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njdarkish's review against another edition
4.0
The prose is beautiful and at times terrifying, but it gets a little tricky to bridge the gap between the stories to make sense to the context of what is actually on the tapes. It's there, but was vague to the point that it took away from some of the horror and narrative cohesion. This could have been a five star book if it tied the threads together a little more tightly.
emilycdennis's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
mariaranger98's review against another edition
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I started this book to get back into reading. It’s pretty short so it’s not daunting. At the start. I was super interested and could hardly put it down. The change in perspectives helped hold the tension. However, I felt like there were some plot lines left unresolved and it was a bit anticlimactic. I still enjoyed it enough, but I probably wouldn’t re-read it. Marketing it as a horror novel is a bit misleading as well. It’s more about grief/loss of a parent.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident
Moderate: Death of parent and Abandonment
gracedayton's review against another edition
3.0
UGH. i was SO excited for this to take me somewhere crazy and creepy, but it really left me hanging. the multiple storylines and characters were interesting and intriguing, but i didn’t get answers to any of my questions. i like that sometimes, but it didn’t work here since i think a lot of the plot went unanswered. was really hoping to love this one :(
haruka_mori's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
pastelhellion's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Solidly written, but I felt I had no idea where things were going for a good portion. However, Darnielle paints a vivid picture of rural Iowa and creates such a string nostalgia for the time of VCRs, Oldsmobiles and dial-up internet.
Presents as a horror novel and it is tense for a while, but then slowly morphs into a story of grief and loss. Not quite sure it hit the mark but I did enjoy watching it unfold.
Presents as a horror novel and it is tense for a while, but then slowly morphs into a story of grief and loss. Not quite sure it hit the mark but I did enjoy watching it unfold.
angus_mckeogh's review against another edition
1.0
Should be retitled “Universal Dumpster”. What a sorry excuse for a “horror” novel. It was a blessing this book was so short or I would’ve stopped reading it. Even at that it took me three months of putting it down and picking it back up and slogging through 10 pages. Just phenomenally uninteresting. The main plot point about mysterious film segments showing up in the middle of rented video tapes was promisingly intriguing and then became nonsensical and unimportant. The book dragged and then dragged some more. A huge letdown after a really good rookie effort, Wolf in White Van. And certainly not scary or creepy. Just stupid.