I hope to publish a book review of all the books I read during 2026; whether I like them or not. Mostly, I like the books I read. Stephen King recommends in his book On Writing that we read things that we don’t like too. That way we can learn what we want to avoid.

I just finished The Violence by Delilah S. Dawson published in 2022 by Del Rey, an imprint of Random House.

The Violence is an apocalyptic tale that strikes us as the COVID-19 pandemic is just winding down. Another pandemic strikes, this one causing infected people to rage violently in almost superhuman strength. The violence is unprovoked and done in dead-eyed silence until the rage subsides. The perpetrator is as appalled as the bystanders by the results.

Delilah’s story focuses on a woman, Chelsea, who is a victim or domestic abuse. She has a teenage daughter and a five-year old daughter. Chelsea’s mother escaped an abusive relationship only to pass it on to Chelsea, and Chelsea is on a path to repeat the cycle with her own daughters.

Delilah does a good job of creating the Florida post COVID-19 atmosphere. And she’s definitely researched vaccines.

I like novels that have short enough chapters to read in a sitting. This one does that.

Delilah is a New York Times best-selling author of Star Wars: Phasma and other novels. The Violence is the first novel of hers that I’ve read. So, Delilah is obviously recognized as a good writer. Still, I did not find this an enjoyable read.

For my taste, the novel had too much explaining. It took away from the story. Delilah tells us in the Forward, that she had an abusive father. She and her mother escaped their situation when she was eighteen years old. The story tries to educate the reader more than tell a story. Delilah uses Third third-person omniscient Point of View to do this.

On a side note: As I read my latest novel May His Tribe Increase, I found yet more typographical and grammatical errors. I even found a sentence without a period at the end of it. Well, guess what? I found the same in The Violence. The simple human failing of Delilah and her editors made me feel better about my own.

Please let me know if you’ve read The Violence. Especially, if you feel differently than I did.

What are you reading? I love recommendations.