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xaidyn_lampher's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
ladybug23's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? Yes
4.5
sandra_sson's review
4.0
Amazingly good.
Knowing where the game takes the story it was lovely to hear this ”pre” story. It was so great and sad.
”It`s still alive”
Knowing where the game takes the story it was lovely to hear this ”pre” story. It was so great and sad.
”It`s still alive”
tyto_alba's review
4.0
I was very excited for this book because I'm a big fan of the game and wanted to see what the studio looked like "in action": how the characters from the games behaved when they were working at the studio and not monsters, how they interacted with each other, what they looked like, etc. So, in that regard, I got exactly what I came for. Although, to be fair, I still don't have a great picture of what the characters really look like, other than what I'd already guessed based off their voices, like Tom being big and Sammy being pointy. Allison caught me by surprise, though.
I wasn't actually expecting to like Buddy, who wasn't directly from the game. I figured that he would act like a conduit for me to get the aforementioned things I wanted, and in a way he does. However, I found myself really caring about him and his backstory. The book doesn't shy away from the more compelling aspects of its setting, like the racism and sexism you might expect in New York shortly after World War II. It was kind of shocking for its inclusion, and I was pleased that it wasn't glossed over. Even before weird stuff truly starts going down in the studio, I was fully invested in Buddy and the setting he was in.
Now, the side characters didn't have any real development, though they have interesting personalities. You get to see some of the animators that had replaced Henry, as well as characters you already know from the game. Joey Drew was very interesting to see; he is both charismatic and frightening, as he seems to suffer from both paranoia and delusions of grandeur. Sammy...I'm not gonna lie, 89% of the reason I wanted this book so badly was for more Sammy Lawrence. He's probably my favorite character from the game, and--considering my bias towards him--I enjoyed the parts he was in the best. Also...he wasn't in it enough. As in, I feel like he seriously needed to be developed more BEFORE certain events take place for what later occurred to feel believable. (The following is not exactly a spoiler, but I'm putting on the tags just in case):
A fun little note: both Sammy and Norman are introduced in such a way to evoke their game appearances, which I thought was a nice touch, particularly with Norman.
The most important aspect of any tie-in media, in my opinion, is its loyalty to canon. This book was developed alongside theMeatly and Mike Mood, so it definitely has a strong canon elements. There are certain points in the timeline as laid out in the Employee Handbook that do not quite seem to align with events here (I won't mention them for spoilers). I might need to wait for theory videos to clear this up for me, though. Also, the unreliability of the narrator goes to explaining inconsistencies, but...that leaves me a bit empty. I hate hand-waving, but I guess I should let it slide, considering Henry's unstable mental state in the game.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, even outside of the specific reason I bought it for. As a horror novel, it has some spooky scenes that I appreciated, even if I didn't feel even the slightest twinge of fear. If you like the game, there is no reason at all to NOT read this. It's a great expansion of the lore, and you get to see how the studio ran before Henry's return to it. There's some explanation of fan theories about the game, though certain things are still unanswered and some extra questions arise (not in a bad way, though). So I definitely recommend it to fans of the game. If you're not already a fan, it probably won't be a very satisfying read.
I wasn't actually expecting to like Buddy, who wasn't directly from the game. I figured that he would act like a conduit for me to get the aforementioned things I wanted, and in a way he does. However, I found myself really caring about him and his backstory. The book doesn't shy away from the more compelling aspects of its setting, like the racism and sexism you might expect in New York shortly after World War II. It was kind of shocking for its inclusion, and I was pleased that it wasn't glossed over. Even before weird stuff truly starts going down in the studio, I was fully invested in Buddy and the setting he was in.
Now, the side characters didn't have any real development, though they have interesting personalities. You get to see some of the animators that had replaced Henry, as well as characters you already know from the game. Joey Drew was very interesting to see; he is both charismatic and frightening, as he seems to suffer from both paranoia and delusions of grandeur. Sammy...I'm not gonna lie, 89% of the reason I wanted this book so badly was for more Sammy Lawrence. He's probably my favorite character from the game, and--considering my bias towards him--I enjoyed the parts he was in the best. Also...he wasn't in it enough. As in, I feel like he seriously needed to be developed more BEFORE certain events take place for what later occurred to feel believable. (The following is not exactly a spoiler, but I'm putting on the tags just in case):
Spoiler
But then, it's a foregone conclusion, isn't it? We already know he's a lunatic. But I guess I wanted to see him devolve into lunacy, and I can't decide if the book just shoved lunacy down his throat all at once or if we only got to see the "final straw" so to speak. If the former, I must say I feel a little cheated.A fun little note: both Sammy and Norman are introduced in such a way to evoke their game appearances, which I thought was a nice touch, particularly with Norman.
The most important aspect of any tie-in media, in my opinion, is its loyalty to canon. This book was developed alongside theMeatly and Mike Mood, so it definitely has a strong canon elements. There are certain points in the timeline as laid out in the Employee Handbook that do not quite seem to align with events here (I won't mention them for spoilers). I might need to wait for theory videos to clear this up for me, though. Also, the unreliability of the narrator goes to explaining inconsistencies, but...that leaves me a bit empty. I hate hand-waving, but I guess I should let it slide, considering Henry's unstable mental state in the game.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, even outside of the specific reason I bought it for. As a horror novel, it has some spooky scenes that I appreciated, even if I didn't feel even the slightest twinge of fear. If you like the game, there is no reason at all to NOT read this. It's a great expansion of the lore, and you get to see how the studio ran before Henry's return to it. There's some explanation of fan theories about the game, though certain things are still unanswered and some extra questions arise (not in a bad way, though). So I definitely recommend it to fans of the game. If you're not already a fan, it probably won't be a very satisfying read.
aliviasbookshelf's review
5.0
Such a well written novel for something inspired by a video game. 10000 times better than the fnaf core trilogy which is hilarious to me. Honestly a sad book cause the author did a phenomenal job.
