Scan barcode
pacifickat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Neil Gaiman understands how to write magic, especially dark magic, in a way that makes it feel real and old and timeless. He also picks at the edges of our deepest, most primal fears without revealing too much at a time. Love the way he plays with old magic tropes (black cats, talismen, portals, the monster under the bed, mist) in ways that make them feel both refreshingly new and impossibly ancient at the same time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Confinement, Toxic relationship, and Body horror
Moderate: Slavery and Violence
Minor: Kidnapping, Murder, Animal death, and Abandonment
riverofhorton's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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
I want to start this review by saying that this book is firmly on my re-readable pile, and it may well be my new favourite modern horror book. Which I find amazing considering this is a children's book.
I found it to be just the right level of horror to be a casual read, which I find I'm most likely to return to in the future. A good portion of the horror content of the horror was of the slightly-to-the-left-of-normal kind, rather than being overt and graphic.
This book offers depth to the world and story, rather than a shower of blood and guts found in some other horror book I've read. Sometimes I think this kind of horror takes more work, and this is even more true when it's a children's book and the author (presumably) knows adults will also read it and so also need to be thrilled. To me, this shows the mastery of the art of writing that Neil Gaiman repeatedly demonstrates.
I found it to be just the right level of horror to be a casual read, which I find I'm most likely to return to in the future. A good portion of the horror content of the horror was of the slightly-to-the-left-of-normal kind, rather than being overt and graphic.
This book offers depth to the world and story, rather than a shower of blood and guts found in some other horror book I've read. Sometimes I think this kind of horror takes more work, and this is even more true when it's a children's book and the author (presumably) knows adults will also read it and so also need to be thrilled. To me, this shows the mastery of the art of writing that Neil Gaiman repeatedly demonstrates.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Cannibalism, Physical abuse, Violence, Child abuse, Confinement, Gaslighting, Murder, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Torture, Slavery, Abandonment, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Stalking
More...