A Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words.com Review

Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

For the full review: http://wp.me/p220KL-9wO on 1/31

From that review: "Let me start off by saying that one, I think the synopsis didn't quite get it right. I don't feel that A Face without a Heart is a retelling of that fabulous and horrific Oscar Wilde tale, The Picture of Dorian Gray, is rather a modern day ode to Wilde by Reed. The author takes Wilde's story of a beautiful man who bargains away his soul rather than see himself as anything less than the perfect image he sees displayed before him and gives it a Rick R Reed, hmmm, not twist perhaps but something similar enough as though the demon who visited Dorian came back and said, 'here's another likely candidate. Let's choose him.' And did..."

For all our reviews, author interviews, and all things books, visit us at http://scatteredthoughtsandroguewords...

Received a free copy through NetGalley UK in exchange for an honest review.

As much as I would love to claim otherwise, this book was a struggle for me to get through from start to finish. I kept thinking I'd give it one more chapter and see if it improved, but the more I read, the more I wanted to hate it, and I generally try not to abandon books if I can help it, so I kept pushing myself onwards with it. The one good thing about this book is that it's fairly fast-paced, which helped, but at the same time that's one of the things I wasn't overly fond of about it.

There's too many narrative switches for my liking, especially to characters that play big parts but aren't necessarily important, and although by the end of it it's understandable to a point why they were somewhat necessary, there's always ways around it that could have improved the whip-lash of the reader, pulling us in and out every time we adjust to one - there's no pattern to the changes, either, which makes it worse. But my biggest issue with the narrative changes is that, despite being written in first-person, they all sound the same, and it's a flat, monotone drone from all of them that sounds pretentious regardless of who the characters are. I can understand the main three sounding similar in that way, to a point, but the others didn't come from money, didn't have money, and would never have sounded so full of it and jaded by it when it comes to material possessions in the same way. Honestly, I think if the book had been written in third-person, a lot of the problems I had with it would have been far less noticeable, but alas. Also, the main character, Gary, was written in present tense and all of the others in past tense, and I understand this is to make him stand out as the main character, which is unnecessary since the whole book revolves around him, and I guess as an attempt to make him sound as if he's different to the others, but it again was just a whip-lash issue that was there to throw the audience out of the story rather than keep them gripped into it. The whole writing style didn't work for me in general, and maybe it's just me, maybe no one else reading this had problems with any of this, but having looked at other reviews, I don't think I was the only one who found the endless list of reasons the author throws us out of the story rather than keeping us in. If you notice the writing style while you're reading it over the plot itself, then there's obviously a problem.

My biggest overall issue with this story is that it was originally published twenty years ago as an indie book and is now being re-published on a bigger label all these years later, and it shows its age without any signs of it having been edited to update it. There's the things described in the book that younger readers might not get the way someone who lived through the nineties or earlier might, and the attitudes haven't been updated. There was one particular comment that stuck with me from Gary's point of view within the first few chapters about Henrietta, the drag queen of the cast, concerning how he mistook her for a woman at first, but on closer inspection realised there was 'a coward of a man hidden beneath', and considering that she's represented as more trans than she is a drag queen, I find that highly offensive with the way it came across, not to mention the fact that beyond that character recognising his mistake, there was no real need to make such personal a comment to the subject as the narrative went into - it was almost like the author was preaching his views through the character, and every writer knows never to do that, or to at least make it seem like they're not doing that. There were other such comments throughout as well, and had she not been represented the way she was, it might have been easier to shrug off, but that comment alone, to me, shows the age of the book and the attitudes that have changed since then regarding trans and queer people, which is a subject close to me personally, and it doesn't matter if the author is someone from the community or not, it doesn't excuse it. There were a lot of stereotypical character traits in general, each character being a stereotype and not a lot more, which was perhaps the issue of it.

