Deeper symbolism with too many implications It must be especially disturbing to read for female readers,The best, and worst, is often inside oneself.
Deeper symbolism with too many implications It must be especially disturbing to read for female readers, because the kind of torture and death is especially aimed at the female body, something I have hardly ever seen described in such detail. And as sick as it is, as soon as the plot twist is revealed, the readers start asking themselves what might have been hidden inside the next victim.
Terrible POV Not to speak of the perspective of the kidnapped women, something that makes all of Carters' work so special, the perfectly described POVs switching between serial killer, victims, and Hunter. A kind of sick running gag is the moment of realization when the victims understand what will happen to them, which is perfectly orchestrated with the readers' current knowledge and Hunters´assumptions.
That´s no good way of do it yourself trauma therapy I don´t know the psychopathological background of traumatic childhood terrors, but what seems kind of counterintuitive is that the worst horrors become the biggest fetishes and obsessions in adult life, although the victim suffered so much from it. To finally become the godlike perpetrator might be the greatest relief possible for a killer, no matter the costs for the ones tortured and killed, as long as one feels better afterward. Or at least satisfied.
Forget Hannibal Lecter, meet Lucien Folter who Chuck Norrises him like a boss.
Sociopathic superhuman Will is everything and the manipulation of humansForget Hannibal Lecter, meet Lucien Folter who Chuck Norrises him like a boss.
Sociopathic superhuman Will is everything and the manipulation of humans and controll of one´s own emotions to turn into the perfect killing machine are important steps toward becoming the ultimate über killer. How Lucien is self monitoring his evolution is interesting to watch and not as unrealistic in reality as one might suspect. Because
Imagine an evil genius like him in real life Other real life and fictional killers were crazy, hungry, horny, or sadistic, but someone with the forensic, psychopathological education, money, and motivation could slaughter like a boss for decades without end as long as he stays fit and healthy. What should stop him, who could track him down? And I deem
His work is potentially really important You´ll see, I won´t spoiler, but the idea has something to offer. There is of course the ethical question if it´s cool to make so many people suffer and die for maybe saving more people, but moral has never been a driving force of my motivation. So maybe more qualified people should philosophize about that aspect. However, it´s just
Soooo overachieving how he organizes the gore It´s the pedantic, perfectionist standpoint of not just doing good, but extraordinary work. And it doesn´t end there, each good scientist and researcher should do self evaluation, critical reflection, and introspection to see how she/he reacts to the screaming study objects and mutilated guinea pigs. And this good, clean scientific practice is what makes Lucien my current all time favorite mass murdering torture prodigy. Sadly still no double blind studies and comparison groups available, but maybe young scientists will continue his legacy.
Art is in the eye of the beholder, but this is just ridiculously exaggerated by an overachieving torture artist.
What makes it unique It´s the littleArt is in the eye of the beholder, but this is just ridiculously exaggerated by an overachieving torture artist.
What makes it unique It´s the little details that make a work of music, art, or literature special and the starring killer really understands the importance of good staging with a sudden plot twist and the big aha tada moment. Not enough that the exhibition pieces are already impressive, there is even a physical meta level with hidden messages Hunter has to find to be able to fully enjoy and appreciate the genius of the artist.
How much dark, hidden meaning could there be behind modern art, as if its sight wasn´t already torture enough The idea of hiding secret messages in any creative piece is an old one, but imagining a real serial killer who does it for fun, ecstasy, celebrating her or his ingenuity or the mentioned vengeance is a new, interesting form of evil. Of course, it would lead to the same modern art disputes as seen around the world, the one describing it as something each low IQed, primitive, animalistic hillbilly killer could do, while others see it as the next big thing of a truly sophisticated murder genius. Probably both of the groups won´t really bother much with thinking about the victims and be more obsessed with talking about the ingenuity of the next big killing installation.
The good old self justice question or why DIY (doesn´t) rock(s) Again, the big showdown opens up the question of where justice ends and vigilantism begins, if people are legitimized to kill if the law doesn´t help them after misjudgment and injustice, if it´s ok to switch from victim or the one left behind alone to the big avenger.
Long time childhood trauma and its ultimate consequences
Incredible plot twists An extremely cool final plot twist lets the reader have a big wtf momLong time childhood trauma and its ultimate consequences
Incredible plot twists An extremely cool final plot twist lets the reader have a big wtf moment, showing that Carter has evolved into one of the best hardcore psychothriller writers of our generation, leaving the reader stunned by altogether the motivations, who the killer is, and how the reader was misled regarding the time period of a whole subplot.
