Reviews

Universal Harvester by John Darnielle

gabepants's review against another edition

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3.0

This is not horror. Its simply peculiar and sad.

trin's review against another edition

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2.0

I quite enjoyed the opening section of this novel, much as I enjoyed Darnielle's previous book, [b:Wolf in White Van|20575425|Wolf in White Van|John Darnielle|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1393646533s/20575425.jpg|39843433]: it's creepy, lazily suspenseful, atmospheric. But the deeper into this book I got, the more convoluted and obtuse it became, and the less I cared. I would maybe even be giving this one star were it not for the strength of Darnielle's prose and how much I liked that opening section.

coleman_matt's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

vitaminbillwebb's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

njdarkish's review against another edition

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4.0

The prose is beautiful and at times terrifying, but it gets a little tricky to bridge the gap between the stories to make sense to the context of what is actually on the tapes. It's there, but was vague to the point that it took away from some of the horror and narrative cohesion. This could have been a five star book if it tied the threads together a little more tightly.

emilycdennis's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • 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? It's complicated

3.25

savbad's review against another edition

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3.0

Reads like a love letter to Iowa. Just not for me.

mariaranger98's review against another edition

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sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

I started this book to get back into reading. It’s pretty short so it’s not daunting. At the start. I was super interested and could hardly put it down. The change in perspectives helped hold the tension. However, I felt like there were some plot lines left unresolved and it was a bit anticlimactic. I still enjoyed it enough, but I probably wouldn’t re-read it. Marketing it as a horror novel is a bit misleading as well. It’s more about grief/loss of a parent.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

gracedayton's review against another edition

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3.0

UGH. i was SO excited for this to take me somewhere crazy and creepy, but it really left me hanging. the multiple storylines and characters were interesting and intriguing, but i didn’t get answers to any of my questions. i like that sometimes, but it didn’t work here since i think a lot of the plot went unanswered. was really hoping to love this one :(

oliviaburley's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious

3.0