Reviews with content warning for Medical content - The Hollow Places

That was great! Wow. Inspired by a short story called "The Willows" by Algernon Blackwood, somebody who inspired the likes of H.P. Lovecraft, T. Kingfisher weaves an absolutely bonechilling story of other worlds that appear in the walls of her strange but king Uncle Earl's Wonder Museum, full of bizarre taxidermy and other such artifacts.

I'm still stewing on it, really, but I can say that it takes a lot for horror to get under my skin these days, but The Hollow Places creeped me out. And I love every moment of it. Nothing felt out of place, or bland. Kingfisher writes with so much colour and knows the perfect moments to tone it down and... damn. The atmosphere.

Read this if you're a fan of horror, particularly the Weird.

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hazelsnoot's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

The worldbuilding was genuinely scary, but the two main characters constantly making quippy jokes got old fast. Hated all the fanfic references, and at one point the main character talks about incest shipping which felt very unnecessary and gross. Liked Simon but wished we saw more of him as a rounded character vs just the MC's GBF.

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owlphabetical's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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emmdashed's review

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adventurous dark funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

T Kingfisher includes a mix levity and horror in The Hollow Places. While I wouldn't necessarily say it's a full on horror-comedy, it is ultimately much more lighthearted than many books of the same ilk. It certainly toes, and occasionally steps over, the line of being too quippy, and sometimes the jokes broke the tension of scary situations a little bit too much for me. However, Cara and Simon's snark was generally more enjoyable than the dour misery present in many horror novels.

Cara's inner monologue could be a little bit too repetitive for my liking. I understand it is realistic (I certainly struggle with indecision and overthinking), but sometimes I just need the story to get to the point. Not a deal breaker by any means, but it could be a little frustrating.

Also definitely enjoyed the literary references and fanfiction talk (tell me what her ships are I need to know).

While her stories may not be the scariest or most tense, T Kingfisher paints some very solid and creepy imagery. The sequences of body horror, whether the characters witness them or just hear about them, are genuinely very unsettling.

Overall an enjoyable, fun read and I do recommend.

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vanadiumbean's review

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I think I prefer her romance novels. The writing style is fun, conversational and approachable, but stretches a little thin sometimes. Sometimes a humorous aside is just distracting from the stuff that's really interesting.

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