Reviews

Jeskyně zatracených by Caitlin Starling

kwsydney's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

⭐️: 2.5/5

  • While somewhat intriguing, this book was not very compelling. I took like a month long break in the middle of reading to read other books that I was more interested in before coming back to it. Most of the story is incredibly repetitive 
  • I never felt strong emotions, even during scenes I knew I should feel strongly about (e.g.: when she finds bodies)
  • The last 75 pages were incredibly compelling 
  • I’m glad you finally learn what lures the tunnelers! Though I though tunnelers would be the ultimate antagonist, not cave-induced hallucinations 
  • Weird love connection at the end 

Notes: spelunking, off planet, mystery, unreliable narrator 

ristu's review against another edition

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mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

caitsidhe's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

3.5

I liked this, so I don't know why it took me so long to read. Solid caving/sci-fi horror, though I think a lot of the middle could have been cut or condensed.

saccharinewoe's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark 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? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

very descriptive to the point where it's quite dense and heavy throughout the book. not sure how i feel about that yet because i appreciate the world and tension building but i also reluctantly trudged through the first half and almost dnf-ed. but mannnnn am i glad i stuck through with this to the end... it left me with an aching heart as i finished reading the last page. there were some points where i genuinely felt the same dread and fear that gyre did & i feel like i was brought to a similar mindstate as it got more and more dire. it was also nice to read about MCs who exist in the grey zone of morality and humanity lol. i ended up really like this :) 

eyeseereadpeople's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

ellie_ofc's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-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

5.0

evelikesbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

twicomb's review against another edition

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2.0

Stockholm syndrome while literally going in circles

People use the word “literally” when they mean “metaphorically” all the time, but this is not one of those times. These are literal circles that this main character is going in, and not in an interesting way.

This was recommended on a new Goodreads horror list, and why, I do not know. I spent most of the book (1) waiting for an explanation of the “strange things” that kept happening (one never came); (2) watching the main character develop a weird version of Stockholm syndrome (pro tip: it’s not less creepy just because a woman’s developing it toward another woman instead of a man); (3) knowing that at some point there would have to be a face-off with the Chekhov’s gun of a monster (it came at exactly the expected point with exactly the resulting lack of surprise, and ended with a whimper that had no bang); and (4) hoping against hope that continuing to read on would result in a stunning reveal or twist that brought together all the increasingly random “plot points” in a way that made me go 180 on my growing irritation with the book (this did not occur).

Word to the aspiring horror writer: tossing in random spooky elements like figures in the dark and weird glowing spores doesn’t make a story scary, if those elements never have any reason for their inclusion beyond just being there to be spooky.

This is the second book in a row I’ve finished from that particular GR horror list, the first being Silver Nitrate. That book was 3 stars, so it wasn’t great either, but this one was even worse. I had been excited about several of the other titles on the list based on their descriptions, but now that excitement is giving way to a sinking dread that those titles are going to let me down too. I’ll give one more title a try and see if the list can redeem itself.

TL;DR: save your time and read something else. Even if you came here from that GR horror list. Especially if you came here from that list.

fullyfoley's review against another edition

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slow-paced

3.25

owenreads's review against another edition

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3.0

 I didn't find this book anywhere near as claustrophobic as I had assumed I would, or probably should have done. So because of that, the horror and tension elements were mostly lost on me.

What we are left with is a caving story where Gyre seems to be going round in circles... whilst being determined to carry on, watch videos of strangers, and avoid reading a digital folder she'd asked for. Then also trying to encourage Em to change her motive.

The conflict at distance over comms is quite interesting in its own regard. How would you deal with someone you've only just met, who has very different motives, but you have to rely on for your life?!

The story itself stands up reasonably well. There's just enough mystery, in that we don't really know whether Ghia or Em are reliable narrative characters, and what happened to the previous expeditions?

I didn't particularly like either characters. The stockholm syndrome and attachment issues are incredibly strong in both. They're also total dicks the whole way through.