The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep Review

Hello, all!

What bookworm hasn't dreamt about being able to bring their favorite literary characters to life? When I heard that was the premise behind The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep by H.G. Parry, it immediately went on my TBR. Big thanks to Netgalley for the copy!

Pub Date: 1-21-20
Adult - Fantasy

All his life, Charley Sutherland has been able to read characters to life. Whenever he gets deeply into a story or character, they just seem to manifest right off the page. It's a special gift that he's been trying his whole life to keep a secret. The only ones who know about this ability are his family; his older brother Rob usually being the one roped into helping Charley put these rogue characters back where they belong. Charley has always believed he's the only one in the world with this power, but he soon finds out there's another, and they have it out for him.

After discovering an entire hidden street full of fictional characters that have been read to life, Charley and Rob find themselves in way over their heads. From being attacked by the Hound of Baskervilles, to shape-shifting Dickensian villains, the brothers must join forces with a character from their past before the entire world as they know it gets rewritten.

I loved the entire premise of this story, however, I didn't love the execution. There's a ton of action in this book, yet it read like wading through molasses. I loved the idea of all these famous literary characters banding together to stop a terrible evil, and while that is basically what happens, it feels more like a master class in Charles Dickens. While I get that that particular influence really drives the main plot, I just felt it made it slightly too difficult for me to fully connect. I did still enjoy this, just not as much as I had hoped.

Rating: 2.5/5