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keithhanson's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
m_elissa_m's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
hauntedtesty's review
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
pbanditp's review against another edition
4.0
“Why can’t you be here now?”
“Why does everything have to be so wrong?”
“Please, make it stop. “
Soul crusher. Devastation in book form. This is not just a story of dealing with the death of a child. This is not about trying to cope and move on. This is going beyond death and maybe pulling something back.
This book is full of raw emotions. Grief. Regret. Fear. At one point I became so angry (I’m getting pissed just thinking about it) I had to put the book down and just breathe. How dare you Andrew Cull? That was just rude! Seriously, the writing is so good, you can’t help but get caught up.
It actually took a little for me to get into it. I wish there had been a little more character development and that is the only reason it didn’t get 5 stars
“Why does everything have to be so wrong?”
“Please, make it stop. “
Soul crusher. Devastation in book form. This is not just a story of dealing with the death of a child. This is not about trying to cope and move on. This is going beyond death and maybe pulling something back.
This book is full of raw emotions. Grief. Regret. Fear. At one point I became so angry (I’m getting pissed just thinking about it) I had to put the book down and just breathe. How dare you Andrew Cull? That was just rude! Seriously, the writing is so good, you can’t help but get caught up.
It actually took a little for me to get into it. I wish there had been a little more character development and that is the only reason it didn’t get 5 stars
johnlynchbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Andrew Cull. You’re going to want to remember that name. Remains, the authors Debut, is as good of a debut I’ve ever read. If this is any indication, Cull is going to be a mainstay in the horror scene for years to come.
With Remains, Cull tells the tale of a woman named Lucy, who for all intents and purposes, died the same day her son was brutally murdered. The author tells a wonderfully written tale of a mother who is haunted, literally and figuratively. Fresh out of being institutionalized, Lucy finds herself returning to the scene of her sons murder. She believes him to be there, in some form or another, and what transpires is the heartbreaking story of a mother confronted with a grief so heavy that the ghosts in her mind are just as dangerous as what’s in the house. Make no mistake about it, this novel is SAD. You feel Lucy’s heartache and desperation. I’m amazed at the skill Cull displays in making the reader share in the heartache, while still being able to scare the shit out of you. As much as this book is overwhelmingly sad, it has teeth as well. They’re sharp, and they bite. Short chapters keep the pages turning and the tension to a high level, something that benefits the novel and keeps the reader engaged.
With Remains, Andrew Cull has cemented himself as a major player in the horror genre. He knows when to write with a chisel, gently carving Lucy’s ordeal into your heart, while at the same time knowing when to use his skill as a hammer, smashing you in the face with the violence and bloodshed horror aficionados will appreciate.
With Remains, Cull tells the tale of a woman named Lucy, who for all intents and purposes, died the same day her son was brutally murdered. The author tells a wonderfully written tale of a mother who is haunted, literally and figuratively. Fresh out of being institutionalized, Lucy finds herself returning to the scene of her sons murder. She believes him to be there, in some form or another, and what transpires is the heartbreaking story of a mother confronted with a grief so heavy that the ghosts in her mind are just as dangerous as what’s in the house. Make no mistake about it, this novel is SAD. You feel Lucy’s heartache and desperation. I’m amazed at the skill Cull displays in making the reader share in the heartache, while still being able to scare the shit out of you. As much as this book is overwhelmingly sad, it has teeth as well. They’re sharp, and they bite. Short chapters keep the pages turning and the tension to a high level, something that benefits the novel and keeps the reader engaged.
With Remains, Andrew Cull has cemented himself as a major player in the horror genre. He knows when to write with a chisel, gently carving Lucy’s ordeal into your heart, while at the same time knowing when to use his skill as a hammer, smashing you in the face with the violence and bloodshed horror aficionados will appreciate.
vanquishingvolumes's review against another edition
2.0
A short novella about grief and the power it can hold over the mind, this was a quick read that unfortunately fell flat for me. It read like a horror movie captured on the page - only this was a standard fare horror movie with no tension or fear to be found. It was rather formulaic in its “scares”, and the story it told didn’t seem to go much of anywhere until the end of the story. I wish this book had tackled its subject matter in a less direct manner, I feel subtlety would have helped the ending pack more of a whallop. As it stands now, I was underwhelmed and just kind of bored.
kattrent's review against another edition
4.0
3.8 Stars
I actually really enjoyed this read. It was quick and read like a movie and was easy to picture with every word. Were some of the more horror driven scenes a little cliche? Yes. By all means yes. But that doesn't mean they were bad.
The pace of the book was actually done well. It had a nice build, slow in the beginning, a nice build, and then it just exploded. Part of me wishes there wasn't an explosion. It went from creepy to a sort of bloody horror very fast, and for that I was not entirely impressed.
Overall it was an enjoyable read, but definitely not for the faint of heart towards the end. Speaking of the end, it felt like it cut off too abruptly. I wanted more to hold onto when I finished the book. It was a good ending point in the grand scheme, but there could have been more there.
I actually really enjoyed this read. It was quick and read like a movie and was easy to picture with every word. Were some of the more horror driven scenes a little cliche? Yes. By all means yes. But that doesn't mean they were bad.
