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ferlintokezeirquizes's review
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Violence, Suicide, and Death
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, and Blood
novelshire's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A man goes missing and is eventually declared dead by his brother and niece. After many years, they discover what became of him; along with a case full of letters he had written to his niece (but never sent) during the time following his initial disappearance. The contents of the letters is astounding and they decide to publish the letters - this forms the basis for the book.
The main character, Harold, is an accomplished man, a former doctor, a scientist and something of an adventurer. He is recruited by a mysterious organisation, along with experts from other fields, to investigate an enormous mountain that has suddenly appeared in the middle of the ocean. But all is not as it seems, time runs strangely, there are ghostly apparitions, and former expedition members can seemingly tell the future.
What follows is a tense, gripping story; part psychological thriller, part speculative science fiction.
The letters reveal Harold's state of mind, the paranoia of all of the party, and the many secrets and mysteries surrounding the mountain. The style of the story means that some of the characters aren't hugely developed but, that also adds to the sense of isolation and suspicion felt by Harold.
As with all mysteries, the reveal is an important factor in overall reading satisfaction. I thought the final twists and turns were interesting but maybe not as much as the rest of the book - I felt like it either needed to be more vague or explored in more depth.
Overall, I think this is a book where the journey was more important than the destination and I enjoyed the gripping journey up this mysterious, mind-bending mountain.
Thank you to Harper Voyager for providing a netgalley review copy
The main character, Harold, is an accomplished man, a former doctor, a scientist and something of an adventurer. He is recruited by a mysterious organisation, along with experts from other fields, to investigate an enormous mountain that has suddenly appeared in the middle of the ocean. But all is not as it seems, time runs strangely, there are ghostly apparitions, and former expedition members can seemingly tell the future.
What follows is a tense, gripping story; part psychological thriller, part speculative science fiction.
The letters reveal Harold's state of mind, the paranoia of all of the party, and the many secrets and mysteries surrounding the mountain. The style of the story means that some of the characters aren't hugely developed but, that also adds to the sense of isolation and suspicion felt by Harold.
As with all mysteries, the reveal is an important factor in overall reading satisfaction. I thought the final twists and turns were interesting but maybe not as much as the rest of the book - I felt like it either needed to be more vague or explored in more depth.
Overall, I think this is a book where the journey was more important than the destination and I enjoyed the gripping journey up this mysterious, mind-bending mountain.
Thank you to Harper Voyager for providing a netgalley review copy
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Medical trauma, Death, Body horror, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, and Grief
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