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alexarose19's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.75
maryinthegarden's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
arcaneoddity's review against another edition
3.5
really cool premise, and loved the mixed media style. the first half felt too vague and was difficult to get into but once the pieces started clicking into place i enjoyed it a lot! the ending felt a little rushed but the final reveal was fantastic.
ljutavidra's review against another edition
2.0
Two stars only because of the interesting beginning. I literally skimmed the second half and that was even a chore. Mishmash of video and audio recordings, notes, diary entries, interviews, historical entries, but the story went from ok to a snorefest. Not for me.
lilymurph's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Sexual assault, Gore, Death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Sexual violence, Slavery, Rape, and Adult/minor relationship
mair_mcc's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
(Virginia) Finished this and then sound out loud to an empty room "well that was wacky". Don't know exactly what that means, but it feels like a 3.25 star experience for me.
I liked the concept, and a lot of the execution but I did have some big problems that held me back from rating it higher. The sexual relationship between the 20-something year old character and the teenager, for example?! It was vague enough, but it made me super uncomfy. Also don't give a shit about codebreaking and definitely didn't need multiple pages explaining it - just give me the letter reveal and move on.
I did like the way it ended, but felt that it was rushed. The 2 biggest twists took place in the last 5% of the book. And I only liked the Aunt Liza reveal, not the whole gun play/attempted sexual assault/mass murder reveal.
All that being said, this author has one more book he's written in English that I haven't read and I probably will add that to my Want to Read list.
I liked the concept, and a lot of the execution but I did have some big problems that held me back from rating it higher. The sexual relationship between the 20-something year old character and the teenager, for example?! It was vague enough, but it made me super uncomfy. Also don't give a shit about codebreaking and definitely didn't need multiple pages explaining it - just give me the letter reveal and move on.
All that being said, this author has one more book he's written in English that I haven't read and I probably will add that to my Want to Read list.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Self harm, and Sexual assault
kleonard's review against another edition
5.0
Superb and highly entertaining quasi-thriller complete with ghosts, mysteries, cabals, hidden treasures, and a delicious and clever set-up only revealed at the end...unless you're paying attention.
moonstone_witch's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
carlyg123's review against another edition
5.0
I think, having seen others' reviews of this book, a great number of you need to reread it. I implore you to do so. Before I was halfway through, I sought out some reviews (having simply picked purge book because the red stood out on the shelf). From there I feared the book would be inconclusive as ma any reviews suggested. In reality it finished well. Questions were answered and I'd recommend it. I urge anyone who didn't feel it finished well, to read it again and make notes regarding The 'Twenty' in particular. This really was a wonderful book. On par with Sherlock, I'd be inclined to say with regards to the author.
Mental note to be sure to check out his other work, because this was a wonderfully intricate level of mystery and suspense.
I finished The Camelot Code before reading this, and whilst I loved the latter I find myself surely more inclined to recommend this.
Mental note to be sure to check out his other work, because this was a wonderfully intricate level of mystery and suspense.
I finished The Camelot Code before reading this, and whilst I loved the latter I find myself surely more inclined to recommend this.
doritobabe's review against another edition
3.0
The Supernatural Enhancements : part [b:House of Leaves|24800|House of Leaves|Mark Z. Danielewski|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403889034s/24800.jpg|856555] inspired gothic horror, part "The Altar" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3484800/).
A somewhat unoriginal tale, yet captivating enough to keep me reading and thinking about it STILL.
(I will admit, at the mention of The X-Files -- my favorite show ever-- I had to keep reading).
The Supernatural Enhancements features a long lost cousin --our protagonist-- A. and his deaf/mute punk rock friend, Niamh, moving to America to inherit a property bequeathed to A on the death of one Ambrose Wells.
A and Niamh soon discover that the house is haunted, has a dark somewhat-occult history that features many other wealthy aristocrats from all over the world. These men attempt to find
Of course it is a daring game to them; ultimately they do not know what it means, and to them it seems to mean nothing other than pursuing thrills.
The book ends in a haphazard way; almost as though Cantero didn't know how to end his magnificent mystery. Honestly though, how else could it have ended? It's too vague, mysterious, and not properly executed enough for the plot to last in series form for it to continue. It makes sense to me; Cantero had to kill his darling.
Interesting read. Not sure if I would recommend. Not really sure how I feel about it based on it's unoriginality. I honestly disliked the various news paper articles and "book" excerpts that he placed throughout the novel. I wish it was written NORMALLY as those parts were the only ones that kept me going.
A somewhat unoriginal tale, yet captivating enough to keep me reading and thinking about it STILL.
(I will admit, at the mention of The X-Files -- my favorite show ever-- I had to keep reading).
The Supernatural Enhancements features a long lost cousin --our protagonist-- A. and his deaf/mute punk rock friend, Niamh, moving to America to inherit a property bequeathed to A on the death of one Ambrose Wells.
A and Niamh soon discover that the house is haunted, has a dark somewhat-occult history that features many other wealthy aristocrats from all over the world. These men attempt to find
Spoiler
the people featured in images generated to them through an all knowing "eye".Of course it is a daring game to them; ultimately they do not know what it means, and to them it seems to mean nothing other than pursuing thrills.
The book ends in a haphazard way; almost as though Cantero didn't know how to end his magnificent mystery. Honestly though, how else could it have ended? It's too vague, mysterious, and not properly executed enough for the plot to last in series form for it to continue. It makes sense to me; Cantero had to kill his darling.
Interesting read. Not sure if I would recommend. Not really sure how I feel about it based on it's unoriginality. I honestly disliked the various news paper articles and "book" excerpts that he placed throughout the novel. I wish it was written NORMALLY as those parts were the only ones that kept me going.