For a book that has characters who throw around the saying 'I know you, and this is not you' a whole lot, I don't feel like I really knew any of the characters. Liam is around in the beginning a lot more than he is later on, and as it seems we're getting to know him (and getting to know Gary through his eyes), he's suddenly removed from the narrative, then we get to know more of Henrietta (and Gary through her eyes), who's then also suddenly removed. One of the easier ways to portray a character for the world to know who they are is to have a handful of characters around them showing that they know them because of this or due to that, and every time we get close to that, it's taken away again. Maybe that was intentional? The character does seem to lose himself over the years, but it comes across as much more mistimed narrative switches. We know Henrietta has a husband, we even get to meet him briefly, but then suddenly later on she's going on dates with people without any real explanation as to what happened with the husband - we're supposed to care about these characters, supposed to know them, but we're not shown anything about them and the few things we do see aren't explained. Things happen, no explanation, then things move on. Liam is doing well working in Chicago, the next it's been years, his word changes drastically, and then he's moving to New York, but the progression of this isn't even hinted at nevermind shown. Gary, the main character who is supposed to be the most important, has never met Zoe one minute and the next we're supposed to believe he's madly in love with her. There's not a lot of room in the narrative for us to know the characters, or to care about them, and I think that was the biggest of problems for me in getting into the story and staying tuned into it. I like to know the characters, to see them develop, especially if years are going by from start to finish, and there's no time for any of that, not even with the main character. Gary was a person before Liam did the artwork of him and he practically froze in time, and yet we know little to nothing of that person he was to compare it to how he became towards the end of the story. How can we judge him, even through his eyes, on how different he was at the start to how he was at the end, when it was never shown, and it was never really told to us, either? He could have been a selfish, self-absorbs borderline sociopath at the beginning as well as the end for all we've got to show for it, and those are the kinds of people who know how to keep up an act, so what is there to show the audience that he wasn't like that at the beginning, that he was truly innocent before he stopped physically ageing? Nothing. By the time I read to the end, I was really disappointed that there wasn't anything to really compare the two states of his being to each other and that I'd read a whole book without anything to show for it.

There were narrative issues, the age of the book itself issues and the attitudes to the LGBTQ+, and there are character issues and the lack of solid substance to them or time to get to know them, and those are all pretty big problems to avoid when writing a book, but it doesn't mean the book was out-and-out awful. It wasn't. It was readable. I came close to abandoning it, but the fact is that I didn't, there was always enough to keep me reading it, even if those things weren't things that I look for in a book or the characters within the book, they were enough. My review so far makes it sound as though I hate the book and I don't, but I did really want to love it and couldn't. I think the fact it's a re-telling of such a classic, getting it right is important, or putting enough of a unique spin on it is vital, and for me personally those things weren't lived up to. It doesn't mean there weren't aspects of the book that I liked or didn't mind, or that it was completely unreadable. But for me personally the big things that I look for in a book, in a character, and, most importantly, in a plot, were all missing, and therefore it's difficult for me to point out the good points over the bad ones. However, that doesn't mean to say that someone else will have the same problem, and I hope there are a lot of other people out there who've read the book and can list off all the good points that they found where I fail to do so, because it wasn't awful, and it wasn't unreadable, it just didn't tick all the boxes for me.

This book was okay, I enjoyed it for what it was, but for me it was disappointing that it didn't seem to finish what it started in terms of all the points it made, all the branches it grew, but the plot itself was complete if not predictable - there was only ever going to be one way to put an end to the predicament the main character was in and it ended like that. It was disappointing that I felt worlds apart from being close to relating to the characters in any kind of real way, it was disappointing that I didn't walk away feeling like I knew any of the characters or half of the things that happened to them whilst the story played out, and it was disappointing that there wasn't a bit more to the plot woven around the main part of it to keep things intriguing. I didn't feel able to connect with the characters, their backgrounds, or their stories, even the ones that I should have been able to connect to, and I don't know if that's down to me and how I perceive the world compared to how they did or if it was down to the author's ability to portray that in a real way that translates to the real world and real people, or a bit of both, but unfortunately something went wrong somewhere between this book and me. I wanted to love it, but all I can do it like it. I wanted it to be amazing, but the best it was is readable. I guess despite the themes of the story and the community of people, which are things I rarely struggle to connect with in any given story, for whatever reason, I just couldn't connect with them in this book, and I'm disappointed in that most of all, but it is what it is and that's all there is to it. I'm sorry I couldn't like it more, I wish I could have walked away from it with at least one memorable character and a plot that will stick with me for years to come, but this book wasn't the one for me. Hopefully it can be all those things for someone else.




