Friday 56: Dead Man's Drive

Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice.  Click here to join in on the fun.

Rules: Grab a book, any book.

Turn to page 56, or 56% in your eReader.

Find a sentence, or a few, and post it.

This week I'm highlighting Dead Man's Drive by Michael Panush.  I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Here's the description taken from Goodreads:

La Cruz looks like an average Southern California small town in the 1950s Post-War Boom, but it has some dark secrets - and its guardians. They are the supernaturally adept drivers of Donovan Motors, including former Okie bank robber Wooster Stokes, Zoot Suiter and part time shaman Angel Rey, college girl and burgeoning sorceress Betty Bright and --their latest member -- an amnesiac zombie known only as Roscoe. The drivers stand between La Cruz and chaos with only their wits and some fast hot rods to help them hold back the darkness. But an onslaught of demonic attacks heralds a new danger. Reed Strickland, a ruthless tycoon with unholy assistance, seems intent on making La Cruz his. Only Roscoe and the drivers can stop him. But Strickland's allies stir painful memories in Roscoe and even an undead gearhead is no match for his own past. Roscoe will need to overcome his memories, stand with his friends and keep his motor as the battle for La Cruz begins in a tale of white hot vehicular action, arcane Noir, and Hollywood horror that reveals the rotten heart of California's Golden Age.

From page 56 of Dead Man's Drive:

The bird swept down, its clawed feet extended. They wrapped around Felix's side. One pointed claw dug into his shoulder, drawing blood.

Book Review: Dead Man's Drive (Rot Roads, #1)

Author: Michael Panush

Website, Facebook, Twitter

Edition: Received from the publisher, Curiosity Quills

Website

Buy Links: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository

Goodreads Link
Rating: 4 Stars

I received a copy of Dead Man's Drive from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Dead Man's Drive follows the main character, Roscoe, a zombie, who works with Donovan's Motors, a group of paranormal hunting mechanics.  It's a group made up of outcasts who have become family.  They're well-known in their town as protectors, but when a new businessman comes to town with plans of his own- plans that involve raising dead crusaders- everything Roscoe has ever cared about is threatened.

I liked this book a lot more than I thought I would.  I mean, I thought I would like it when I requested it (or I wouldn't have requested it), but it took me by surprise, still.  The main character, Roscoe, was not what I expected (in good ways!) and neither were the supporting cast, the plot, or the setting.  It was a pleasant surprise.

Dead Man's Drive is urban fantasy lite.  It doesn't do a ton of world building, but it also doesn't suffer for it.  Panush didn't have to create complex mythologies to deliver an interesting and well-thought-out plot.  While his story isn't exactly original, it kept me entertained and was rather refreshing in its sparse writing.  The characters, while not given much screen time (it's a very short book), all had interesting backstories that made them feel fleshed out.  I liked how every single character had a voice, and no one was pushed to the side.

My biggest problem, and the reason this doesn't have more stars, is that the climax was not very climatic.  Sure, lots of time was spent on it, by which I mean there were many pages dedicated to the event.  However, the actual action that I would qualify as the actual climax point, was weak.  It could be a lot more polished and there could be a great deal more emotion.  Even still, it did deliver, and ended up being satisfying.

I recommend this one if you need some light reading at any point.  It doesn't require much work on the part of the reader and is very entertaining.

November Wrap Up

So, this was a bit of a shot month, looking back at how much I actually managed to read.  And I don't think I set goals to high, either.  I had five books I wanted to read, and I only got through two of them.

The first book I had planned to read was Sword of Shannara but I only got 230 pages into it.  I don't want to call this one a DNF yet, because I still want to try and finish it.  I think it may end up sitting for a while, but hopefully I just wasn't in the mood for it.  One thing that was really bothering me as I read it was the lack of female characters.  I don't think, up until the point I had got, one had even been mentioned and that was killing me a bit.

Then I wanted to read Dawn of the Jedi, but decided to push it off in favor of another fantasy book, to try and redeem the genre for me.  So I skipped down to Way of Shadows, a book my roommate has been begging me to read for ages now.  I managed to finish this one, but not until the 25th.  It took me some time to read, and I'm honestly not sure why, since I ended up really enjoying it.  My review for this one will be published this Friday.

I was afraid I wouldn't have time to finish any other books this month, but, less than an hour ago, I managed to finish Dead Man's Drive, a book I received for review from the publisher.  I liked this one, it was a good urban fantasy for some light reading.  I still haven't written the review, but I do plan to publish a review next Friday, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

I also started Cress the other day and am currently on page 230.  So far, I absolutely love it!  Why did I put this one off for so long??

I did do a lot of manga and graphic novel reading, though.  I read the first volume of Guardians of the Galaxy, and the third volume of Hawkeye.  I enjoyed them both, though neither received five stars.  I also managed to read volumes 5, 6, and 7 of Noragami (all five stars) and am in the middle of volume 8.  I still love this series dearly.  The last manga I read was the first in a new series, Horimiya, wasn't something I would normally pick up but a friend recommended.  And it was so good!

I did watch Jessica Jones in the span of two days, and my review of it will be going up tomorrow.  I enjoyed it, just not as much as Daredevil.  I also binged Blue Exorcist, which was so amazing I don't even have words for it.  I have a review for that coming up in a few days as well.

So how much reading did you guys do this month?  Did you watch Jessica Jones?  Let me know in the comments!

November TBR

It's been a while since I've done a monthly TBR, but I kind of miss them, so I thought I'd get back in the habit.  I know, now, after months of pretty much judging my reading patterns, that I get through about five books a month, and about that many graphic novels/manga as well.  My TBR is subject to change, but I'm fairly certain that these are the ones I will for sure get to.