The pace of the book was actually done well. It had a nice build, slow in the beginning, a nice build, and then it just exploded. Part of me wishes there wasn't an explosion. It went from creepy to a sort of bloody horror very fast, and for that I was not entirely impressed.
Overall it was an enjoyable read, but definitely not for the faint of heart towards the end. Speaking of the end, it felt like it cut off too abruptly. I wanted more to hold onto when I finished the book. It was a good ending point in the grand scheme, but there could have been more there.
bookish_satty's review against another edition
4.0
Great read. Emotional as well as scary. Loved the ending because it felt like the right outcome in my heart!
jacob444's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
horrorghoul's review
2.0
TW: Murder, loss of a child, depression, mentions of suicide, divorce, blasphemy
*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:Driven to a breakdown by the brutal murder of her young son, Lucy Campbell had locked herself away, fallen deep inside herself, become a ghost haunting room 23b of the William Tuke Psychiatric Hospital.There she'd remained, until the whispering pulled her back, until she found herself once more sitting in her car, calling to the son she had lost, staring into the black panes of the now abandoned house where Alex had died.
Release Date: August 1st, 2019
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Pages: 203
Rating: ⭐️⭐️
What I Liked:
1. Mention of the Zodiac killer
2. The plot of this book on paper sounded creepy and heartbreaking
3. The book read fast
4. The writing style was okay
What I Didn't Like:
1. Chapters too short
2. Never really get to know Lucy
3. A lot of errors
4. Some parts of the book were confusing
Overall Thoughts: How did Lucy get the job at The Chronicle? She is released from the hospital and starts at The Chronicle shortly afterwards, but how did she get the job when she's been gone for 6 months?
It bothered me that the chapters were so short. I would be getting into the story and then the chapter ends. It makes me feel as though I can't get immersed into the story.
There was a scene with some kids but it says there are 3 shadows but then goes on to name 4 kids that are there.
This book lost me when she goes and buys the house her son was murdered in. Ummm okay. So there are so so many problems with this. First isn’t the owners of the house the ones that owned it when her son was murdered there? Why would they sell this house to her? Second where did she just come up with money to buy that she offered well above asking price? We don’t even know anything about her to say if this is even possible. Does she share an account with her husband even though they are getting a divorce? Oh and then rushing through the paperwork to get the house in 36 hours. No, no, no!
Final Thoughts: I hate to dnf a book but this one just had too much wrong with it that I just couldn’t get past. I felt like there were too many plot holes. Not enough character backgrounds. Not getting to know the characters just made me not care about what happens to them. Her boy was just a boy that died in the book and I had no emotion to it. Not knowing anything about Lucy and her only character device was that she lost her son just wasn’t enough for me.
It says in the forward that this is loosely based on a true story so I suppose that is interesting.
Recommend For:
• People that like short books
• Short chapters
• Ghost stories
• Unreliable narrators
• Mentions of true crime | Zodiac Killer
IG|Blog
*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:Driven to a breakdown by the brutal murder of her young son, Lucy Campbell had locked herself away, fallen deep inside herself, become a ghost haunting room 23b of the William Tuke Psychiatric Hospital.There she'd remained, until the whispering pulled her back, until she found herself once more sitting in her car, calling to the son she had lost, staring into the black panes of the now abandoned house where Alex had died.
Release Date: August 1st, 2019
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Pages: 203
Rating: ⭐️⭐️
What I Liked:
1. Mention of the Zodiac killer
2. The plot of this book on paper sounded creepy and heartbreaking
3. The book read fast
4. The writing style was okay
What I Didn't Like:
1. Chapters too short
2. Never really get to know Lucy
3. A lot of errors
4. Some parts of the book were confusing
Overall Thoughts: How did Lucy get the job at The Chronicle? She is released from the hospital and starts at The Chronicle shortly afterwards, but how did she get the job when she's been gone for 6 months?
It bothered me that the chapters were so short. I would be getting into the story and then the chapter ends. It makes me feel as though I can't get immersed into the story.
There was a scene with some kids but it says there are 3 shadows but then goes on to name 4 kids that are there.
This book lost me when she goes and buys the house her son was murdered in. Ummm okay. So there are so so many problems with this. First isn’t the owners of the house the ones that owned it when her son was murdered there? Why would they sell this house to her? Second where did she just come up with money to buy that she offered well above asking price? We don’t even know anything about her to say if this is even possible. Does she share an account with her husband even though they are getting a divorce? Oh and then rushing through the paperwork to get the house in 36 hours. No, no, no!
Final Thoughts: I hate to dnf a book but this one just had too much wrong with it that I just couldn’t get past. I felt like there were too many plot holes. Not enough character backgrounds. Not getting to know the characters just made me not care about what happens to them. Her boy was just a boy that died in the book and I had no emotion to it. Not knowing anything about Lucy and her only character device was that she lost her son just wasn’t enough for me.
It says in the forward that this is loosely based on a true story so I suppose that is interesting.
Recommend For:
• People that like short books
• Short chapters
• Ghost stories
• Unreliable narrators
• Mentions of true crime | Zodiac Killer
IG|Blog