NG

The synopsis for this book sounded amazing, it ticked a lot of the boxes for me from the community of people it revolves around to the fact that it's a re-telling of a beloved classic, but for whatever reason I couldn't connect with it the way that I had hoped I would. I wanted to love it, but the best I found it to be was 'readable' and 'okay'. I wish I could have walked away loving each and every one of the characters, but the best I can say about them is that they're likeable enough, tolerable at best, and I find that to be a real shame. I don't know if it was the book itself or me, but I was never able to fully connect with it, and every time I got into the book, I was thrown out again by the various narrative and tense changes, the skipping of huge chunks of time with no real explanation as to what happened between, etc. On paper, this should have been one of the books that I usually connect with and fall in love with, but in practice I struggled to finish reading it from start to finish and felt disappointed with the gaps never filled in from previous branches of the plotline.

However, the plot in general is complete, it has a beginning, a middle, and an end, all the highly significant plot points are woven throughout and wrapped up by the end, and for what it is it's all there. It's possible I expected too much of it as a re-telling of such a huge book, or because I expect more of the books that I usually do read, but whatever the reason, unfortunately, the completeness of the story alone wasn't enough for me personally to connect with it in such a way that made me love it rather than merely liking it. Hopefully others will be able to get into and take away from it far more than I managed to, because it is a good book beyond the problems that I struggled with throughout it.

A modern-day retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Beauty is a quality that can go deeper than what you can see. It can be dark, dense, and make you powerless to resist. It can stir within you a longing that leads straight to your own demise. Now imagine that this beauty, this feeling, can be captured. In A Face without a Heart, the beauty of a single man is captured within a hologram portrait that is stunning and breathtaking.

"It's depressing, though, to think that even if this is really what others see when they look at me, this beauty is nothing I can hold on to, nothing that won't wither on the vine, darken, age..."

It's simply a moment in Gary's existence, captured by Liam, his new friend. Gary begins to struggle with the idea that this moment, this captured image, could very well be the best version of himself. Every moment, every breath he takes, leads to his beauty slipping away towards a darkness that begins swallowing him whole. He ends up bargaining his soul away -- his hologram portrait will age and decay so that Gary will be untouched. He quickly learns that he can engage in earthly pleasures and have it not affect his beauty -- however over the span of 20 years, his soul has not been left untouched. Gary finds himself moving through friends quickly, becoming excluded from locations due to his behaviors. Gary is initially admired for his beauty and appearance however as people begin to see his true self, superficial qualities are not enough to be able to maintain these relationships. Upon first sight, people appear to him as beautiful however an ugliness quickly envelopes his senses when he sees them for who they are, engaging in these same activities as he. It's like turning the mirror towards himself.

The story is told through several different POVs and I enjoyed how this allowed me to connect to some of the secondary characters. I do wish the friendships and backstories were fleshed out a bit more. Liam and Gary became best friends within days of meeting each other and there was a predominance of instant love which is my least favorite trope. Their mutual friend, Henrietta, provided a good balance in the story and moments of humor when it was needed. At the end of the day, I was hoping the narration would've delved a little deeper because it ended up feeling like we didn't scratch the surface with these characters and I was missing the lyrical writing -- the matter of factness left me yearning for me.

CW: Contains sexually explicit content, graphic scenes of death, and use of narcotics.

Thank you to Netgalley, NineStar press, and Rick R. Reed for the advance reading copy to review!

