I was given a copy in exchange for an honest review.

If you have not realised yet, Dalan Musson is the screenwriter of one of my favourite Marvel movies. With this, I had some high expectations, which unfortunately were destroyed by conflicting choice of words, writing and disposition on how to go about explaining the book`s plot.

This wasn't for me sadly. I felt no connection to the characters - I'd prefer if they had names, and it felt that the world building was distant.

I know little about the author or marvel, so perhaps I cm just not the right audience for this,

This book has a great title and premise, although the religious reference made me pause. I wish the characters had names, but it was good enough, just not for me

Gaze Long Into the Abyss is the kind of bleak, post-apocalyptic prose that fans of Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" may enjoy. It's a fast read, as there are only two focal characters and little descriptive language to wade through. Those who have read the book of Revelation from the Bible will also recognize the subtle references throughout the story. It was difficult to connect with either character, as The Old Man and The Kid seem to be two sides of the same coin, and perhaps that's the point. Gaze Long Into the Abyss was different from everything I've been reading lately, and though it felt repetitive at times, I kept coming back to it. It has the desolate, hopeless feel of post-apocalyptic literature without the gratuitous gore, but it also lacks a solid human connection.

Introduction:

The Kid hears his calling: to find the source of the evil, and put an end to it. He seeks out the help of the Old Man – who, in his own time, traveled to the ends of the Earth and back, in his own vain quest to save the world. Together, they set off across a grim landscape populated by survivors turned brigands, bandits, and exhausted warring factions—all of them looking for answers that may have vanished when their loved ones did.

Thoughts:

“If you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.”

Written entirely in prose, Gaze Long Into the Absyss by Dalan Musson is an enigmatic piece of literature written entirely in prose that exerts a peculiar fascination on its readers. Set in an post apocalyptic world where almost all the humanity is wiped out, the story follows “The Kid’s” journey to save the world. This is unlike anything I’ve read therefore I find it very difficult to properly review it to do it justice, therefore I feel this is going to be a rather short review compared to my other reviews.

It is a strange combination of exploring faith in a desolate world and The Kid’s internal conflict as he confronts the pervasive darkness that envelops him. Everything about this book was strange. I wish I can say I loved it but I can’t but I didn’t hate it at the same time because it had a strange pull on me that I can’t explain.

The entire story was shrouded in mystery and intrigue and it made me want to keep on reading. One of the things that resonated the most with me was how religion and guns would survive even the apocalypse and the other was how even a child, someone so innocent and pure can turn into something twisted and cruel when everything good about the world is taken away.

However, I found it very difficult to differentiate between the narratives of The Old Man and The Kid. There wasn’t much world building in order for me to delve into it either but I was strangely fascinated with the macabre details of actions of different factions of humanity The Kid and The Old Man encountered during their journey and the ending was very satisfying.

Would I recommend this book to others? Definitely! Because this struck a code with me at a deeper level that made me question a lot of things.

I really wanted to like this book. I'm a horror fan, post-apocalyptic horror is a great genre, and the author is a Marvel screenwriter - what's not to like. This just didn't work for me - I realized about halfway in that what was bothering so much about the prose style was how much it reminded me of Cormac McCarthy who I dislike (not a popular opinion, I know). The book is bleak, but that didn't bother me - the apocalypse is bleak, right? There's a lack of differentation between the two protagonists - neither seems to have a voice of their own. There's a way the author is standing outside of the story - an authorial distance - that made it hard to like this. If the author is distant from his own story and characters, why would I be expected to care? For me, not a great read, but if you're into Cormac McCarthy, this might be the one for you.

This was definitely an interesting read! Different from what I usually read, but I’ve started to get more into Western and I think it scratched part of that itch. It dragged a little bit, but overall I found it satisfying.

Well written I definitely enjoyed that part of it, also definitely not a fun thing to read so I enjoyed that as well not everything needs to be sunshine and rainbows all the time and I'm glad writers are realizing that.

this was such a great read, it had a great concept for a neo-western novel. The characters worked well overall and felt like they belonged in the world. I was hooked from the first page and it was such a great read. It was written well and I enjoyed the way Dalan Musson created this.

"The Kid took the response as tacit approval of what he’d already decided his plan was. He felt like at this point he knew the Old Man well enough that he’d more than likely guess what the Kid was thinking, and if’n he didn’t approve—tacitly or otherwise—he would make his case known, and they could have one of their next dozen arguments of the day. So when the Kid reached for the gate, he was surprised when the Old Man’s hand shot out like a snake and grabbed his."