, in one of the coincidences that only happen in novels, to the same town where Amanda Tanner, the subject of the book Scott's working on, disappeared a year before. Thus, Scott can move to the same town and stalk his wife and child while simultaneously working on the book. The problem being not only that his wife doesn't want to see him, but as soon as he touches ground in Ash Creek, he becomes like Rene, the cafe owner in 'Allo 'Allo!: it seems like every woman who sees him wants to bunk down with him.

All of which, I must say, makes Scott sound like far less sympathetic a character than he actually is. He's your basic nice guy who happens to be deeply confused by both the events going on around him and the war within him that he doesn't understand, much less know how to fight. As such, Like Death could easily be read as allegory on a number of levels (just about every subplot can be tied to "the war within," as it were) for someone who wanted to go a little deeper than just getting a ripping yarn. But for the rest of you, the ripping-yarn factor here is relatively high, and Waggoner's prose approaches the heights that say "this guy's getting signed by the majors" on a sporadic, but not infrequent, basis. Good stuff, worth the couple of afternoons it'll take you to read, but I won't fault anyone who decides to wait for Waggoner's next one (due out, also from Leisure, in 2006) to see if all the potential shining from this book is fully realized next time round. *** ½

Like Death is a masterfully layered, compellingly dark, and wonderfully brave piece of horror -- very much for adults. This ambitious story is rich with mythology and perfectly structured. Every piece of information is part of the larger puzzle that organically fits together by the end of the book. I was in awe of the massive scope and creative twists in Waggoner's world. As many other reviews of this book have stated, it is easily one of the best horror titles of 2005.

The only travesty is that this book didn't make it onto the final ballot for this year's Bram Stoker awards. I can only assume other authors either didn't read it before they voted or were simply jealous of this new voice in horror. With refreshingly original stories like this, no wonder the competition is scared. It doesn't get much better than Like Death.