Anthony Shriek

Rating:
Summary: Gets bogged down in weirdness
Review: Anthony Shriek, a college student and artist, has overcome his horrendous childhood mainly by putting it out of his mind. One day as he is quietly studying in the library a seductive woman named Emily picks him up and his life is forever changed. She claims he is a demon, as is she, which is why she is attracted to him. Her arrival reawakens his suppressed memories and opens up a dream-like world called Nightland where Anthony is forced to deal with strange, twisted versions of his past. As his love for Emily grows in intensity the more he fears he is losing his mind.

Anthony is a very sympathetic character. He's lives quietly and has survived life on the streets and has somehow managed to rise above his horrid beginnings and is attending college. He's a survivor but once he meets Emily the reader realizes just how close to edge of insanity he really is. His heart-breaking past was revealed in little bits in pieces with just enough information to make me want to keep reading. I really felt for Anthony but had a bit of a problem with Emily who I never really got a handle on, which may have been the author's intent. While the reader learns everything about Anthony very little about Emily is revealed and I found her dialogue so stilted that it continually threw me out of the story. Although most of the story was compelling and made me keep turning the pages there were too many times when the book wandered off on odd tangents - these were mostly times spent with Emily looking for a frog fountain, kung-fu fighting off dirty old teachers or having pow-wows with her Indian friends. They added a surreal sense to the book but didn't do much to advance the plot. Or maybe I just didn't get it. So, although Anthony was an interesting character and the book had plenty of horrific moments I can't wholeheartedly recommend this one.