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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
I wasn't a fan of this book. The description certainly sounded fascinating, but I only finished it because I started reading the beginning and ends of each chapter. I wanted to know who would live (if anyone) and who would die, and how this disease started, but I only cared on a superficial level. I thought the descriptions of what the disease did to the body were a bit much, which surprised me. I don't get grossed out easily, but this crossed my personal line. And even though the characters are mostly kids, I just didn't care all that much. There are some fascinating ethical issues at play, but the author does not focus on them. It didn't really work for me.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
2.0: This book is just disgusting. It feels like the author watched The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs episode of South Park and decided to write that. Bloated with overbearing descriptions of everything, it drags a 450-page story that could have been told in 100. The relentless detailing feels over-indulgent—maybe intentional by the author—but instead of enhancing the shock value, it numbs you. By the time the big moments arrive, you're too exhausted to care. Trust the reader; you don’t need to spoon-feed every grotesque detail. This could have been a stellar short story if only the important moments carried the level of detail suffocating the entire book.
Idk if I’d call this horror? I wasn’t afraid but I WAS really grossed out at times. Shelley was a horrific human being but I think he made for a really good antagonist because of how deranged he was. However, his scene with the kitten did make me remove a star because omg why did you do that! Horror books aren’t really my thing so I wasn’t super in love with it but it was a good book !!
It’s like Nick Cutter reached inside my brain like a parasitic hydatid and made my worst nightmare come to life.
Every time I put the book down, I was suddenly very itchy. Needless to say: this horror novel does its job. Future readers be warned, this is not for the faint of heart or easily offended.
That being said, I did feel that I got a bit tired of reading the same cycle over and over again. I kept waiting for it to ramp up a bit more or morph into an even bigger nightmare (I know…I’m my own worst enemy) but that never really happened. This caused me to not have that “must keep reading” feeling and made the story drag a bit.
Other positive points: The plot is disturbingly possible in the current world as we know it. It’s a great example of a story that does a lot of character exploration/human observation…if trying to figure out the human mind is your thing (it is mine) then this is the one for you. And last but not least, I loved the ending. I hated the ending and want to yell at it, but I love it. And that’s the case with all the best stories, isn’t it?
Every time I put the book down, I was suddenly very itchy. Needless to say: this horror novel does its job. Future readers be warned, this is not for the faint of heart or easily offended.
That being said, I did feel that I got a bit tired of reading the same cycle over and over again. I kept waiting for it to ramp up a bit more or morph into an even bigger nightmare (I know…I’m my own worst enemy) but that never really happened. This caused me to not have that “must keep reading” feeling and made the story drag a bit.
Other positive points: The plot is disturbingly possible in the current world as we know it. It’s a great example of a story that does a lot of character exploration/human observation…if trying to figure out the human mind is your thing (it is mine) then this is the one for you. And last but not least, I loved the ending. I hated the ending and want to yell at it, but I love it. And that’s the case with all the best stories, isn’t it?
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Well that was certainly a trip. Fairly decent read, not my typical kind of horror, but not bad as a refresher between other subgenres. It's a pretty solid three for me personally, and I could see this potentially being pretty polarizing for people.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed the premise and the gore and plot was actually genuinely disturbing, coming from someone who reads and watches a lot of horror. The plot wasn’t what I was expecting at all and it did make me feel squeamish- there’s a lot of gore which I don’t mind.
I wasn’t entirely sure about the writing style though. I didn’t like the undertones of homophobia and fatphobia, and there were also a few misogynistic descriptions of women that annoyed me a lot. The worse part for me was the graphic descriptions about a child’s genitals , it crosses the line of shock value into absolutely unnecessary and gross. We as readers can understand that a child has sociopathic tendencies without needing details of that nature. Just no.
I wasn’t entirely sure about the writing style though. I didn’t like the undertones of homophobia and fatphobia, and there were also a few misogynistic descriptions of women that annoyed me a lot. The worse part for me was the graphic descriptions about a child’s genitals , it crosses the line of shock value into absolutely unnecessary and gross. We as readers can understand that a child has sociopathic tendencies without needing details of that nature. Just no.
Quite possibly the only book that truly made me feel squeamish, and not just once. While yes, I am a fan of horror, this one was too much for me. I must’ve read it 3 or 4 years ago, but the visceral gore is still residing rent free in my memory.