The Carnival 13 is a very interesting concept. 13 different authors each contribute a chapter while attempting to maintain cohesiveness to the story. The entire idea takes me back to my childhood of telling ghost stories with friends. One of us would start the story and the next person would keep it going. By the end of it the story would be so completely different from how it started that it felt as though it were a different story entirely. I’m happy to say that Carnival 13 never feels this way.
The strength in this novel is the coherence from chapter to chapter. This is a concept that had every opportunity to fall on its face but it never does. Each author does an effective job of building upon the groundwork that was laid in the previous chapter.
The story itself is incredibly dark and the atmosphere is built from the opening few paragraphs.
I almost feel sorry for the author that started everything off. Despite how strong it opens each chapter feels almost better than the one that preceded it on an individual level and it manages to come to a very satisfying end. I’m not entirely sure if I’d read another book with this concept because of the incredible room for error but if they managed to get most of these authors involved then I’d absolutely give it a go.
Highly recommended.