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bekab20's review against another edition
4.0
These women are crazy! A little slow at first, but plenty of atmospheric creepy weirdness. And leaves you thinking "what on earth did I just read?" lol
mallorywht's review against another edition
3.0
I’m not normally one to be bothered by things that require a trigger warning, but in this case I think I would have benefited from knowing a little more going in. I would put a strong trigger warning on this for rape, sexual assault, and domestic violence. I knew it was horror going in, but some of the scenes were so descriptive it was, in my opinion, past horror and off putting. If I had known to expect that going in, I think I could have gotten past it and given the book a better review.
ofearna's review against another edition
5.0
I've read this book a few times now... every time it creeps me the HECK out.
The movie, with Bette Davis, was creepy, but not too terribly.
The Widow Fortune, though, portrayed by Bette Davis? Dang!
The movie, with Bette Davis, was creepy, but not too terribly.
The Widow Fortune, though, portrayed by Bette Davis? Dang!
jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
This was the kind of book I was hoping to discover when giving Horror Month a shot.
It’s not the best book I’ve read this year, nor even this month. But it’s the kind of thing I was hoping to read: quality psychological horror that is beyond the mainstream.
Getting this rec from Max Read’s substack was a gift. It was a delight to pour through Tryon’s rich language as he slowly but surely developed the characters, parceling out horror bit-by-bit until the big reveals, then having the survivor(s?) live with the consequences.
This is the slowest of slow burns. Thomas Tryon takes his sweet time introducing Ned, his family, and the people of Cornwall Coombe, a quaint New England village shut off from the rest of the world by the clannish locals for reasons that…well reasons. Reasons that become clear as you read it.
It’s a book that you have to be patient with; indeed, I did find it sluggish at times. But your patience was rewarded. And it was aided by Tryon’s prose. Every time the story slowed down and I thought I’d get bored, I was able to stay engaged because of how Tryon told the story.
I think I have a thing for cult/occult horror. This was billed as an American Wicker Man, but I got more of a Firm vibe: you don’t know what’s amiss but you know something is, yet you can’t put a finger on it. It’s not as good as The Firm but its reveals still punched. Recommended if you’re willing.
It’s not the best book I’ve read this year, nor even this month. But it’s the kind of thing I was hoping to read: quality psychological horror that is beyond the mainstream.
Getting this rec from Max Read’s substack was a gift. It was a delight to pour through Tryon’s rich language as he slowly but surely developed the characters, parceling out horror bit-by-bit until the big reveals, then having the survivor(s?) live with the consequences.
This is the slowest of slow burns. Thomas Tryon takes his sweet time introducing Ned, his family, and the people of Cornwall Coombe, a quaint New England village shut off from the rest of the world by the clannish locals for reasons that…well reasons. Reasons that become clear as you read it.
It’s a book that you have to be patient with; indeed, I did find it sluggish at times. But your patience was rewarded. And it was aided by Tryon’s prose. Every time the story slowed down and I thought I’d get bored, I was able to stay engaged because of how Tryon told the story.
I think I have a thing for cult/occult horror. This was billed as an American Wicker Man, but I got more of a Firm vibe: you don’t know what’s amiss but you know something is, yet you can’t put a finger on it. It’s not as good as The Firm but its reveals still punched. Recommended if you’re willing.
zarco_j's review against another edition
5.0
Haunting, evocative and captivating. This slides easily into my top 25 books read ever. It was one of those rare stories that you're dying to finish but at the same time you don't want it to end.
punkyjewster's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I wanted to love this so badly. It was recommended to me because Midsommar is one of my favorite movies, and I was looking for similar folk horror.
The first 300 pages are not horror in the slightest. I didn’t love the main character but some of the side characters (like The Widow) were enough to keep me interested. It was a slog to get through, but I was hoping for payoff.
The end of the book is atrocious. If you picked up on the author’s misogynistic undertones in the beginning of the book, you win! You get several pages of aGRAPHIC SA perpetrated by the narrator for revenge, and somehow all the people in the town just… don’t really care that much??? . The ending was so easy to see coming, and it was evident through his language that he really wanted to portray all of his female characters as conniving and evil.
Again, I REALLY wanted to love this book. Horror about an isolated group of people who welcome outsiders and end up being terrifying? One of my favorite sub-genres. But my goodness, this felt like a waste of time with no payoff.
The first 300 pages are not horror in the slightest. I didn’t love the main character but some of the side characters (like The Widow) were enough to keep me interested. It was a slog to get through, but I was hoping for payoff.
The end of the book is atrocious. If you picked up on the author’s misogynistic undertones in the beginning of the book, you win! You get several pages of a
Again, I REALLY wanted to love this book. Horror about an isolated group of people who welcome outsiders and end up being terrifying? One of my favorite sub-genres. But my goodness, this felt like a waste of time with no payoff.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Violence
meredith_collins's review against another edition
1.0
I haven't hated a book this much in a long time.
synthezoiid's review against another edition
2.0
300 pages for anything to happen, and all of the things that DID happen were very easily foreseen by the reader by page 100. also has that whole weird 70s misogyny of "women are way more powerful than man because men are too stupid to understand them, mother goddess mother goddess fertility birth" class of philosophy, which very much annoys me. was hype about this book going in, and extremely ready for it to be over by the end.