3.5 Stars
“Because I don’t want to be surprised by death,” he said. “If it’s going to take me, then it will be on my own terms.”
The journey continues. If you couldn't make it through the first half hour of Saving Private Ryan then you will probably have a very difficult time with this. Throw in some Inglorious Basterds, Pale Rider, Deerhunter, Uncommon Valor, and a touch of The Postman and you've got the general idea of what's going on and how it's going down.
Cavalo's just as broken as he always was. The repeated reels of the past playing through his mind are good at giving a sense of disorientation and questioning reality, again, but it also becomes redundant--slows things down, even action sequences. Like going down a big hill with the brakes always on, you don't get to feel the thrill of falling because you're so distracted by all the other images. It stretches time out, and while I like the feeling of tension it causes, it also numbs and feels too thin--like it is putting a veil over the scene instead of ratcheting it until you're at the breaking point.
Loss and sacrifice.
The impending conflict with the Dead Rabbits meets the point of no return. Character relationships expand as they complete their own personal arcs while violence as yet unparalleled is let loose as the dogs of wars ravage the countryside. All this said, it's still a moderate read even with all the action due primarily to the inordinate amount of time spent in Cavalo's head. Frankly, as written, this is better as a movie than a book. The imagery is described, the psychotic sequences so detailed that is could be brushed through in a few seconds of film rather than breaks in the story's plot. If you approach this as a western, then the pace and trajectory work much better than a post-apocalyptic story. After all, Cavalo is the epitome of the American monolith.
We get bad guys and make them pay! And no matter where you run, if bad guys are after you, they’ll find you. It doesn’t matter how far you get, they’ll find you.
The ending... well you'll have to read it for yourself, but it has all been foreshadowed.
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