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allimmiller's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
livyalusk's review against another edition
5.0
The scope and ambition of this story seemed very hit or miss to me. That made me very pleasantly surprised when it was handled in such a clever and engaging way.
It is clear to me that the author had a real passion for this project and it manages to make me as a reader very interested in his areas of interest. From the history of Indiana to the formation of a storm, I've learned a lot. Using all of his interests as a foundation for the lore he'd built proved very effective, immersing me in the world completely.
The clever way Koryta threads together the main themes of control, power and vanity makes for very interesting characters. They share very present similarities that manage to manifest in unique but clear ways. It also played with the idea of fate in a way that isn't too crazy, making you think long and hard about whether the events really had to happen and what kind of people the main characters are.
The ending, without giving anything away, sent quite a beautiful message that managed to make me feel hopeful for someone I had completely lost hope for. It does so without a happily ever after, but with a subtle idea of how things will look. It leaves a lot to the imagination, but I don't imagine anything horrible.
It is clear to me that the author had a real passion for this project and it manages to make me as a reader very interested in his areas of interest. From the history of Indiana to the formation of a storm, I've learned a lot. Using all of his interests as a foundation for the lore he'd built proved very effective, immersing me in the world completely.
The clever way Koryta threads together the main themes of control, power and vanity makes for very interesting characters. They share very present similarities that manage to manifest in unique but clear ways. It also played with the idea of fate in a way that isn't too crazy, making you think long and hard about whether the events really had to happen and what kind of people the main characters are.
The ending, without giving anything away, sent quite a beautiful message that managed to make me feel hopeful for someone I had completely lost hope for. It does so without a happily ever after, but with a subtle idea of how things will look. It leaves a lot to the imagination, but I don't imagine anything horrible.
paulabrandon's review against another edition
2.0
Eric Shaw was on the cusp of a big Hollywood career as a director of photography, but it fell apart. Now he does stuff like edit together presentations for funerals. At one such funeral, his work attracts the attention of a woman who wants him to put together something for her father-in-law, Campbell Bradford, who is close to death.
She gives him a mysterious bottle of mineral water that her father-in-law built his fortune on. Eric heads to West Baden, the location of a magnificent hotel, to start work on his presentation. He notices that the bottle of mineral water is mysteriously cold all the time. Once at the hotel, and after taking a taste of the water, he starts experiencing vicious headaches and strange visions. As he tries digging into Campbell Bradford's past, he begins to realise not everything is adding up.
This got off to a good start.
Eric's visions and his encounters with a mysterious man in a bowler hat were evocative, creepy and unsettling. He was a well-developed character. So too was Josiah Bradford, a local yokel eager to strike it rich and get out of West Baden, who has a connection to Campbell Bradford that he's unaware of. Josiah is highly unlikeable as a character, but he remained interesting. Eric was an interesting character. So too was Kellen Cage, a college graduate exploring the black history of West Baden.
Not so interesting was local Anne McKinney, a storm watcher. I got really, really tired of her blathering on about storms. And the book just hammers home that "a storm is coming" metaphor with all the subtlety of a brick. This book is over 500 pages long, and I swear about 250 of them were taken up with talk about storms.
And that's how the book eventually lost me. All the goodwill generated by the spooky encounters early in the book was slowly but surely sapped away but the endless talk about storms and that all too obvious metaphor, and the fact that the book just didn't seem to be going anywhere. Eric got bad headaches a lot. It was clearly related to his consumption of the mineral water. He would get visions. He would get more headaches. Anne would blather on and on and on about storms. Rinse and repeat.
And after all that build-up, it just goes out with a whimper. We have no idea what Campbell Bradford sought to achieve once he was back. By the end, we're left with more questions than answers. Things just seem to resolve because the author seemed to realise he was 450 pages in and needed to wrap things up. It is one of the most underwhelming finishes to a horror tale I've ever encountered in my life.
This was very well-written. It kept me involved. The character development was top-notch. But for a 500 page book, barely anything happened. There's plenty of creepy stuff early on, but the second half really is largely a bore. None of what happens gets explained away to a degree that would satisfy me. I was surprised to learn that a movie version is coming out in March. I'm actually interested in watching it. This plot would be much more suited to a 90 minute movie than a 500 page book.
