This review was originally posted on Goodreads.com and reviews.wheelerc.org on Feb. 20, 2015.
Half-Resurrection Blues is a pseudo-enjoyable romp through an ultra-contemporary paranormal New York mired in way, way too much profanity.
Don’t get me wrong. I work at a newspaper as a reporter. I swear way too much and, because of this, we even set up a swear jar in the newsroom. Twice.
I have no problem with profanity, especially in everyday usage.
I do have a problem with the overuse of profanity in novels, where the profanity serves no actual purpose. That’s the most detracting thing about Older’s novel: the complete and total overuse of profanity.
I do not need to read the F-word in every sentence of the main character’s thoughts and, considering the book is narrated by the main character, that means a profanity is laid at every turn, or, in this case, every line. It breaks the flow. It’s superfluous, just like my next biggest problem: way too much padding.
At 326 pages, much of Blues could have been cut away in favor of a more succinct narrative. Too many tangents bring the narrative down.
It’s good enough for what it is, a quick romp, but not worth remembering.
Also, not being from New York, or the east coast for that matter, I would care less about the rants and raves about the hipsters and this and that in New York.
This book was received, free of charge, from the Goodreads First Reads program.