It should be used much more often It´s the only time Carter used such a plot idea and using different (view spoiler)[periods of time to finally reveal that it didn´t happen at plot time (hide spoiler)] is extremely satisfying for the readers who laugh about the funny trick, even if it´s inappropriate. It feels a bit like real life time travel, because by mixing and combining it, maybe with 3 generations and never knowing what the current present time is, the reader is permanently questioning what finally might come out.
Nobody can go through such a hell without becoming a devil The monster suffered so much hardly anyone could stand and, duh, became one of the worst, inner dead, and ultra cold killers in Carters´ series. Someone who isn´t motivated by revenge, madness, or the pleasure of pain of others, but by being made a torturing beast. Again, the psychopathological question of what makes victims perpetrators is one of the many irritating questions that stay in mind after finishing reading.
SAWing the way to the top elite of hardcore psychothriller with a bit of media criticism
Social media competence is recommended to make better evil swSAWing the way to the top elite of hardcore psychothriller with a bit of media criticism
Social media competence is recommended to make better evil swarm intelligence decisions. There will certainly be funny troll comment sections both with the live stream and later when the final video is uploaded. The role of media has a big impact on the psychological dynamic of victim, Hunter, the audience, and the killer, whose motivation turns out to be a bit maybe over the top exaggerated, but somewhat understandable.
Sure as hell already reality That, how, and when it happens, or illusionary will happen, is more a question of to what extent and not if. While it might at the moment be one of the most disturbing darknet and organized crime features, games like that with audience participation might have a place in different kinds of societies of the future for different reasons. Let´s say corporal punishment, using clones without fear and pain, militaristic societies with classy battle royales, or as an accepted hobby for relaxation, the options are endless.
Digging to the meta level It´s one of the deeper, more meaningful, and social criticizing parts of the series, not just a maniac without a real agenda besides destroy, rape, eat, and kill, but someone who has really good reasons for revenge. This whole >> society, social media, the youth, whatever is evil and finds gore and torture entertaining << is another, far more complex thing. Depending on who is asked one could get dozens of different theories, thesis, discussions, duels, and battles until death, and explanations out of the shallow waters of many humanities, not even including new weirdo cyber pop psychology.
Or, to boil the explanation down So simple, so easy, the human animal was, is, and will be sick, cruel, and especially fascinated by cruelty of any kind, as long as it doesn´t happen to oneself, and keen on participating in any kind of group watch offered by the favorite darknet station.
Imagining the potentially most effective, deadly, and coolest serial killers of all times must have been a challenge, even for Carter.
As often in CartImagining the potentially most effective, deadly, and coolest serial killers of all times must have been a challenge, even for Carter.
As often in Carter´s works, the timeline and plot are jumping from and between Hunter to the killer, teaching us the scientific methods used to track the devil and his thoughts, actions, and emotions. What makes one think and realize that technology won´t help us, is the fact that while technology is saving many victims by helping investigators to quicker find the monsters in human form, the widespread and free availability of both information and technology made it in contrary much easier for them to never get caught. Why?
There are estimated few hundred serial killers in the US alone, in Europe it´s the question if there are really fewer or if it´s just the lack of special investigators, education, and training for these, research, and technology that reduces the number, or maybe the state just doesn´t want to spend the extra money for these units and prefers to put a missing stamp onto the file, although it was the already eighth victim killed in exactly the same way.
A surveillance state would save thousands of lives, because as long as potential victims don´t make long hikes in the mountains and stay in larger cities, finding someone to torture, rape, kill, and eat gets much more tricky. But technology, in a positive way, could really help, for instance, simple tracking devices, something such as implanted monitoring devices for sick people, body- and biohackers or wanna be cyborgs, just miniatured so that they could easily be injected directly into the bloodstream or put in some places under the skin, making it far too dangerous to abduct anyone.
That might be one of the best solutions, because sadly, even in the perfect dystopian terror surveillance torture secret prison state, the methods of killers shown in Carter´s work are often so perfect that it won´t help. These people study, maybe from their early teens on when they realize what they are and want to do in life and are as highly motivated as all other sick extremists fueled by a fetish, ideology, or desire. They research everything, of course especially what the flaws and the mistakes of their predecessors were, how to disguise and camouflage, how to buy and construct everything without getting caught, and, most important, how to use the internet, darknet, and the options organized crimes can sell them to find victims, sell their crimes as snuffs movies, and be untraceable.
