Horseman

It's been a couple of years since I first read Horseman, but I liked it so much I made an effort to look out for it in used book stores until I could find a copy for my shelf. I felt compelled to post something because of the universally negative reviews. The book is well written and to me fascinating in its unrelenting portrayal of an amoral world, a type of setting almost never used in literature of any genre. If violence and unpleasantness are going to keep you up at night, don't read it. Is "regeneration through violence" Cormac McCarthy's purpose? I always read his work as pure Nihilism, such an unpopular point of view (especially in the U.S.) that it's not surprising people try to stamp it with more or different meaning. Horseman is comparable to McCarthy's dark stuff. No, his writing isn't as good as McCarthy's, but whose is exactly? Why not compare Nicol to Shakespeare? This book is a gem, just a rough, dirty uncut gem that might be used to cut someone's throat.