Reviews

The Ritual by Adam L.G. Nevill

minion2r's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

jjwalkerwrites's review against another edition

“A flock of birds heaved themselves into the sky, accelerated, swooped to the south; frantic to put distance between themselves and the sound of what now moved over the face of the earth.”

The Ritual felt like two books in one. The first, about a group of friends that gets lost in dense Scandinavian wilderness, hunted by something ancient and otherworldly.

The second, a deeper look at what that creature is and how it’s connected to pagan rituals and forgotten gods.

While I think I preferred the first part, as a package, The Ritual is bleak and unforgiving. In fact, its characters have such a hard time there were moments I hoped they’d just be put out of their misery.

But it’s also an interesting look at friendship and Nevill does a great job of creating an oppressive and memorable atmosphere with his writing. If you enjoyed The Blair Witch Project, you’ll probably like this.

amalthera's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

4.0

lowaltitude's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

3.0

jrayers97's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

ian_k's review against another edition

3.0

A conflicting 3.5 for me. If the whole this was like the first half, then I would have definitely enjoyed it more. Right now I’m pretty sure I liked it? I’ll still give Adam Neville another chance, since some of this has moments where it seems to be written by a good author.

tarnop's review against another edition

3.0

This book had its high points, with some chapters that did a great job of immersing me in the main character's (sometimes quite unpleasant) thoughts. The prose was quite rough in a lot of places though, like the author was reaching for some turns of phrase that were just beyond his grasp. An enjoyable enough read but I don't know if I'll bother with any of his other books

weed_babushka's review against another edition

2.0

Wow. What a bummer. I love this movie but the book was a big ol’ swing and a miss. I felt like the moral here was “women are the worst” and I’m just not about that. Why didn’t we get the old woman’s story?? She’s infinitely more interesting than either the men or the Norwegian weirdos. And why did he have to write Surtr SO hatefully? We get it, you don’t like fat women… jeez…

I will continue to endorse the movie - this book is a hard pass.

evaromero's review against another edition

3.0

Bueno bueno bueno, última lectura del año. Empecé a leer este libro sin saber muy bien de que trataba y he de decir que no ha estado mal oye. Ha tenido cosas que me han gustado y otras que no. La primera parte me pareció guay y bastante inquietante, pero al llegar a la segunda, sentí como si de pronto se hubiera perdido el hilo y estuviera leyendo otra historia distinta. Además leí algunos comentarios que no me hicieron ni puta gracia, y a veces sentía que el autor le daba mil vueltas a lo mismo. De todos modos ha sido entretenido y me quedo con lo que sí que me ha gustado.

mlang's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0