She gives him a mysterious bottle of mineral water that her father-in-law built his fortune on. Eric heads to West Baden, the location of a magnificent hotel, to start work on his presentation. He notices that the bottle of mineral water is mysteriously cold all the time. Once at the hotel, and after taking a taste of the water, he starts experiencing vicious headaches and strange visions. As he tries digging into Campbell Bradford's past, he begins to realise not everything is adding up.
This got off to a good start.
Eric's visions and his encounters with a mysterious man in a bowler hat were evocative, creepy and unsettling. He was a well-developed character. So too was Josiah Bradford, a local yokel eager to strike it rich and get out of West Baden, who has a connection to Campbell Bradford that he's unaware of. Josiah is highly unlikeable as a character, but he remained interesting. Eric was an interesting character. So too was Kellen Cage, a college graduate exploring the black history of West Baden.
Not so interesting was local Anne McKinney, a storm watcher. I got really, really tired of her blathering on about storms. And the book just hammers home that "a storm is coming" metaphor with all the subtlety of a brick. This book is over 500 pages long, and I swear about 250 of them were taken up with talk about storms.
And that's how the book eventually lost me. All the goodwill generated by the spooky encounters early in the book was slowly but surely sapped away but the endless talk about storms and that all too obvious metaphor, and the fact that the book just didn't seem to be going anywhere. Eric got bad headaches a lot. It was clearly related to his consumption of the mineral water. He would get visions. He would get more headaches. Anne would blather on and on and on about storms. Rinse and repeat.
And after all that build-up, it just goes out with a whimper. We have no idea what Campbell Bradford sought to achieve once he was back. By the end, we're left with more questions than answers. Things just seem to resolve because the author seemed to realise he was 450 pages in and needed to wrap things up. It is one of the most underwhelming finishes to a horror tale I've ever encountered in my life.
This was very well-written. It kept me involved. The character development was top-notch. But for a 500 page book, barely anything happened. There's plenty of creepy stuff early on, but the second half really is largely a bore. None of what happens gets explained away to a degree that would satisfy me. I was surprised to learn that a movie version is coming out in March. I'm actually interested in watching it. This plot would be much more suited to a 90 minute movie than a 500 page book.
throwback682's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is, as the author says in the acknowledgments, “a book about haunted mineral water”.
I found the ending unsatisfying but maybe that’s that “leave them wanting more” I hear about.
The descriptions were amazing, especially of the outdoors scenes, the springs, the woods, the storms. But the hotel and the people (and visions) really came to life as well.
I didn’t like the music and sound effects on the audiobook, they were distracting and felt incongruous.
I found the ending unsatisfying but maybe that’s that “leave them wanting more” I hear about.
The descriptions were amazing, especially of the outdoors scenes, the springs, the woods, the storms. But the hotel and the people (and visions) really came to life as well.
I didn’t like the music and sound effects on the audiobook, they were distracting and felt incongruous.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Addiction, Mental illness, Alcohol, Racism, Toxic friendship, Racial slurs, Murder, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Vomit
The N word is said more than once. Two characters see or hear things that are not there (sort of). This is a ghost story, but some supernatural aspects strongly mimic drug addiction as well as mental illness (voices in your head etc).jenvogel80's review
4.0
Having spent time in French Lick/West Baden it was really cool to imagine these settings in real life. Even without that it’s a great thriller but for all my local friends who have been there, it’s a must read.
dhschultz29's review
3.0
Ghost trains and haunted bottles of water. Early on it reminded me of The Shining.
mostlybees's review against another edition
Luckily I didn’t finish this book. It was the book club book for March. Reading a story that takes place in a state I live in is neat, and that’s my only good comment about this book. I think the story is bad, the characters are poorly written, and the writing is bad.
I listened to the audio book because I thought that would be better than reading 500-something pages, and I think that was a mistake. The narrator’s voice was infuriating, and they used accents for characters and some accents were not in good taste.
I listened to the audio book because I thought that would be better than reading 500-something pages, and I think that was a mistake. The narrator’s voice was infuriating, and they used accents for characters and some accents were not in good taste.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
tduchscher's review
5.0
I fell in love with this book and author after reading the first paragraph! Michael Koryta is on the top of my must read list! I love the paranormal aspect to this book. It's an easy mystery to follow along with but still has you guessing at what will happen next. My three favorite things 1) storms 2) paranormal and 3) mystery. Highly recommend this book