Book Review: The Arrivals by Melissa Marr

The Arrivals by Melissa Marr

Genre: Science Fiction Fantasy

Series: Stand-alone

Publisher: William Morrow

Date of Publication: July 2, 2013

Author Information: Website | Twitter

This book was a bit quirky and slightly odd at times, but for me it was like a breath of fresh air. It’s different from the stuff I usually pick up, and ultimately it may have been a little too bizarre for my tastes, but I certainly don’t regret reading it. When it comes to originality and interesting ideas, this book gets massive points.

My love for speculative fiction, especially when other genres are infused with a paranormal twist, is what drew me to this book in the first place. A fantasy western about a group of people from different times and places all mysteriously ending up in an unfamiliar world called the Wasteland? It sounded too intriguing to pass up.

Other than the fact this Wasteland is full of monsters and other unsavory types, however, I didn’t know much else about the novel, so I settled back and prepared to let myself be drawn in. And that’s exactly what the story did, thanks to the unusual but simply extraordinary ideas I found in here. The characters are a motley group made up of: Jack and Kitty, siblings from the Wild West; Edgar, a bootlegger from the time of the prohibition; Francis, a hippie; Hector, a former carnie; and Melody, a crazy 1950s housewife. And then there’s Chloe, the newest addition to the team, who passes out one night in 2013 after a crazy night of binge drinking, and wakes up in the Wasteland.

These “Arrivals” were all ne’er-do-wells in the times they came from, but the most remarkable thing about them is what happens after they die — or rather, what doesn’t happen. Death isn’t always permanent, but they don’t find out whether it is or not until days later when the Arrival who died either wakes up good as new…or they don’t. Their nemesis is a man called Ajani, a force of evil they have been struggling against ever since the first Arrival came to the Wasteland.

This is very much a character-driven novel, and their relationship dynamics form the basis for much of the story. Jack and Kitty take center stage most of the time and sometimes Chloe, even though I wished more attention could have been paid to the other Arrivals, such as Melody. I gathered she’s pretty unbalanced through the fearful conversations the others have about her and their reluctance to get too close, but I would have loved to see more examples of Melody living up to her reputation. There are great characters here, but it’s a pretty short book and it’s just a shame the secondary characters don’t get more screen time.

As I said, the book has many interesting and original ideas, and expect to have a lot of questions when reading this. If you’re like me and prefer your books to also provide the answers, then you might find it a little frustrating, because at times you’ll feel like you’re only getting half the story. I was disappointed that there weren’t more explanations, but the good news is that this doesn’t diminish the quality of the world building. The Wasteland is not as desolate as it sounds, and the essence of the land and its creatures will constantly surprise you.

In many ways, The Arrivals is the kind of book you have to take as it is, and just go with the flow. I’m not a big fan of info-dumps, but I also like some explanations when they’re warranted, and I have to say I enjoyed this book a lot more once I’ve accepted that I probably won’t get answers to all my questions. What this novel offers, though, is a story of adventure about an unusual but fascinating group of people, and what they mean to each other. There’s nothing out there like it!