Terrifying? Um... I don't think so!The atmospheric and genuinely creepy first chapter of this novel makes the limp scenes that follow seem all the more disappointing. Instead of creating an atmosphere of dread, bizarrely, Jarvis' writing seems almost tongue in cheek, as though he himself doesn't quite believe in the gravity of the plot he's trying to sell us. Horror (such as the car crash at the flash mob) is relayed in a tone which is almost jolly, and moments of fantasy terror (such as the coming of the Ismus) which require deep immersion of the reader to be believable, are undermined by banal description.Others have already waxed lyrical about the occasional oddness of the dialogue, although I thought the mundane, dirty, and oh so British setting of Felixstowe with its run-down cast of characters was actually handled very well. What bothers me are the excerpts of the Dancing Jax book itself. These snippets are incongruously simplistic and unthreatening; they thus jar with the bewitchment they supposedly cast over the book's characters, and undermine the whole novel's premise. I feel Jarvis' writing requires the suspension of reality suited more to a children's fantasy romp, which conflicts with the novel's self promotion as a dark urban fantasy which is genuinely psychologically scary. PR team take note - this is not necessarily a bad novel, but in terms of tone it has been packaged to its audience very wrongly.I don't feel I can say too much about this, as I didn't get more than a quarter of the way through. There were good ideas here, but I didn't feel like they were executed well. Perhaps I have cast my die too soon, and later on the terror really does start to build. But what I did read so far was simply not gripping enough to make me keep going when I have so many other enticing novels to read. I've never read such a negative book before. It's a book aimed at young people, and chooses to constantly complain about both young people and modern pop culture throughout. It's insulting. The only part of modern culture that's considered okay in this book is 'nerd culture', and that's only because the main character likes it.Jesus, that main character. He's a forty something year old teacher with a wife and step-child, which is a bit odd as the main character in a children's book, but that doesn't mean it's not going to work. What makes it not work is his obnoxiousness, his self-righteousness, his shallowness, his sense of superiority and his strong dislike of the young. And he's presented as the perfect person in this town full of shallow, stupid people who watch reality TV and listen to pop music.Enjoying reality TV and pop music doesn't make you less of a person. It doesn't make you stupid because you've bought into the mainstream or any kind of crap like that. Looking down on people because of their hobbies is beyond stupid. And that's something this book needs to learn. Seriously.I did like the premise, and I love the cover, but unless you're full of hate for modern culture and the youth of today, it's a dire book.
What do You think about Auftakt (2012)?
Rounding up to four stars. Had its issues by was pretty good. Will read number two.
—wdermo
Too predictable. Boring. Didn‘t like the spelling style.
—jusjerry
