4 out of 4 stars
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Musicarolina: A Tale of Monsters, Demons, Criminals and Fabulous Musical Numbers! is a book that defies categorization. There are elements of science fiction and fantasy, crime, mystery and even musical numbers. If I had to classify it, though, I would have to call this a comedy. Altogether, it makes for a highly unique but extremely interesting story worth reading.
Musicarolina is a town in North Carolina where the citizens like to break into song and dance numbers. After breaking into a bank, John and his cohorts in crime, Kurt and Mac, flee to Musicarolina looking for John’s brother Jack. Jack was to set them up with new identities and a new getaway vehicle. Jack is nowhere to be found, however, and the three friends come to another disturbing realization. Once you enter Musicarolina, you don’t leave.
The first thing that drew me into this book was the title. You have to admit a fiction novel that mentions musical numbers is quite intriguing. Then when I read the description, I decided I just had to review this book. I’m glad to say that I wasn’t disappointed. One thing that I enjoyed about the way the author wrote this book was the element of mystery that he included. In the beginning we see John, Kurt and Mac inside of a bank with hostages. The author, Daniel William Gunning, let’s us know that they are not after money. What he doesn’t tell us is what they are after. Why would these criminals rob a bank and not take anything? He leaves us in suspense until three quarters through the story. This adds an element of excitement to the overall plot that I absolutely loved.
Another element I found to be truly enjoyable was the witty repartee between the characters. Even while robbing the bank, the criminals use humor to lighten the situation. While this is a mystery/crime/science fiction story, there is humor throughout the whole book. The author combines so many different elements of separate genres in a way that flows nicely and makes the book that much more fascinating. Mr. Gunning also uses great phrases like “pants-wettingly terrifying” and “Tim-Burton-on-acid weird.” I guarantee there will be moments in this book that will leave you laughing out loud.
There is, however, an evil side to the story. I don’t want to give anything away, but this plot once again boils down to the classic good versus evil. This being said, there are some gruesome images used in this story. At no time did this make me want to quit reading the story, but it is something that should be mentioned as some readers are squeamish.
The book was well edited with very few errors leaving me very little to critique. The plot was different enough to keep me guessing, but funny enough to keep me entertained. The use of musical numbers might be a little weird to some, but the author does a good job of integrating them into the story as a whole. Overall, I rate Musicarolina: A Tale of Monsters, Demons, Criminals and Fabulous Musical Numbers! a 4 out of 4 stars. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good fiction story and has a sense of humor.
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Musicarolina
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