All of this would have been too tricky before the internet and especially dark web, when it was impossible to not make a mistake because one had to have more physical contact with potential witnesses and no easy to understand, best and first rated How to serial kill better tutorial on one´s favorite dark web youtube equivalences.
We are so US- und Europe focused that we are not realizing the fact that in the Southern hemisphere, where police hasn´t the same technology and resources, serial killers who have money and expertise could go on hunting trips that go into the k-level, not just the dozens or maximum 3 digit scale.
If one is bored of murders and investigations with emotional and family backgrounds, revenge, really personal reasons for killing, and far too much roIf one is bored of murders and investigations with emotional and family backgrounds, revenge, really personal reasons for killing, and far too much room for the boring, normal, not mentally sick victims and perpetrators, this badass serial killer focused series is your read of choice.
When profession and hobby fuse and form a new job perspective, some of the most amazing authors see the light of the literary day. Scientists writing Sci-Fi, enthusiastic lovers writing romance novels, politicians writing fantasy novels, it´s always a match made in heaven, or hell in case of the last example, because they are at a level of professionality someone who hasn´t earned a real qualification before living from inspiring and astonishing millions of people with their wonderful novels, can´t reach that level of detail and credibility. That´s also the reason why some of the best authors have studied and taught creative writing.
And here comes Carter, a forensic psychologist who worked in this job and creates a hard boiled, snarky, fast paced, extremely brutal, my instant favorite, psychothriller, extreme horror genre, the accurate, realistic, highly sociopathic serial killer illuminating genre. It reminds me of Gerritsen, whose newer works I am wanting to read if my thriller writing motivation should escalate once again, who used her expertise as a doctor to pimp her amazing novels.
I just, subjectively, deem the end a bit unsatisfying, I just don´t like how the motives are explained because (view spoiler)[ it´s just a revenge theme and I was much more hoping for a mental illness explanations, madness, and long monologues of the highly motivated torturer and killer. It would have been cooler with a full blood lunatic like in his other books. (hide spoiler)] But that´s subjective and the series gets better with each novel, so why don´t immediately start if you dare.
Gosh, I nearly forgot mentioning, this is really hardcore, reminds me of the bonkers extreme horror genre just very weird people are reading, whistling coughing, so just enter if you can handle it. Especially in the later parts of the series I´ve already read, the killers, their victims, and their intimate relationships and private activities are in the main focus.
The idea of making it personal and investing, time, effort, and hate to find the most feared death and torture methods is something ungrateful victimsThe idea of making it personal and investing, time, effort, and hate to find the most feared death and torture methods is something ungrateful victims ought learn to appreciate because, in heaven or pandemonium, targets of more animalistic and primitive serial killers will certainly be envious that these was been given a special treatment they couldn´t hope for, just oldfashioned, anachronistic stuff such as stereotypical torture, rape, and mutilation without the sadist´s time and love invested to find an individual treatment.
Many of the newer psychothriller slasher authors add forensics, detailed infodumpy technical descriptions, and psychological analytics to the mix, but Carter is mastering it with extra high speed, just enough characterization needed, and full focus on the true stars of the genres, the monsters and the methods and expertise of the hunters.
Something thought beyond, subjective and just rudimentarily related to the current state of the investigation, is how technology will enable serial killers to torture, rape, and keep alive victims for months, years, or immortalities. Because, endless life, not aging plus highly advanced future medicine doesn´t just mean jay, but also forever real life hell.
Carter changes the main motivation and background of the killers such as revenge, hate, madness, trauma, sadism, etc. in each novel, which makes it interesting in that way that the real psychological background of all kind of demons can be analyzed and understood, that the motives seem somewhat, from an inhuman and bonkers perspective, in itself logical. Not in all cases, of course, most are just real rectums, recti, rect whatever, but in the 6 or 7 novels I have read so far 2 serial killers had motives that went beyond just loving it and could be explained in their monologues or with Hunter´s analysis.
The extremely rare case of the personal tragedy of an exceptional author who wrote this novel around the death of his partner and included and added dThe extremely rare case of the personal tragedy of an exceptional author who wrote this novel around the death of his partner and included and added dark, meta horror to the usual serial killer setting.
How the ending and especially the motivation of the antagonist in his monologue are described is how reality functions, how humankind rolls, what is several times happening right at this moment. (view spoiler)[Governments mistreating their soldiers, especially dark, secret black operations (hide spoiler)] not to forget the, for the work irrelevant, secret prisons, NSA surveillance stuff, Orwellian tendencies, etc. There is money to make, cash is king, and it´s a buyer´s market. So better give black Friday special offers, why not (view spoiler)[3 killings for the price of 2 or one for free after 10 (hide spoiler)]
What is even more disturbing is that, with such a setting, nobody is safe anymore. Before, it were certain main target audiences that got the most attention and deadly love by serial killers, but by imagining such a scenario, everyone could be a coincidental kill. Hope that the voices don´t have too specific wishes.
