The Book Bump

First Published: 2020
Author: Tom Bray
Series: The Drift
Book number: 1
Language: English
Genre: Paranormal / Psychological thriller
My rating: 3/5

The story follows the lives of four main characters, Ali, Kerri, Danny and Kitty, over a week.
Ali is an inhabitant of the Drift, where people who died before their 18^th birthday “live out” the rest of their existence.
Kitty is a 17-year-old girl who lives with her mother. Kerri, a ghost, befriends her.
Kerri appears to Kitty on her 6^th birthday, and together they embark on a “wild goose chase”. Kitty knows they are connected somehow but doesn’t quite know how.
Finally, Danny is a simple person who tries to live his life but finds himself in odd situations.
Their lives are all connected, but they don’t know it.

I want to start by thanking the author, Tom Bray, for giving me a free copy of his book in exchange for an honest review.

It took me quite a while to read because life got in the way a little, and secondly, I got frustrated with the book. I wanted to enjoy it, but sometimes, the writing got in the way of the story. Does that make sense?

There is plenty to enjoy and admire in Bray’s debut novel. The novel’s premise promises a new and unique take on the afterlife. It is refreshing, albeit sometimes a little confusing.

It’s a story about family, love, loss, and grief. There are many purposeful conversations between characters on the “meaning of life”, which are fascinating.

The plot is action-packed, and overall, the pacing is quite good.

The descriptions are spot on. As a reader, you feel you are immersed in the book. You almost forget you are reading at times.

However, a lot is going on. Perhaps a little too much, especially when the reader has to understand the Drift. I feel I don’t understand the point of the Drift. But perhaps it is better explained in the subsequent novels. Maybe the author could have focused a little more on world-building?

The only problem I have with the pacing is the ending. The reveal at the end is slow. Towards the end, the book seemed to drag, as though the author didn’t want to finish it. It felt like the author was trying to find any possible excuse to keep writing the book, meaning loads of flashbacks are thrown in that don’t always help the plot move forward.
The purpose of Kerri’s (and Kitty’s) mission seems a little too farfetched to me. I was left thinking, “What? Is that it?”. It’s rather messed up thinking. They ruin a guy’s life, and for what? I felt the reasoning behind Kerri’s actions was flawed and downright selfish.
The ending, for me, spoiled the read.

The characters are well built, although I struggled to sympathise with or become attached to any of them. You don’t need to like a character for them to be well-crafted.
Kitty felt a bit like a spoilt brat, always blaming everyone else but herself. And as mentioned, I found Kerri to be unbelievably selfish.
Ali is still trying to come to terms with realising he is dead. I get that. And with that comes a little character growth. Especially in trying to understand the mechanics of the world he now “lives” in. But I felt he was the most forgettable character in the book.
Danny… I don’t know what to make of him. I sometimes pitied him as he had a hard life; his upbringing wasn’t easy, but at the same time, he grated on my nerves. In the beginning, I started to grow attached to him, but as the story progressed, I found myself disliking him more and more. I didn’t care what happened to him. I somehow felt it was karma for his attitude towards some other characters. He was far too quick to judge others. He’s very stuck-up and rather righteous. Yes, not everyone has been through the same hurdles he has, but does that give him the right to mock other people’s hardships? No. And people can have worse lives than his. You can’t judge someone’s life unless you’ve lived in their shoes.

Another point that I didn’t particularly like was the way women were portrayed. Overall, I felt the author focused too much on the female body. All the female characters are described in a very sexual manner. There are constant mentions of breasts, bums, sexiness, etc. Women have other attributes. It was too much at times. Unintentional male gaze?

The novel delves into some challenging topics, such as rape, child abuse, and abuse (in all shapes and forms), but I’m not sure why. I’m not sure what the reader is meant to take away from some of the topics this book addresses.

Lots of the violence in the book seems gratuitous. I understand what the author was trying to achieve: the more broken a character is, the more sympathy a reader should have for them. But it somehow lost its credibility. I believe this book could have achieved the same message with less violence. I’m not saying take it all away, just the parts that bring nothing to the narrative. There is one rather dark scene, which I distinctly remember being very disturbing, other than being included for shock value; I don’t know what it brings to the novel.

As a debut novel, I think there is a lot to admire. And I am curious to see where he takes the Drift in the next book in the series Leaving the Drift. I downloaded the whole series on my Kindle, but I might wait a little before starting the second novel.