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3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was going great until it wasn’t.
This could’ve been an intelligent and mature send up to the haunted house subgenre if it had allowed itself to be messy, subtle, and unconventional- the way it had been going before the twist. I honestly would not have minded this not being a horror book at all, and instead a themed, realistic fiction book about the ways in which we navigate- and project- our feelings about lost relationships through faith and belief systems. As a horror book though, it’s far weaker than all the ghost stories it references just to try and outdo them.
I think it could still be an enjoyable read if you just skipped the last chapter. Everything before that is entertaining, thoughtful, and provided an interesting dialogue on how two people can fall apart in many different ways. I wish that the book ended on a boring, mundane anticlimax with no ghosts or horror; a relatable, real-world scenario in which two fucked up people must walk away from one another- albeit very changed- and the spooky phenomenon that goes on is never meant to be understood. Personally, that is the version I’m going to pretend actually happened.
This could’ve been an intelligent and mature send up to the haunted house subgenre if it had allowed itself to be messy, subtle, and unconventional- the way it had been going before the twist. I honestly would not have minded this not being a horror book at all, and instead a themed, realistic fiction book about the ways in which we navigate- and project- our feelings about lost relationships through faith and belief systems. As a horror book though, it’s far weaker than all the ghost stories it references just to try and outdo them.
I think it could still be an enjoyable read if you just skipped the last chapter. Everything before that is entertaining, thoughtful, and provided an interesting dialogue on how two people can fall apart in many different ways. I wish that the book ended on a boring, mundane anticlimax with no ghosts or horror; a relatable, real-world scenario in which two fucked up people must walk away from one another- albeit very changed- and the spooky phenomenon that goes on is never meant to be understood. Personally, that is the version I’m going to pretend actually happened.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood
Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual content, Alcohol
Minor: Misogyny, Racism
there's only so much film bro-age i can take
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's been some weeks now since I finished it and remember liking the general atmosphere, though not fully finding the premise of the story that convincing (who writes travel books these days? Why not make it a podcast or YouTube series or ...?), perhaps because it's primarily there to become a twist later on. There's some stuff brewing under the surface, not least the racism and sexism of the narrator, that I'd have loved to have seen explored more, and considering the twist, I was surprised that the narrator's wife didn't get to have more of a presence throughout or at least that the book commented on this somehow (e.g. the narrator's relationship with his friend is explored in more detail than that of his wife).
The book deals explicitly with horror tropes as the main characters quiz themselves on tropes, and it's therefore no surprise that the twist is in itself a bit of a trope - it feels a bit like the novel has not just warned us that that would be the case but also made some excuses for it, which feels a bit, I don't know ... annoying? At least to me.
All in all an OK read with some good horror atmosphere.
The book deals explicitly with horror tropes as the main characters quiz themselves on tropes, and it's therefore no surprise that the twist is in itself a bit of a trope - it feels a bit like the novel has not just warned us that that would be the case but also made some excuses for it, which feels a bit, I don't know ... annoying? At least to me.
All in all an OK read with some good horror atmosphere.
mysterious
slow-paced