Killing Me Slowly

So I gotta admit, anticipation of this book (an ARC, btw) was another wash for me. I enjoyed Hunger, and was eagerly looking forward to some expansion on its world and characters, but wasn't sure I could sympathize with a heroine who cuts. Even more than anorexia, cutting was something I did not understand, but I thought perhaps Rage could do for cutting what Hunger had done for anorexia to me, and plus, there would be more development of the Horsemen, and that interesting take on Death, since he and War work so closely, right? Well...yes and no.

Calling Rage a sequel to Hunger is a bit of an understatement - really, it's almost a retelling of Hunger with a different protagonist, a different problem, a different Horseman, and an alternate ending. The sequencing, pacing, events, characters, everything else is almost exactly the same (right down to the boss fight), except for those few details. This is probably the biggest issue I have with Rage - we don't get anything new from it. Honestly, you could close your eyes, pretend Lisa's name is Missy, that she cuts instead of starves herself, and that she does what you actually wanted her to do in the end of Hunger, and you wouldn't miss much.

But maybe I'm being unfair. Maybe you can't judge Rage by paranormal fiction standards, because, like Hunger, Rage isn't about the Horsemen. Rage is about Missy and cutting...

Read more at You're Killing.Us