And that´s just the industrial world, imagine what must go in in the Southern hemisphere or in the areas of Europe and North America that are under control by organized crime. If one single person with special skills, talent, and motivation could do it, what could the criminal franchise equivalent of a megacorporation conglomerate do, let´s say a cooperation of Asian, Russian, and European crime syndicates that don´t fight, but work together and help each other?
Back to the story, Hunter is pretty confused regarding the killer's personality, motivation, and possible mental illnesses, a small second protagonist´s plotline refreshes the story, and Carter mixes the fast paced first half with more and more disturbing revelation and the final meta hit comes out of nothing, I completely wasn´t prepared for that. I don´t know if Carter did already go meta with some indirect social criticism or if this was his first time, it would however be a splendid idea to mix in more of the questions and answers why and how sociopaths are created and why prevention isn´t possible under the current, exploitative, economic system. Enjoy the hereof allegory and far range of possible interpretations of the ending.
I am not sure if there is a bit of autobiographic fatalistic pessimism and nihilism in there too, could be subjective and thereby wrong, but regarding the circumstances of the creation of this work, it could easily be possible that we are seeing a reappraisal of life and preferences after a tragedy hit one of the most amazing thriller authors out there.
As if modern art wasn´t already torture enough, now the artists are even killing people for their performances. How exaggerated!
The idea of art made tAs if modern art wasn´t already torture enough, now the artists are even killing people for their performances. How exaggerated!
The idea of art made the reason for killing inspired me, not what you may think, to read this first Carter novel and to play with two ideas: How the future will look at serial killers, how research and humanities will try to explain and reflect, and what real life perversions may still come. For instance the misuse of VR, AR, social media, etc. in dark web forums, the continuation of this allegedly just urban legend of pain buttons and viewers paying per view to see the victim vivisected, tortured, and finally killed. But in this case, in a more sophisticated and civilized manner.
Because of the inherent darkness of the human soul, I have absolutely no problem of imagining groups of mad, rich art fans showing their own galleries of evil, real life art installations Saw style, possibly even participating in a different kind of performance art. Already the real thing had strange and weird elements, so what lies closer than to make the already disturbing modern art museum exhibitions a bloodbath.
Narcissistic personality disorders, how they influence human minds, and to what kind of ideas they could grow, especially in this age of split personality, the epic battle between social media and life outside, is another topic. Again, there could be a dark social network account that is more evil than the real thing. An average serial murderer could feel depressed if she/he sees the amazing lives of the other, much more successful, and prominent killers that post their trophies and lifestream their torture and rape sessions. Not sure if I should go in too much detail here, both because of possible goodreads review policy and not to irritate people too much and invite to implications on wtf I am thinking about in my spare time, so I will better stop here. But please visit my dark web futurism Reddit equivalent thread where we discuss these topics and for completely innocent reasons we are always needing new participants because many seem to go missing after a while, very mysterious. I´ll send you the link.
Carter has perfected quick, funny, disturbing, and educating writing to perfection, it´s his first book I am reading and I am blown away. Some new facts learned I didn´t know, although I am pretty into these sick topics, a sudden surprise close to the end of the book, an interesting explanation for the killer's motivation, everything fine except of a bit too many static descriptions at some points instead of action, maybe to add a few more pages, but that´s criticism not even worth mentioning because the whole package is so great. I have to try to discipline myself to not immediately read all the other fabulous, dreadful, novels. Aaaaand too late, I´ve already started the first one of the series, I love this sick stuff. Self flagellation punishment time, but at least while reading to save time.
Subjective drivel, completely irrelevant: What made me restart my psycho killer, typo, sorry, psychothriller reading career that was on hiatus for over a decade was that I got bored of reading extreme horror stuff after movies and games couldn´t really show anything new. But I didn´t want something with subtle, psychological horror and the investigator´s private problems, boring!, I was looking for something that celebrates the real stars of this genre, the maniac sadistic serial slashers. And there he was, Carter, an epiphany, someone who worked in this job as a profiler in real life and I knew, my desperate search was over. What a match made in hell that this ingenious multi talent isn´t just a musician, but an awesome writer too.
Mario the lone bookwolf
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