About book Offspring: The Sequel To Off Season (2006)
OFFSPRING Review We all have books that we know we shouldn't love as much as we do. Some of these novels we should actually hate, downright loathe because of their subject matter and immoral ideals, but we don't. We aren't turned on by the debauchery, but we aren't turned away either. In fact, we wish we could delve deeper, go further, see even clearer the nasty of which the author is capable. Jack Ketchum's OFFSPRING is a guilty pleasure of mine, even more so than its predecessor, OFF SEASON. This book has far more character development than the first book in Ketchum's series about Maine cannibals, and relies less on in-your-face gore and shock value while telling a pretty overdone tale. Don't get me wrong, the violence and disturbia is everywhere throughout, like buckets of blood tossed willy-nilly over the walls of a slaughterhouse, but, this time around, Ketchum tackles his own special brand of the macabre in a sideways fashion. In OFF SEASON, he described everything in splendidly awful detail, down to the last drop of blood. With OFF SPRING, he's more poetic in his delivery of the vicious visuals, taking the metaphor/simile route instead of the stark realistic approach. I think this comes down to Ketchum having grown as a writer since his debut novel, and I respect that. SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD! The first time I read this one, I was caught off guard by its "happy ending". This is one of the only books of his that ends on a positive note. Throughout the entire story, I was on the edge of my seat, deathly certain that Amy's infant daughter, Melissa, was about to be eaten/dismembered/violated, so much so that I was sure that's what had happened. Meaning, after first reading OFFSPRING, I'd convinced myself that the baby had been killed, in turn making the fact that she survives a twist that I didn't see coming when I read it the second time. Weird, huh? This is not to say that I wanted the baby to die, but that Ketchum's writing is so bleak that I've come to expect it, and when it doesn't happen I'm shocked. I feel horrible now... Please don't think I wanted the baby to die. Pretty please? With sugar and dead puppies on top? :) END SPOILED INFANTS! Anyway, moving on. OFF SEASON, OFFSPRING, and THE WOMAN are not feel good books. Do not go into them expecting anything less than the most vile content imaginable. If you don't think you'd like to read such, stay far away from just about anything Jack Ketchum writes. His books are a bit uplifting though, as most of them will leave you feeling as if you have the greatest life known to man in comparison to the poor fucks that inhabit these pages. Stephen King said it best: "Who's the scariest man in America? Probably Jack Ketchum."
Reseña en español en mi blog: Click AquíAfter finishing Off Season I felt sick, disgusted, disturbed and amused at the same time. It was a book that really impressed me not only because of the gore but for its unpredictability, so my expectations for Offspring were really high. The sequel was entertaining but it doesn't come even close to the first instalment of the Dead River trilogy.Offspring takes place eleven years after the events of the first book. Former sheriff Peters is still haunted by the memories of his encounter with the cannibals and he is full of regrets because of how everything ended up. Unfortunately for him, a new cannibal tribe lead by The Woman an extremely cunning psychopath, is stealing newborn children in order to increase the family. The police ask Peters to join them in the hunt of this new family of cannibals, the retired cop will have to deal with his worst nightmare again...What I did like of this book was that the beginning was very intense, the story is really fast paced and like the previous one, it's impossible to put down once the cannibals appears. Also the story shifts from different points of view constantly so we get to know a wide range of characters which are more complex than the protagonists of the previous book, my favourite POVs (although it may sound sadistic) were those of the cannibals since Ketchum put us inside of his twisted minds and we get to know their tactics and plans, those were by far the more disturbing aspects of this book.Sadly the story was wasted: it was extremely predictable, the character are more complex but Ketchum spent more time building them up and forgot the gore and disturbing scenes that were the strong point of the last book. Don't get me wrong, there are some pretty nasty scenes but they don't come even close to the cruelty and detail shown in Off Season, I found some of these scenes to be tuned down copies of some of the previous book.So all in all it was an entertaining horror book ideal for a weekend read but don't expect it to be at the same level of Off Season. It's predictable, recycled some of the scenes of the previous book and the ending was kind of lame in my opinion.
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REVIEWED: Offspring: The Sequel to Off SeasonWRITTEN BY: Jack KetchumPUBLISHED: October, 2006I don't know why, but I've been reading this trilogy of books backwards. First I read "The Woman," (third in the series and most recent), then this book, "Offspring," and next will be the one that started it all off, "Off Season." I think that says a lot about these books that, although they reference preceding events, each is a tightly-knit thriller of characters engaged in horrific circumstances. The characters themselves weren't quite as believable/ well-rounded as some of Ketchum's other work, but their actions and the plot twists kept me enthralled the entire time.Four and a Half out of Five stars
—Eric Guignard
Offspring, hey…I never knew it was a sequel, I would've undoubtedly read the first beforehand but hey, what're ya gonna do eh?This book is by far the best one to ever be made into a movie adaption—most of the Stephen Kings I've read have gone way down the line, awful rather than awe-full, cutting out the best tidbits that really made the whole thing—but enough of that.Offspring is the story about a cannibal family I mean who doesn't want to read that, it's gore-some, violent and contains it's share of Coleman lanterns, it was a really interesting novel and I'd definitely get around to reading it again.
—Brighten Quintin
Reading this book is like watching a train wreck or one of those beheading videos on the internet. you know something awful is going to happen, yet you have to see it. This is the sequel to Off Season, a book that i liked a little better than this one, about a clan of cannibals living off the coast of maine. if you're into gory, violent movies like The hills have eyes or Wrong turn, then these books are for you. if you have a soft stomach or can't tolerate vivid descriptions of the most unspeakeable acts of depravity, stay far away from this one.
—Renato Rodriguez