I was given the opportunity to read an ARC of this by NetGally. Thank you so much for the opportunity.

I have to admit that I did not really connect with this story as much as I would have liked to. I felt like the myriad of points of views that were used to continue the stories were unnecessary while I was in the thick of the story, but now realize that they were necessary to bring about the climax. I did not like Zoe's point of view much, felt like it was much too child like, which I imagine was kind of a way to show Gary's innocence dying off with her suicide. But it made it really hard to connect with her the way she was characterized and the way she was shown in the story to really make her death impactful to the reader. I wished more had been done to really flesh out Liam's character so that, by the time his death came, the reader felt more impacted by his death or maybe came to feel much like Gary did when he killed him: annoyed. There was much that his novel left wanting in me, to be completely honest. But above all I wasn't too sure about the way Reed treated Henrietta. I am not trans, nor am I a drag queen so I can't speak about it with complete certainty that it wasn't right, but I just know that it didn't sit well. I hope more people from that community reads this and really opens up about that representation.

CW: rape, drug abuse, murder, suicide, misgendering.

A Face without a Heart is a retelling of Oscar Wilde's 1890 classic philosophical novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, which basically tossed a grenade into the world of Victorian society, who criticized it as being scandalous and immoral and full of homoeroticism.


I picture young Gary Adrion (an anagram of Dorian Gray) as a young Tab Hunter. Reed writes of Gary's "fine cheekbones and perfect teeth, aquamarine eyes, a cleft in his chin… all these elements that came together to form something more ethereal. His beauty was difficult to describe in a language containing only twenty-six letters."

But even as we are introduced to the beauty, there is also the dark side. Gary is reading a biography of William Blake, author of Songs of Innocence and of Experience Showing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul when Liam first spots him on the L. Liam thinks: "I suddenly had a presentiment, and the feeling persisted … that of fear, a feeling that this young man held a sort of menace."

A Face without a Heart beautifully balances that dichotomy throughout. Is Gary truly innocent, or was evil already there only to be awakened by Henrietta's comments? Is it nature or nurture? Gary's "selling of his soul" seems more a careless wish rather than an outright deal or conscious plan. But once it is set into motion, it is Gary's free will that crafts his life going forward.

As in Oscar Wilde's time, our society too often measures worth by appearance. We adore the surface rather than the depth. It doesn't matter if a man is good at heart, but if his face is good. Reed tantalizes us with the thought that Gary can change - that perhaps we as a society can change our preconceptions - but at the end of the day?

And people whine about how change never really lasts when it comes to others, how they always unfortunately revert to their old ways, the ways you don’t want them to be. Anyone who has ever tried to change another knows this to be true. Oh certainly, the change may last a week, a month, even a year. But soon the real person comes back, the one who has been waiting in the wings for just the right cue, the one that will allow him to say “Ah fuck it, I’ve had enough.”

I am a fan of Rick Reed's romance novels, but please note A Face without a Heart is not a M/M romance novel. It's an unsparing glimpse into a soul which perhaps isn't that much different from our own. And isn't that what a good horror story is all about? 5 stars.

I received an ARC from DSP Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
Review also posted at Gay Book Reviews - check it out!
n  n

Firstly I'd like to thank the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with this book in exchange of an honest review.

A Warning; the book contains graphic sex, drug use and lots of other immoral topics. Take that into consideration before reading.

It's been a long time since I've read Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Grey, and I have always been fascinated by the story. It's been something that stuck with me, whilst I didn't adore the original I did enjoy the story and the commentary it has on corruption.

I found getting into this story, for me at least, took a bit of work. It was unexpected to come across multiple POV's as I thought we would hear the slow decline of our Dorian (named Gary - which I hated but that's beside the point) purely from his point of view. I really didn't like it, and found that I couldn't connect to the story because of this in the early chapters. I felt that all the different characters felt written the same and were indecipherable, at least at the beginning. Later on in the book it changes and each character develops a distinct voice and it improves the flow of the story.

