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3.19 AVERAGE
3.19 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a long run for a short slide. All that suspense and then nothing came of it. Very weird book.
Universal Harvester was an odd book that sucked me right into it. John Darnielle has written a sort of horror story about Jeremy, who is working as an assistant manager at a video rental store when a few of the tapes appear with odd and frightening insertions in the middle of the VHS tapes. Looking more closely, the location of these clips is a farmhouse not to far from the small town of Nevada, Iowa.
The horror in this book is subtle, and is effective for most of the book. It's a masterclass in creating a feel of rising dread. Whether that creepiness is maintained as the origin of the clips is unveiled is debatable. Universal Harvester does succeed unreservedly in portraying a specific time and place and Darnielle's writing is never gets in the way of the story he's telling.
The horror in this book is subtle, and is effective for most of the book. It's a masterclass in creating a feel of rising dread. Whether that creepiness is maintained as the origin of the clips is unveiled is debatable. Universal Harvester does succeed unreservedly in portraying a specific time and place and Darnielle's writing is never gets in the way of the story he's telling.
Did not work for me. Too intentionally oblique, and I found the prose trying too hard.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
A book with a very strong start that perfectly captures the essence of the middle-of-nowhere Midwest and keeps you hooked, until it screeches to a halt. Lots of potential, but a weak ending with lots of unanswered questions.
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A strange, daring, mesmerizing, dreamy, and often beautiful book that plays with reader expectations of the novel and plot as well as genre conventions. I think Darnielle's books are best read twice, so I'm on my second read. The first reading was more of a puzzle - I enjoy those kinds of books. They make me aware of the expectations I'm bringing to the table as a reader. The second reading is much more relaxed and I'm full of admiration for how fluid the narration, time, characters, plot, etc. all are. This is a very different novel from Wolf In White Van, which is one of my favorite books, but I appreciate the author trying something new and maybe even more ambitious.
This started off as a promising horror novel with a Stephen King feel and nostalgia for the late 90s as it centers around an independent video store. But it goes absolutely no where. I've seen quite a bit of buzz about this one and first saw it on a list of upcoming horror novels. It isn't a horror novel. It really isn't much of anything.