Born To Bleed

I already knew I wasn't going to like this very much. There's something about the writing style that feels like an obligated sequel rather than a work of passion.

There's too much badly crafted filler.

It's difficult to explain what happened, but after loving <i>The Summer I Died</i> so much and making a steady start, the sequel suffers from badly magnetic procrastination and avoidance.

It never stops the constant references to the previous book, continuously piggybacking off its success rather than seeking new ideas. To its credit, it reminded me of Reservoir Dogs and its banter and retort, but not in a skillful way. The most curious thing is the absence of humor, which bounded along in the original, whereas this takes itself way too seriously and is the opposite of what made the first book excellent.

It's a sequel lacking in naturally well-thought-out continuation and I will struggle to read more Ryan C. Thomas after this. What a shame!

There are positives: the bleak pointlessness of it all.

Situations reach their lowest ebb where most of us break down and give in, but some keep on going. There’s little point over thinking things and rather than being a headless chicken or a regimented ant, why not find the inner determination to change things when the chips are totally down? Shut down the pain and get on with it. It’s a commendable part of this sequel.

However!

It goes from being a bit far-fetched to full-metal-jacket ridiculous by going total Rambo and cheesy Steven Seagal on us.

It becomes monotonous, boring and more daft than shocking, even badly written in places, with poor use of pronouns, bad perspectives, unrealistic action, over-the-top gore, nothing like the first book at all, but quite a bad read. Our geeky guy who once struggled to survive, becomes a wonder nerd, an amazing fella able to withstand unlimited pain and coolly rationalize at the same time.

Logic?

Cops don't exist. There are no crime scenes, people do what they want in parallel gore-ridden universes with no seemingly obvious consequences. Little tension but stacks of filler, repeat references to book one and, overall, an unsatisfactory and silly conclusion. I knew this wasn't going to be as good as <i>The Summer I Died</i>, but from 5 stars down to 2? No thank you!

I cared in book one and wanted things to work out, but now I don't give a crap. Guns akimbo, the lone warrior, whack-a-mole on the baddies, save some bitches, seize the day and get your console trophies. I don't care!

The action and plausibility get ridiculous and the author knows it too, constantly justifying or explaining situations away, making things up on the spot, and finding excuses to keep on going with the narrative.

The Summer I Died is TERRIFIC! This is not!