Fotografía de autor

Trevor J. Houser

Autor de Pacific

2 Obras 8 Miembros 5 Reseñas

Obras de Trevor J. Houser

Pacific (2021) 4 copias
The Prumont Method (2023) 4 copias

Etiquetado

Conocimiento común

Género
male
Nacionalidad
USA

Miembros

Reseñas

Wow, what a ride! Trevor Houser's darkly funny novel has a propulsive energy that made me want to speed through it. But I forced myself to slow down because the writing is so poetic and beautiful. The two central characters -- a police chief desperate to save his young son's life and the drug-addled fisherman who helps him -- are deeply flawed but still endearing and relatable in a gonzo kind of way (think Hunter S. Thompson). I honestly could have kept reading this story, which is sure to spark debates, but it probably ends where it should, having delivered some profound observations on life and death. I loved it.… (más)
 
Denunciada
PMcGaffin | otra reseña | Sep 20, 2023 |
I knew from the description provided by the publisher that this would be a quirky and unusual read. It is not often that one encounters a main character of Roger Prumont’s type: a recently divorced, 55-year-old former healthcare marketing professional who’s devised a method for predicting mass shootings. The topic is a sensitive one and I was curious as to how the author, Trevor Houser, would deal with it. I read the first five chapters only to discover that it was largely through sardonic humour that didn’t strike me as funny in the least, musings from the main character about the mathematicians who’ve inspired his method, and descriptions of some of the motels and towns he’s stayed in as he has carried out his investigations and refined his method. There are also a lot of recipes for cocktails—yes, Roger is a cocktail aficionado. I’m sorry to report that I found the whole thing incredibly dull and tedious. Perhaps this novel improves. Perhaps this novel would appeal to someone with a sense of humour like the author’s. Perhaps there’s an ideal reader somewhere out there. That someone wasn’t me.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. The novel and I were not a good match, and I was unable to complete it.
… (más)
½
 
Denunciada
fountainoverflows | 2 reseñas más. | Sep 18, 2023 |
Esta reseña ha sido escrita por los Primeros Reseñadores de LibraryThing.
I received this book to review. It was sent as an ebook (PDF) and in a timely manner.
This book is a short novel told in first person by the main character who is sort of a modern everyman. He has a failed career in regional healthcare marketing, and a broken marriage, and he drinks a lot, and he is living in the horror and violence of modern America. As everything falls apart for him he takes to the road, with the idea that he'll develop a mathematical method to predict mass shootings and find a way to make his life meaningful.
There are a few emotional touchstones that Rog (the main character) keeps coming back to, including his daughter and his wife's infidelity. I think the strongest one is his witness to a mass killing in Buffalo. Except, as I write this, I wonder if it is in his imagination; I'm not sure the story he tells himself is believable. I don't know if it matters -- either the horrors he saw had a devastating effect on him, or the reality of the horrors that exist became real in his mind and had a devastating effect.

The book as a whole, I felt, is partly an attempt to make the horrors real to all of us. I think the cocktail recipes are a way to set off the horror. We go along with our daily activities, and somehow try to make sense of the crazy world at the same time. Of course, drinking is an escape and self-destructive too, so there's another contributor to his path.

I don't like rating books without a good reason, but I also don't think it deserves the low rating it now has.
Sincerely, Fran
… (más)
 
Denunciada
franoscar | 2 reseñas más. | Aug 14, 2023 |
Esta reseña ha sido escrita por los Primeros Reseñadores de LibraryThing.
I finally got the book, only after sending an email directly to the publishers saying please respond to this email with the book. And after I got it, it wasn’t worth all the extra effort it took to get it. The story builds to a climax that never pays off. The recipes for drinks cheapen and lessen what is a really important topic. It’s just blasé take on mass shooters. It’s crap. Don’t read it. It’s not worthwhile.

I was due to receive this book on Early Reviewer's, and after the month wait, I reached out the publisher on social media platforms. I was told they would resend it, but I have yet to receive. I wouldn't trust this publisher. Don't waste your time or your money, it's most likely a scam as there are no reviews or members who have received books.… (más)
½
1 vota
Denunciada
kristincedar | 2 reseñas más. | Aug 7, 2023 |

Premios

Estadísticas

Obras
2
Miembros
8
Popularidad
#1,038,911
Valoración
½ 3.5
Reseñas
5
ISBNs
2