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2.69 AVERAGE
2.69 AVERAGE
At first, this book kept me interested and intrigued but as it drew on, I wanted to just get to the end. It seemed to start dragging about halfway through. Interesting premise which is why I kept reading until the end.
‘The Deading’ is a dark and gruesome story about an entity that causes people in Baywood to begin deading, an extremely gruesome way of dying, yet they seem to come back to life, just not as they once were. They come back as the ‘Risers’.
I really enjoyed the multiple POVs of this novel. It gave insight into how different people were dealing with the same situation, their worst nightmares coming to life. Although - the switching POVs weren’t always clear as to whose it was which, at times, could be frustrating. It did also make the timeline rather confusing at times.
The beginning of the book did capture my attention. I found the premise of the novel intriguing, but my attention quickly faded. This novel included a lot of information-dumping. To Belardes’ credit - this was mentioned prior to the first chapter, I just didn’t realize just how much there would be. While usually I wouldn’t mind a bit of info-dumping here and there, birds and oysters just don’t hold my attention.
The last third of the book is where it really began to pick up again and become really interesting. Yet - the ending fell flat compared to the last few chapters. It felt it just ended with no real resolution or closure. It could have been intentional to provide no real closure to the storyline, but personally that left me more frustrated than thought-provoked.
Overall - this book could be great for the right audience, but it fell flat for me, unfortunately.
I’d like to thank #NetGalley and Kesington/Erewhon Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I really enjoyed the multiple POVs of this novel. It gave insight into how different people were dealing with the same situation, their worst nightmares coming to life. Although - the switching POVs weren’t always clear as to whose it was which, at times, could be frustrating. It did also make the timeline rather confusing at times.
The beginning of the book did capture my attention. I found the premise of the novel intriguing, but my attention quickly faded. This novel included a lot of information-dumping. To Belardes’ credit - this was mentioned prior to the first chapter, I just didn’t realize just how much there would be. While usually I wouldn’t mind a bit of info-dumping here and there, birds and oysters just don’t hold my attention.
The last third of the book is where it really began to pick up again and become really interesting. Yet - the ending fell flat compared to the last few chapters. It felt it just ended with no real resolution or closure. It could have been intentional to provide no real closure to the storyline, but personally that left me more frustrated than thought-provoked.
Overall - this book could be great for the right audience, but it fell flat for me, unfortunately.
I’d like to thank #NetGalley and Kesington/Erewhon Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Thank you RB Media & Nicholas Belardes for this listen!
The narration was excellent in this book. Multiple voices and perfect pacing. I felt I could see everything so vividly as the narrators made the authors words come to life.
This book was strange and unique. It was different compared to what I expected but that wasn't exactly a bad thing. Some graphic imagery and the terrifying idea of something taking over humanity was great. The author has written in alot of detail and it makes it even more realistic. Multiple POVs kept it really interesting!
I did find it talked alot about birds, which matched in with the character, however during this time i did seem to zone out. The other thing was the first 30% was pretty slow and it didn't hook me as much.
Overall this was a good read! Unique premise, with a terrifying ideas and very realistic reactions from society that I can imagine happening.
The narration was excellent in this book. Multiple voices and perfect pacing. I felt I could see everything so vividly as the narrators made the authors words come to life.
This book was strange and unique. It was different compared to what I expected but that wasn't exactly a bad thing. Some graphic imagery and the terrifying idea of something taking over humanity was great. The author has written in alot of detail and it makes it even more realistic. Multiple POVs kept it really interesting!
I did find it talked alot about birds, which matched in with the character, however during this time i did seem to zone out. The other thing was the first 30% was pretty slow and it didn't hook me as much.
Overall this was a good read! Unique premise, with a terrifying ideas and very realistic reactions from society that I can imagine happening.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This ended up taking a bit longer than I thought it would to read, but as it turns out, it also took the plot a hot minute to cohere together, so it's all well. This is Belardes' first novel, and he chose a hell of a neat intersection to tackle - the hobby of birding, and pandemic. The novel does feel a bit unfocused at first, but it does eventually focus in on the intersection of class interaction, the hobby of birding, and how a horror pandemic starts originating in the birds. I did lose the plot a few times admittedly, and the cult did seem a bit extraneous, but honestly, this was a hell of a swing for a first novel, and even though it doesn't fully land for me, I liked what I read and I'm interested from more from Belardes in the future.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced