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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
This was a really unique and interesting concept. It was well written and the structure is refreshing, switching from diary entries, to newspaper clippings, and video descriptions. However it is quite a slog. I was 60% through the novel before anything actually started happening. Once the horror aspects do begin, they are few and far between.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A book with a lot of promise but not much delivery.
This epistolary take on the haunted house novel attempts to follow in Shirley Jackson's footsteps. A group of experts take over an old, decrepit mansion that's subject to strange rumors with plans to live there for an extended period of time. Sounding Hill House-ish? But, the twist is that they are not there with the intention of exposing the paranormal but rather to study a chimpanzee nicknamed Smithy and how he acquires language. As someone who studied linguistics in college and has an unhealthy love for haunted houses, this book was right up my alley.
While this is an amazing idea and there was a strong setup, the book gave way to a plotline with uninspiring characters and way too much filler. The book could have easily been 300 pages instead of 500 and you wouldn't have missed any story. The book covers the same ground again and again, and I just kept waiting for the ghost story to really kick in. (Spoiler alert: it never does.) Perhaps the format with the interviews and diary entries and letters kept me at a distance; I never felt that I was experiencing what was going on. But to be honest, there also just wasn't that much going on to get invested in.
In addition, I was underwhelmed by the character development. There is one researcher named Eric who I kept forgetting was part of the story at all as his appearances are few and far between. He is the lone voice who believes in the possibility of a ghost, so I was really expecting his character to ramp up. Instead, it fizzles out. Tammy and Ruby were interchangeable for me until one of them starts dating another character. And Gail was especially confusing. She is pitched as this enthusiastic go-getter who isn't as experienced or smart as the others (in a cliched kind of dumb blonde way—sigh). It goes so far as she mixes up their/they're and your/you're in her letters. First, these are people who are in college and second, they are studying language. That doesn't make any sense.
On an aesthetic note, much of the book is written as letters and diary entries, and they are all typeset in ITALICS. Italic writing is notoriously taxing on the eyes to read, and it is probably half the book. I wish they could have designed those sections differently as it definitely impacted my enjoyment while I was reading.
My thanks to Inkshares for my copy of this one to read and review.
This epistolary take on the haunted house novel attempts to follow in Shirley Jackson's footsteps. A group of experts take over an old, decrepit mansion that's subject to strange rumors with plans to live there for an extended period of time. Sounding Hill House-ish? But, the twist is that they are not there with the intention of exposing the paranormal but rather to study a chimpanzee nicknamed Smithy and how he acquires language. As someone who studied linguistics in college and has an unhealthy love for haunted houses, this book was right up my alley.
While this is an amazing idea and there was a strong setup, the book gave way to a plotline with uninspiring characters and way too much filler. The book could have easily been 300 pages instead of 500 and you wouldn't have missed any story. The book covers the same ground again and again, and I just kept waiting for the ghost story to really kick in. (Spoiler alert: it never does.) Perhaps the format with the interviews and diary entries and letters kept me at a distance; I never felt that I was experiencing what was going on. But to be honest, there also just wasn't that much going on to get invested in.
In addition, I was underwhelmed by the character development. There is one researcher named Eric who I kept forgetting was part of the story at all as his appearances are few and far between. He is the lone voice who believes in the possibility of a ghost, so I was really expecting his character to ramp up. Instead, it fizzles out. Tammy and Ruby were interchangeable for me until one of them starts dating another character. And Gail was especially confusing. She is pitched as this enthusiastic go-getter who isn't as experienced or smart as the others (in a cliched kind of dumb blonde way—sigh). It goes so far as she mixes up their/they're and your/you're in her letters. First, these are people who are in college and second, they are studying language. That doesn't make any sense.
On an aesthetic note, much of the book is written as letters and diary entries, and they are all typeset in ITALICS. Italic writing is notoriously taxing on the eyes to read, and it is probably half the book. I wish they could have designed those sections differently as it definitely impacted my enjoyment while I was reading.
My thanks to Inkshares for my copy of this one to read and review.
Well written, but too long by 200 pages. Premise is intriguing, so it's disappointing that it comes to such a flaccid end - although it does play fair. Calling this 'horror' is overstating it ('Paranormal' is more fitting), unless the point the author is making is that ambiguity and human oversight constitute True Horror...
Worth reading, and would be interested in further work by the author.
Worth reading, and would be interested in further work by the author.
In 1972, renowned researcher Dr. Piers Preis-Herald brought together a group of collegiate researchers to study the inner lives of man's closest relative--primates. His team would undertake their study by raising a young chimpanzee and teaching him American Sign Language. The primate selected was born chimpanzee #710642 at the Kohlberg Center for Primate Research. He would eventually be known to the world as Smithy.
Nearly fifty years after the Smithy Project ended in tragedy at Trevor Hall, the question remains: Was Smithy a hoax? A clever mimic? A Rorschach projection of humanity's greatest hopes and fears? Or was he indeed what devotees of metaphysics have claimed for so long: a link between our world and the next?
“Smithy”was different from anything I have read before, about 500 pages it is a bit of a sense read. Although the style of which Amanda decided to go definitely made it more interesting and kept my attention. While I don’t think it’s necessarily a horror novel, more on the thriller side, horror fans would enjoy it. Thank you so much to Netgalley for letting me read “Smithy” in exchange for an honest review.
Nearly fifty years after the Smithy Project ended in tragedy at Trevor Hall, the question remains: Was Smithy a hoax? A clever mimic? A Rorschach projection of humanity's greatest hopes and fears? Or was he indeed what devotees of metaphysics have claimed for so long: a link between our world and the next?
“Smithy”was different from anything I have read before, about 500 pages it is a bit of a sense read. Although the style of which Amanda decided to go definitely made it more interesting and kept my attention. While I don’t think it’s necessarily a horror novel, more on the thriller side, horror fans would enjoy it. Thank you so much to Netgalley for letting me read “Smithy” in exchange for an honest review.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated