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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
Does nothing with the demon vs religion/coming of age/crisis of faith trope that's been done a million times already. I almost dropped it, but stuck it out and wish I hadn't wasted my time. I've enjoyed other works by Fracassi, but this one was a complete miss.
Ever since I first heard about this book over a year ago I have been itching to get my hands on it. Coming of age, demonic possession, and questioning faith? Sign me up. This book did not disappoint and left me gutted. Fracassi is a definite read for me.
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I never thought a horror novel could be so beautifully written. Sad that these characters are gone now, locked away within this single book; a single story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Vomit
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-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
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Religious horror doesn't really stick for me. So I probably should have considered that before reading this book.
I didn't, so here we are, with me saying this was "alright" when for some people, I'm sure it would be terrifying.
Uh, yeah. It was alright. I was far more interested in the coming-of-age aspects than anything else. Though caring about some of the character definitely added to the horror.
But after a certain point, we're so on the rails, we might be welded to them. You can see every turn of the story coming, and in a book like this, I found that detrimental. Some subversion of my expectations would have gone a long way.
Still, the author is definitely a competent writer and capable storyteller. Confronted with another of his books, I'd probably be happy to give it a go. Just for me, this one didn't quite land. If priests and possessions creep you out (beyond the standard accepted level) then you'll likely have a far better time.
I didn't, so here we are, with me saying this was "alright" when for some people, I'm sure it would be terrifying.
Uh, yeah. It was alright. I was far more interested in the coming-of-age aspects than anything else. Though caring about some of the character definitely added to the horror.
But after a certain point, we're so on the rails, we might be welded to them. You can see every turn of the story coming, and in a book like this, I found that detrimental. Some subversion of my expectations would have gone a long way.
Still, the author is definitely a competent writer and capable storyteller. Confronted with another of his books, I'd probably be happy to give it a go. Just for me, this one didn't quite land. If priests and possessions creep you out (beyond the standard accepted level) then you'll likely have a far better time.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
I’m sorry, this was cringe. I wish more reviews could have given a heads up and mentioned that I was about to read Christian Horror. A fantasy about having a saviour complex. This was definitely not for me. Some of the character interactions were okay. Irrespective of the religious fantasy, I still found much of the plot and dialogue to be very monotonous. The extreme parts weren’t impactful, they felt saturated. And unfortunately for the audiobook version, one of the villain characters sounded like Mickey Mouse so it was hard to take it seriously. I pushed through to the end as I wanted to see what the point was to all the strong reviews, but I just ended up cringing at the end.
I think this story is for those who have existential fears around death and beyond, devoutly Christian, have religious trauma perhaps, or just a complex around good and evil and belonging.
I think this story is for those who have existential fears around death and beyond, devoutly Christian, have religious trauma perhaps, or just a complex around good and evil and belonging.
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
Thriller, turned horror, turned emotional. Such a good story with genuine connection to every character. The character development was so good it made the end ever more heartbreaking and sad. The chapters were short but I didn’t want to put this book down, every chapter had something good to provide and set up for the next chapter. I only wish it was a bit more scary, as I think the author could have made the demon(s) more fearful, but that’s my only downside. Still a 5/5 book due to everything else. Imagery was top tier, characters were top tier, story telling was top tier, and the ending was the best ending an author could do.
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No