_froggy_'s review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It was a great book, I enjoyed it a lot :D
Sadly I can't really say I if I also enjoyed the first half of the book, because I read half the book and then stopped for a whole year until I picked it up again last week. I don't know if that was because of the book or my adhd. ( I think it was my adhd though, because I had no real issues starting again) Either way from what I remember reading, I enjoyed it a lot and would recommend for sure ^^
Sadly I can't really say I if I also enjoyed the first half of the book, because I read half the book and then stopped for a whole year until I picked it up again last week. I don't know if that was because of the book or my adhd. ( I think it was my adhd though, because I had no real issues starting again) Either way from what I remember reading, I enjoyed it a lot and would recommend for sure ^^
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Misogyny, Violence, and Sexism
Minor: Body horror, Alcohol, and Sexism
k_kthedeathknight13's review
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
cuddlesome's review
5.0
I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this. I've always thought that the video game that this is based on had a really fun premise (cartoon studio with an ink monster in it and heavy Disney influence?! YES) but a shaky execution when it came to the gameplay and some of the story elements. You can all but feel the frustration bleeding off of people who play the game because they really want to know what happens but they don't want to have to endure the game's backtracking fetch quests and glitchy boss fights. I can't speak for the sequels, but the original BatIM seems like it has a lot of ambition that it struggles to match technically.
This book, obviously, was freed from the need to have video game elements in it and I thought that very much worked to the story's benefit. I enjoyed getting to know the narrator, Buddy, who feels like a realistic teen who's just trying his best and has understandable motivations. Even when he's doing the wrong thing you feel for him. I enjoyed all of the side characters, especially Dot and Buddy's grandfather. I even liked the anger-inducingly smug Joey Drew. You just love to hate him and how he takes advantage of people. The studio itself feels like a character, and settings aren't always something that stand out to me so I found that particularly impressive.
I felt a little surprised at how the story addressed the American cultural attitudes that were very distinctly 1940s in terms of discrimination against women, Jewish people, and the lower class. I don't know, I guess I just wasn't expecting it after the source material didn't make much mention of it. There are also brief, nondescript mentions of World War II and the Holocaust. I wonder how realistic it is that women would maintain their positions in an animation studio like this post-war when someone like Drew (who is out and out sexist multiple times) is in charge. I have to admit I don't know enough about the time period and specifically about animation studios to say, but it does make me want to know more about the history behind this story.
There were a few logic flaws but honestly they feel like nitpicking (Buddy's poor family makes no mention of the expensive suit that Drew gets him?) and the only other real complaint that I have is that the monster didn't appear more, but I can't say where they could have had him appear more than wouldn't have felt shoehorned.
I'd say this is perfect for teens who are a fan of the game who are okay with softcore horror; I don't know that it can be fully enjoyed without context but I think in a lot of ways it stands on its own. It's a slow build without a ton of payoff in terms of an "ending" but if it were to go on any longer it would just be rehashing the game, so it felt appropriate for it to end where it did.
This book, obviously, was freed from the need to have video game elements in it and I thought that very much worked to the story's benefit. I enjoyed getting to know the narrator, Buddy, who feels like a realistic teen who's just trying his best and has understandable motivations. Even when he's doing the wrong thing you feel for him. I enjoyed all of the side characters, especially Dot and Buddy's grandfather. I even liked the anger-inducingly smug Joey Drew. You just love to hate him and how he takes advantage of people. The studio itself feels like a character, and settings aren't always something that stand out to me so I found that particularly impressive.
I felt a little surprised at how the story addressed the American cultural attitudes that were very distinctly 1940s in terms of discrimination against women, Jewish people, and the lower class. I don't know, I guess I just wasn't expecting it after the source material didn't make much mention of it. There are also brief, nondescript mentions of World War II and the Holocaust. I wonder how realistic it is that women would maintain their positions in an animation studio like this post-war when someone like Drew (who is out and out sexist multiple times) is in charge. I have to admit I don't know enough about the time period and specifically about animation studios to say, but it does make me want to know more about the history behind this story.
There were a few logic flaws but honestly they feel like nitpicking (Buddy's poor family makes no mention of the expensive suit that Drew gets him?) and the only other real complaint that I have is that the monster didn't appear more, but I can't say where they could have had him appear more than wouldn't have felt shoehorned.
I'd say this is perfect for teens who are a fan of the game who are okay with softcore horror; I don't know that it can be fully enjoyed without context but I think in a lot of ways it stands on its own. It's a slow build without a ton of payoff in terms of an "ending" but if it were to go on any longer it would just be rehashing the game, so it felt appropriate for it to end where it did.
claresbookshelf's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-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? No
4.0
4 out of 5 stars.
So, the concepts of the game have always made me a little uneasy. Body horror always does. But in game form, it's easy to disassociate from it.
This book, however, really sets you into the mind of this poor boy who has the worst imaginable fate and though the writing isn't the strongest (most likely because of the characteristics of Buddy) the overall story gives a really cool insight into the earlier parts of the Bendy story.
So, the concepts of the game have always made me a little uneasy. Body horror always does. But in game form, it's easy to disassociate from it.
This book, however, really sets you into the mind of this poor boy who has the worst imaginable fate and though the writing isn't the strongest (most likely because of the characteristics of Buddy) the overall story gives a really cool insight into the earlier parts of the Bendy story.