I, Death

Leslie’s disappointing second novel (after One Hand Screaming) fails to live up to its interesting, if not wholly original, premise. Death follows Peter O’Mallick everywhere he goes. People he knows keep dying, including his parents, his ex-girlfriend’s father, his English teacher, and even the substitute who replaces her. He hopes the death and destruction that circles him is mere coincidence; in time he learns otherwise. Hearing of Peter’s “affliction,” criminal forces seek to recruit him to be their weapon. The book is undone by several factors. Firstly, two thirds of the novel are presented as a blog written by Peter; however, the manner in which Leslie references the teenager’s pop culture interests is forced and shows a lack of knowledge, and his general tone and language are those of an adult writing the way he thinks teenagers might speak, not how they actually do. Secondly, the aforementioned blog is overlong and occupies so much of the novel’s real estate that the other parts feel tacked on, as if they originally belonged to a separate work. Finally, the most serious problem is the treatment of women, who are routinely beaten, raped, threatened, and killed simply to move the plot along and spur the men into violent, often horrible action. (Aug.)