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nyssa_jo's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Death and Emotional abuse
gih's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Very interesting worldbuilding. Unfortunately the protagonist reacts very realistically to the horrors, i.e. she's always close to a full mental breakdown, which doesn't make for a very fun read. Would have been more interesting if Mouse had died at the end, or stayed in Anna's place. Honestly, I'd have loved this story so much more if it had been from Anna's pov.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death and Dementia
Minor: Child death, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, and Slavery
caties_books's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
cthulusauce's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Animal death
booksthatburn's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
THE TWISTED ONES combines the mundane drudgery and strangeness of cleaning out a hoarder's house with the fantastical creepiness of a technically-not-haunted forest with twisted rocks and strange effigies.
I appreciate the way that the framing clearly situates this as a story being told after the narrator and her dog have survived the events in question, it would be a monumentally more stressful story if I'd had to wonder whether the dog dies. The dread lies instead in the very large gap between surviving and escaping unscathed, and in the pages upon pages of descriptions of what was in this particular hoarder's house. It ratcheted up the tension by inches, as the intensity of the supernatural events increased periodically while the sheer volume and detail of the house's contents were a steady drip of very plausible weirdness.
The main character, Mouse, is a great narrator, with the quirkiness of specificity bringing a great style to her asides and characterizations. Bongo (the dog) comes through so well in her descriptions, doing things that make sense for who he is as a dog, even (or perhaps especially) when such actions complement the narrative as a thriller. The secondary characters are detailed enough to feel like full people without distracting from the main events, and I like the group who helps her out towards the end (Foxy's my favorite).
There's a particular litany, both read and thought by Mouse, which gradually turned into an earworm in my own thoughts in a way that makes the horror even more effective. It made it feel like the book was escaping its confines, or at the very least it makes it alarmingly plausible that Mouse could be just the latest in a line of people who became stuck on that refrain.
The ending is terrifying, bringing together the more mundane horror of a hoarder's house together with the supernatural elements in a fantastically scary climax. It had felt like the collection of stuff and the creepy things outside were two separate worlds but the meeting between them was one of the scariest things I've read in a while. The final scenes at the house are absolutely chilling, leading to an resolution that feels just as right as it is weird and sad.
I appreciate the way that the framing clearly situates this as a story being told after the narrator and her dog have survived the events in question, it would be a monumentally more stressful story if I'd had to wonder whether the dog dies. The dread lies instead in the very large gap between surviving and escaping unscathed, and in the pages upon pages of descriptions of what was in this particular hoarder's house. It ratcheted up the tension by inches, as the intensity of the supernatural events increased periodically while the sheer volume and detail of the house's contents were a steady drip of very plausible weirdness.
The main character, Mouse, is a great narrator, with the quirkiness of specificity bringing a great style to her asides and characterizations. Bongo (the dog) comes through so well in her descriptions, doing things that make sense for who he is as a dog, even (or perhaps especially) when such actions complement the narrative as a thriller. The secondary characters are detailed enough to feel like full people without distracting from the main events, and I like the group who helps her out towards the end (Foxy's my favorite).
There's a particular litany, both read and thought by Mouse, which gradually turned into an earworm in my own thoughts in a way that makes the horror even more effective. It made it feel like the book was escaping its confines, or at the very least it makes it alarmingly plausible that Mouse could be just the latest in a line of people who became stuck on that refrain.
The ending is terrifying, bringing together the more mundane horror of a hoarder's house together with the supernatural elements in a fantastically scary climax. It had felt like the collection of stuff and the creepy things outside were two separate worlds but the meeting between them was one of the scariest things I've read in a while. The final scenes at the house are absolutely chilling, leading to an resolution that feels just as right as it is weird and sad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Animal death, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, and Death of parent
Minor: Child death
madarauchiha's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
โค๏ธ ๐งก ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ my about / byf / CW info carrd: uchiha-madara ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐งก โค๏ธ
I didn't like the tone of it. It was very quirky white girl with the ramona flowers hair who only exists in r/STDH forums. I had no idea it was supposed to feel tense or horrific until I read other reviews. I thought the MC was pretty much a character out of the Scooby Doo universe.
It didn't feel like much happened. MC cleaned the house, went on a hike or two,read a diary, lost a dog, found the dog, and uhh got kidnapped? And then everything was resolved within a day. I think more could've been added like investigative scenes of going to the local library to study missing people near her grandmother's home. Or have a few chapters edited out because it was a bit repetitive. The eldritch horrors didn't feature that much to me.
The surrounding characters just kinda... exist. The writing was passable. It's rather dry horror. It's a slow build, that's for sure. Ok so it turns out it's based off Arther Machen's story 'The White People' which explains the slow building, I think. Those ye olde fuckers sure like taking the long of writing stories.
I think what kinda irritates me is that Foxy gets a name but the Black barista doesn't. Granted the goth barista doesn't either but hm. Suspect to me. ... fake edit: ok so goth barista gets a name. Enid. still waiting on a name for the one Black character. Literally before they even appear the cop gets named but the Black character doesn't. ok... Spoilers he is immediately forgotten after that one scene. Well.
content warnings:
Minor: ableist c slur, animal hunting, anti indigenous racism, burns fire death, child abuse, eating disorders, insects, menstruation, murder, pregnancy, q slur in historical context multiple times, sexual content, snakes, spiders, stillbirth, vomit
Medium: toxic relationships, religion catholicism,
Major: unsanitary hoarding situation, animal death, gore, police, body horror, confinement, prison, murder, fire, arson, demolition, dogs,
I didn't like the tone of it. It was very quirky white girl with the ramona flowers hair who only exists in r/STDH forums. I had no idea it was supposed to feel tense or horrific until I read other reviews. I thought the MC was pretty much a character out of the Scooby Doo universe.
It didn't feel like much happened. MC cleaned the house, went on a hike or two,
The surrounding characters just kinda... exist. The writing was passable. It's rather dry horror. It's a slow build, that's for sure. Ok so it turns out it's based off Arther Machen's story 'The White People' which explains the slow building, I think. Those ye olde fuckers sure like taking the long of writing stories.
I think what kinda irritates me is that Foxy gets a name but the Black barista doesn't. Granted the goth barista doesn't either but hm. Suspect to me. ... fake edit: ok so goth barista gets a name. Enid. still waiting on a name for the one Black character. Literally before they even appear the cop gets named but the Black character doesn't. ok... Spoilers he is immediately forgotten after that one scene. Well.
content warnings:
Minor: ableist c slur, animal hunting, anti indigenous racism, burns fire death, child abuse, eating disorders, insects, menstruation, murder, pregnancy, q slur in historical context multiple times, sexual content, snakes, spiders, stillbirth, vomit
Medium: toxic relationships, religion catholicism,
Major: unsanitary hoarding situation, animal death, gore, police, body horror, confinement, prison, murder, fire, arson, demolition, dogs,
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Body horror, Confinement, Infertility, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Toxic friendship
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Vomit, and Rape
jenniferlynnkrohn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Animal death
jerusha's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, and Toxic relationship
lou_o_donnell's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Minor: Blood and Mental illness
jreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Animal death