The focus of the story is Gary, his innocence and decline into corruption when given the opportunity to get away with things he otherwise wouldn't have because of his immortal beauty. I really enjoyed how the 'portrait' of Gary was now digital/holographic. I appreciated how none of his actions were glamorised. He was an unlikable and disturbing character and the author had no qualms about showing this. My favourite character was Henrietta, I loved her charm, poise and presence and felt that the story would not be the same without her.

I did feel however that the story both felt too long and too short all at once. I felt there was at times a lot going on without much flesh to it. The relationship he has at the beginning of this book being a prime example, instalove to instahate almost immediately. It felt flippant and annoying, but I suppose it does lend itself to the man he becomes and the start of his downfall.

Overall it was an enjoyable story, I am still fascinated by the plot and idea of it and think this version would make a much more enjoyable movie than the original. I loved the creepiness and it was definitely a book that had me feeling actually disgusted with the main character and making remarks about him out loud.

3.5 stars

Just barely started, but I'm already intrigued...

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

TW: graphic sex, drug use, murder

This was a brilliant and graphic modern retelling of the Dorian Gray story we all know. Where Oscar Wilde held back and edited himself, Rick went for it and for the most part it totally hit the mark for me.

I love how this version told the story from multiple viewpoints and gave us a glimpse into the thoughts and perspectives of the secondary characters. This is a format that I love in books when done right. It's very easy to get wrong if you have too many people telling the story but I think Rick really nailed it here. I didn't feel like it switched too much and I didn't feel like there were too many people, considering for the most part it was only 3 people the majority of the time.

One thing that's more of a personal preference in the stories I read is that I usually avoid erotica books, it's not typically my thing. However I feel like in this book it was done well. Especially when it showed Gary revel and descend into debauchery.

The only complaint I really have with this book is that towards the end it got a bit verbose. Perhaps this is because I knew where the story was going but it felt drawn out for me when the rest of the book had a steady pace.

That's really the only negative thing I can say about this book. Rick has done a very good job with this retelling and this is a book I would be proud to add to my collection and recommend to anyone who can stomach the graphic content.

The Review:

Honesty from the outset~

When you get message like this: "Tell Kris A Face Without a Heart, while it does have its moments, isn't all that scary", you would worry... wouldn't you??

First things first~

I'm sure there are some of those among you who have been rolling your eyes at certain people becoming Rick R Reed fangirls. I admit I had even dared to raise an eyebrow at the enthusiasm of our fearless leader, but damned if she wasn't right. Good God, this author can write a gripping tale.

For those not familiar with it, this is a story about a spoiled - and I'm using this word deliberately - beautiful young man, Gary Adrion (note the anagram, which is an example of the way the author plays on the names and personalities of the original characters), who comes to the attention of holographic artist Liam Howard. In his love for Gary, Liam creates an Idol-like artwork of the man, which is both painful and enthralling and leads Gary to bare all by admitting he would give his soul to the devil to remain like the image forever. Thus begins his wanton descent into a life of depravity, greed, drugs, sex, amorality, selfishness, blackmail and murder. Amidst this Gary feels safe, even smug at times, in the knowledge that his portrait, which as a mirror to his soul that fascinates and repels him, will take on his every sin. So, you can imagine that describing this work as an uncomfortable read is an understatement to say the least.

Knowing A Face Without A Heart is a modern retelling of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray you do tend to automatically think certain things: (a) this is obviously not going to end well, and (b) what new aspect can the author possibly bring to this story.

In many ways the first is a given; however, this did not stop me from being caught up and gobbling page after page of the book. This can be partly attributed to the writing style of this author, which is sheer joy to read. ::insert further superlatives here:: :)

The other reason why it resonated so strongly with me - and this relates to point (b) above - is because the themes are paricularly relevant to today's society in which youth and beauty tend to be immortalised by media and adored and envied by many, with some people going to extraordinary lengths to mantain this facade. When I was reading A Face Without A
Heart I couldn't help thinking about the trainwrecks of the lives of the rich and famous, which are laid out in public forums for our consumption. This retake, I think, has even more of an impact precisely because of it's modern setting.

