Just finished
June 24, 2003 – 9:11 pmI just finished Melvin Burgess’ Bloodtide, and I have to say it wasn’t all that engaging - too bloody, too jerky (some chapters omniscient POV, some limited to this character, some to that character, etc.), too … I dunno, rough.
I understand the reason it was so bloody - it’s based on an Icelandic saga, which tend to be pretty graphic. I just didn’t get that the book was making proper use of the violence, in much the same way that I’ve heard Pulp Fiction criticized for including violence for its own sake.
Add to that very unsympathetic characters who don’t seem rationally motivated, and you’ve got a book I’ll not be rereading soon, if ever.
