Brian Keene
Spectra
Reviewed by: Nancy
3 out of 5 stars
Spectra
Reviewed by: Nancy
3 out of 5 stars
Summary
From award-winning author Brian Keene comes a darkly suspenseful tale of crime and the common man–with a surprising jolt of the supernatural…
Tommy O’Brien once hoped to leave his run-down industrial hometown. But marriage and fatherhood have kept him running in place, working a job that doesn’t even pay the bills. And now he seems fated to stay for the rest of his life. Tommy’s just learned he’s going to die young–and soon. But he refuses to leave his family with less than nothing–especially now that he has nothing to lose.
Over a couple of beers with his best friends, John and Sherm, Tommy launches a bold scheme to provide for his family’s future. And though his plan will spin shockingly out of control, it will throw him together with a child whose touch can heal–and whose ultimate lesson is that there are far worse things than dying.
My Review
25-year-old Tommy O’Brien learns he has terminal cancer and has only a month or so to live. He has no health insurance, is deep in debt, and recently lost his job. Desperate for cash and wanting to provide for his wife and son, he and two best friends, Sherm and John, plan to rob a bank.
The main
character is very well drawn, his suffering and desperation very real. This
story accurately portrays depressed US industrial towns and their inhabitants
who have lost jobs and are unable to get out of poverty. It is a bleak
exploration of the finality of death and life's possibilities after learning you
don't have much time left.
Tommy is a
very likable character who’s easy to connect and empathize with. He loves his family deeply and doesn’t want
to hurt them by telling them he has cancer.
I wanted him to succeed, even though he made a lot of wrong
choices. His wife and son were
interesting characters who could have been developed further. I also would have liked more about Tommy’s
feelings concerning his impending death.
This was an
engaging and compelling story that was difficult to put down. Once the bank robbery got under way, the
story became very predictable. Tommy’s
friend, John, is a little slow, but basically a likable guy. Sherm was always crazy, his dark nature
becoming more apparent later on in the story.
Tommy just wanted the money; he never intended to hurt or kill
anyone. Things go wrong and hostages are
taken – among them an old man with a heart problem, a single mother and her son
with unusual abilities, a nutty religious fanatic, and an overweight loner who
likes comic books.
Most of the
hostages were stereotypes and not very well developed, especially Martha, so I
really didn’t feel too much when the body count started to rise. The most interesting hostage was the little
boy with a healing touch.
Reading Terminal is like watching a train wreck
in slow motion. You just know that
nothing good will happen, but you can’t stay away.
Also posted
at Goodreads.