A couple of issues/warnings~

I didn't, and I don't think many will, find any of the characters likeable. This doesn't mean I wasn't able to form a connection with them. In fact, I ended up pitying Gary knowing his path to self-destruction couldn't end anyway but badly.

The author has used an unusual format where each of the main characters as well as a few of the secondary characters have chapters of their own in which they tell their part in the story by means of the first person POV. This approach works extraordinarily well; giving the reader an insight into each of the protags and as a tool for progressing the story. I admit I found this gave me some 'reflief' as it were to what would have been an even more disturbing read if it had been written entirely from the perspective of one person.

My recommendation~

A Face Without A Heart will not be for everyone, but I would recommend this novel to those readers who are interested in great character studies and like to challenge themselves with confronting themes and issues.

I also think for anyone who was fascinated by The Picture of Dorian Gray reading A Face Without A Heart is an absolute must.

Rick R. Reed has undertaken a big task in re-telling “The Picture of Dorian Gray” and I have a mixed response to it.

It’s pretty clear in “A Face Without a Name” who the characters are. Gary Adrion is an anagram for Dorian Gray, Henrietta is Henry but as a drag queen… etc. Reed’s version of this story is in a contemporary setting. In some ways that makes the story more gritty and visceral. It’s much less subtle than the original story was and I think that both ways work when it comes down to it.

Liam is an artist who creates holograms of people. When he sees Gary he knows that he wants to relate a hologram of him in spite of the fact that he immediately feels as though Gary is a threat. The hologram is created… and Gary says that he would “sell his soul to the devil” to stay as beautiful as the way Liam has depicted him. Thus begins the supernatural connection between Gary and the portrait.

Reed’s story focuses on the downward spiral of Gary Adrion’s life. Once he learns that the hologram takes on the aging that his physical being would normally do, Gary hides it away. At the same time as he is bothered by the connection, he is aware enough that he doesn’t want anyone to know about it.

The main theme of the story is that a focus on pleasure and hedonistic behavior as the dark side of human nature. The more that Gary does that is cruel, dark, evil, the older, and more disgusting the hologram becomes. As a fan of the original story, I found Reed’s to be much more literal. There’s a finesse in Oscar Wilde’s version that makes Dorian still likable in a way… even as he spirals out of control. I found Gary to be unliveable. He was at best, naïve and at worst he was a complete monster. It was a bit too black and white for me.

I would say that none of Reed’s characters in this story are likable.. that makes this a hard read if you like to connect with characters.

If you haven’t read the original and like very dark literature, this may be the book for you. If you’re interested in comparing them, Reed is certainly a great writer. I’ve been a fan of quite a few of his books. I wouldn’t say this book was a “favorite” but I can see the great writing and appreciate the attempt to retell and modernize a great story.

I rated this a 3 because it was well-written, etc. but it was more of a 2 or 2.5 for me. There were a lot of POVs. I kind of get why they were necessary in the end, but it was overwhelming at the beginning. Zoe's POV especially was a bit... much. Like I get why it was that way but I didn't really get her. Even if she didn't care about the dancing anymore, why would she purposely dance badly? Especially if she knew people were coming to see. Like I get that she didn't care anymore but it seemed more like she was going out of her way to fuck things up for some reason I couldn't understand. Then Gary's reaction seemed ridiculous. The entire thing felt more like reading a screenplay than a book, to be honest. Like it was leaving room for the actor's to find their own version of the characters and bring them to life, but without actors they were flat.

DNF 35%

I enjoy Rick R. Reed's writing style but the subject matter of this book was not for me.
I have never read the picture of Dorian Grey but I know the general story. Unfortunately, this story did not grasp my attention. I also could not handle the self centered character and when incest was added I was done with the book.

Thank you Netgalley, Rick R. Reed and Ninestar Press for the review copy