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judassilver's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Gore, Violence, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Moderate: Terminal illness, Cancer, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Infidelity, Vomit, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Antisemitism, Chronic illness, Fire/Fire injury, and Body horror
trippyotter's review against another edition
- 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
Golden navigated the twists and turns of various religious beliefs with perfection.
But I will say, if you're even remotely a traditionalist when it comes to biblical tales or anti-occult/demonology, this is not the book for you.
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual content, Chronic illness, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Violence
mollyolloxenfree25's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Sexism and Religious bigotry
akmay17's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Violence
little_book_witch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Blood, Suicide attempt, Violence, Toxic relationship, Gore, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Body horror, Medical trauma, and Infidelity
stephanieluxton's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Graphic: Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Body horror
Moderate: Pregnancy, Suicide, Gun violence, Infidelity, Cancer, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Misogyny
nlghtshade's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Violence, Blood, and Cancer
uroboros's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
Graphic: Violence
ripxw's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Terminal illness, Religious bigotry, and Cancer
billyjepma's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.5
The actual "monster" aspect of it might not have been quite what I was hoping for, but it's delectably unsettling, nonetheless. Golden's execution of the tantalizing premise is predictable once it gets going but manages to strike the ideal levels of tension, dread, and excitement to keep the pages turning at a satisfying clip. The cast is way too large, which results in most of the characters blurring together into a group of featureless names that exist to die in horrible ways. It's a consistent roadblock of the genre, but the best entries find ways to make the deaths feel somewhat meaningful, and that doesn't really happen here.
To compensate, Golden's writing is grisly and cruel, rarely missing out on an opportunity to make the reader squirm. I never felt much investment in the individual characters, but the menace they faced was so frightening I still found it easy to root for them and cringe when it didn't seem like they were going to succeed. Oh, and the ending made my blood curdle and will probably keep me up tonight, so it gets points for that, too.
I'm definitely going to be checking out the other "Ben Walker" adventures Golden has written because as fleeting as this particular brand of action-horror usually is, I'm a shameless sucker for it. Golden's plotting and characterization need fine-tuning, certainly. But his prose is sharp enough, and his enthusiasm for the genre is palpable (to a fault), so it's an easy read to tear through over a day or two, ideally during a snowstorm, for obvious reasons.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Cancer, Grief, Gun violence, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Infidelity
Minor: Chronic illness, Cursing, Child death, Pregnancy, and Religious bigotry