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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Simple enough plot but a quick entertaining read. I dig the author's style.
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The Shuddering
by Ania Ahlborn
To begin our story, we follow a group of friends that take a trip together to a cabin in the mountains. But as the snow starts to roll in, and drama and bitter feelings begin to reveal themselves, they find that things aren't what they seem.
When the monsters that live on the mountain begin their hunt, they must fight tooth and nail if they want to make it back home alive.
I'm not quite sure how I feel about this book yet, to be completely honest. This book was recommended to me as a story that was similar to the video game Until Dawn, and in some ways it is. It does include some of the main themes that take place in the game.
I really enjoyed this book, up until the halfway point. All of the characters seemed interesting, and the monsters were scary. But from the climax of the story to the ending, it was like everything that was being built up just crumbled.
It seemed like we were going to get an explanation about what the monsters were, and the deeper meaning behind them, instead of just bloodthirsty beasts. And that ending? I can't tell you how disappointed I was.
I ended up giving a 3.5, because for the first 60% or so, I really enjoyed the story, and couldn't put it down, and the writing was well done.
I truly don't mean to be so negative, I think I just had this book so hyped up in my mind, that I ended up feeling let down.
by Ania Ahlborn
To begin our story, we follow a group of friends that take a trip together to a cabin in the mountains. But as the snow starts to roll in, and drama and bitter feelings begin to reveal themselves, they find that things aren't what they seem.
When the monsters that live on the mountain begin their hunt, they must fight tooth and nail if they want to make it back home alive.
I'm not quite sure how I feel about this book yet, to be completely honest. This book was recommended to me as a story that was similar to the video game Until Dawn, and in some ways it is. It does include some of the main themes that take place in the game.
I really enjoyed this book, up until the halfway point. All of the characters seemed interesting, and the monsters were scary. But from the climax of the story to the ending, it was like everything that was being built up just crumbled.
It seemed like we were going to get an explanation about what the monsters were, and the deeper meaning behind them, instead of just bloodthirsty beasts. And that ending? I can't tell you how disappointed I was.
I ended up giving a 3.5, because for the first 60% or so, I really enjoyed the story, and couldn't put it down, and the writing was well done.
I truly don't mean to be so negative, I think I just had this book so hyped up in my mind, that I ended up feeling let down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma
Moderate: Animal death, Sexual content, Pregnancy
The scariest thing about this book is not the monsters ripping people to pieces…. It’s the fact that these are some of the most ridiculously entitled and judgmental characters I’ve ever experienced and the relationships that they all have together are super codependent and unrealistic. April was lucky with her outcome tbh because I would not have wanted to stay in the cabin with everyone else while being a victim of their selfishness and halfwitted ideas, and if the monsters didn’t come and get me on their own, I would have flung myself at their mercy just to get away from the rest of the group…
I’ve heard great things about The Bird Eater and Brother so I’ll try again with another of this authors books and hopefully it will be a better fit for me.
I’ve heard great things about The Bird Eater and Brother so I’ll try again with another of this authors books and hopefully it will be a better fit for me.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
Ahlborn's books tend to feel like horror movies, but this one I could pretty much see on the screen. The cast is a good-looking bunch with unresolved issues in an isolated place beset by a group of never-defined monsters. There's even a set-up for a sequel. It held my attention but it was never appointment reading.
There were some problems. First, Ahlborn's pet words are on full display. Seriously, count the times she uses variations of "coil" and "slither." This is something an editor should have caught, but then, it's all over her other books.
The main characters don't encounter the monsters until about 60% in. This is a bit late and so the beginning of the book feels wheel-spinny while we wait for the good stuff. True to the book's feel as a film, Ahlborn adds some disposable characters to exist for a scene and then be killed, just so we don't forget this is horror.
Lastly, the monsters don't make a whole lot of sense. There's a seemingly endless supply of these alpha-predators on what appears to be a mountain that's pretty extensively settled and used for skiing and snowboarding. How are these things remaining undetected? How are there so many of them? Horror doesn't have to answer these kinds of questions necessarily, but there's a disconnect in the world she establishes and the antagonists.
The climax of the novel (the back 40% or so) does get a lot better, and the final pages really are great. Not Ahlborn's best work, but potentially worth the time as a creature feature on the page.
There were some problems. First, Ahlborn's pet words are on full display. Seriously, count the times she uses variations of "coil" and "slither." This is something an editor should have caught, but then, it's all over her other books.
The main characters don't encounter the monsters until about 60% in. This is a bit late and so the beginning of the book feels wheel-spinny while we wait for the good stuff. True to the book's feel as a film, Ahlborn adds some disposable characters to exist for a scene and then be killed, just so we don't forget this is horror.
Lastly, the monsters don't make a whole lot of sense. There's a seemingly endless supply of these alpha-predators on what appears to be a mountain that's pretty extensively settled and used for skiing and snowboarding. How are these things remaining undetected? How are there so many of them? Horror doesn't have to answer these kinds of questions necessarily, but there's a disconnect in the world she establishes and the antagonists.
The climax of the novel (the back 40% or so) does get a lot better, and the final pages really are great. Not Ahlborn's best work, but potentially worth the time as a creature feature on the page.