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booking_along's review
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Dark isn’t just dark; it’s fucking black. Like the color, and it’s like ink in water, it coats everything and if it’s touches you, you feel like you’ll never get it off.
i didn’t know what to expect from this going in but this was defiantly a trip.
i don’t know if it’s strictly a horror in the typical horror writing senses -no jump scares no slowly creeping monsters of the supernatural or human kind - but rather a story that follows a horrific event and the character very slowly discovering the horror of what happened.
it’s well written and the perfect length for how it’s written and what it’s telling.
and while i would have loved to learn more about the details of what was going on around - the actual investigation, what the wife thought and all of that- as it’s told it carries it’s quiet horror of being left behind and while not necessarily forgotten, certainly the urgency of trying to be someone worthy if being missed and remembered well.
it’s a very well done little story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Medical trauma, Drug use, Murder, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore
sleepingwtlo's review
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Having read (and thoroughly enjoyed) the first in the Selected Papers from the Consortium for the Study of Anomalous Phenomena collection (what a glorious mouthful!), Kate Maruyama’s Bleak Houses, I was excited to jump back in with L. Marie Wood’s 12 Hours.
From start to surprisingly emotional finish, 12 Hours is a wild ride. Opening with a cabbie trapped in his own car as he - and we, albeit heart-wrenchingly quicker - works out what has happened, Wood’s novella is an absolute masterclass in suspense, reveals, and the more emotive side of horror.
As he awaits rescue, we learn more and more about him. His life, his loves, his mistakes - a life literally flashing before our eyes in an almost stream of consciousness from the trapped man. No better nor worse than the average person, Wood places a seemingly banal cabbie into the centre of a psychological horror, and the final result kept me glued to every single one of its 80 pages.
With two such strong starts from the CSAP papers (sorry but I’m not typing that out again!), I can’t wait to see what the next instalment - Sarah Hans’ Asylum - brings to the table.
pinkpanthress's review
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄.
𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿!
The story is about a Cabbie who is just about finish a tough night shift. All he wants is to enjoy a hot coffee and watch the beautiful sunrise.
But then, his front window breaks and he gets mugged. As he waits for help, we get to hear the Cabbie's thoughts.
The events in the book have been recorded by the Professor and his team for 'Selected Papers from the Consortium for the Study of Anomalous Phenomena'.
¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦
The author did a great job with the POV! We get just enough hints about certain elements and the story unfolds bit by bit.
The main character talks about the mistakes he made in his life and seems to regret them... but while reading, I wasn't always sure if I should feel sorry for him or not.
This 80-page novella was dark, intriguing, and quite a bit sad. The Cabbie's emotions and thoughts felt real, even though it's a horror story. The reality hits you early on, but you still want to keep reading to find out what happens next.… and how HE will react to it… what HE thinks!
I enjoyed the fact, that this can be read as a standalone piece, even though it's part of a series.
I'm giving it 4 out 5 🌟!
𝑰'𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒂 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒄𝒌, 𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈.
𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿!
The story is about a Cabbie who is just about finish a tough night shift. All he wants is to enjoy a hot coffee and watch the beautiful sunrise.
But then, his front window breaks and he gets mugged. As he waits for help, we get to hear the Cabbie's thoughts.
The events in the book have been recorded by the Professor and his team for 'Selected Papers from the Consortium for the Study of Anomalous Phenomena'.
¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦
The author did a great job with the POV! We get just enough hints about certain elements and the story unfolds bit by bit.
The main character talks about the mistakes he made in his life and seems to regret them... but while reading, I wasn't always sure if I should feel sorry for him or not.
This 80-page novella was dark, intriguing, and quite a bit sad. The Cabbie's emotions and thoughts felt real, even though it's a horror story. The reality hits you early on, but you still want to keep reading to find out what happens next.… and how HE will react to it… what HE thinks!
I enjoyed the fact, that this can be read as a standalone piece, even though it's part of a series.
I'm giving it 4 out 5 🌟!
𝑰'𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒂 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒄𝒌, 𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈.
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