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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
I couldn't really immerse myself in the world built around the characters. It felt like I was reading a badly translated novel -- like a description of foreign cities rearranged to fit American cities. I also couldn't get invested in any of the characters. Once June got taken over I was so confused and was kinda rooting for Oksana to just take over the world and eat everything in existence.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
and the cover speaks to a degree of body horror that's always engaged me, and held my attention. I thought I would be diving into a book that would probably end up as another three-star read but then would eventually disappear from my mind. But no... that wasn't the case, because Head Like a Hole is simply incredible.
It's the mid-90s, and teenagers navigate life on the cusp of the millennium as the world slowly starts to come online. Along the coast of New England, something else awakens. Something dark. Something evil. Megan Monroe along with her friends, have no clue that this evil will bind itself to them, haunt them, and follow them through the years with a twisted determination for revenge. For Megan, she's at a loss on how to confront this consuming terror, and soon realises that to free her future, she must first confront the darkest corners of her past.
Dark, tense and mysterious, Head Like a Hole explores an engaging storyline, one where the plot is drenched in as much secrecy as the true motives of the main characters. By entangling gory body horror and elements of control and brainwashing, the novel keeps a fantastic pace that always left me wanting more. The book is incredibly atmospheric and runs at a digestible pace that litters sickening twists and turns in every chapter, and with a dual timeline, there was always that desire to keep reading, to tie together the threads, and understand how the events of 1996 left a mark on the story being told in the present day.
I applaud what Andrew Van Wey has created here, and had some of the loose ends been thoroughly tied up, I would have been awarding this an easy 5-star. Without a doubt, because it is just that good. As it stands, this is a book I'll happily recommend to others, and one I believe is a true cult classic in the making.
It's the mid-90s, and teenagers navigate life on the cusp of the millennium as the world slowly starts to come online. Along the coast of New England, something else awakens. Something dark. Something evil. Megan Monroe along with her friends, have no clue that this evil will bind itself to them, haunt them, and follow them through the years with a twisted determination for revenge. For Megan, she's at a loss on how to confront this consuming terror, and soon realises that to free her future, she must first confront the darkest corners of her past.
Dark, tense and mysterious, Head Like a Hole explores an engaging storyline, one where the plot is drenched in as much secrecy as the true motives of the main characters. By entangling gory body horror and elements of control and brainwashing, the novel keeps a fantastic pace that always left me wanting more. The book is incredibly atmospheric and runs at a digestible pace that litters sickening twists and turns in every chapter, and with a dual timeline, there was always that desire to keep reading, to tie together the threads, and understand how the events of 1996 left a mark on the story being told in the present day.
I applaud what Andrew Van Wey has created here, and had some of the loose ends been thoroughly tied up, I would have been awarding this an easy 5-star. Without a doubt, because it is just that good. As it stands, this is a book I'll happily recommend to others, and one I believe is a true cult classic in the making.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Captivating
I loved this. I'm not generally too fond of bodyhorror, but this was done so well. Being a teen in the 90s probably aided with a sense of nostalgia but not necessary to enjoy the story ;)
The third act in this was maybe a little rushed compared to the world building in the first half of the book, but the pace helped keep me turning those pages.
I loved this. I'm not generally too fond of bodyhorror, but this was done so well. Being a teen in the 90s probably aided with a sense of nostalgia but not necessary to enjoy the story ;)
The third act in this was maybe a little rushed compared to the world building in the first half of the book, but the pace helped keep me turning those pages.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Head Like A Hole is a weird, truly f*ked up story by Andrew Van Wey. It’s I know What You Did Last Summer on steroids having been nuked by radiation. We have a group of friends who did something gruesome but our main character, Megan, doesn’t remember what happened. All she knows is she was in an accident and her whole family died in a fire while she was in hospital. When a fisherman finds the upper half of a woman in his crab nets and she is somehow still alive, the secrets that Megan and her friends have been hiding start to be revealed. The barely alive woman is on a mission to bring this group back together and she isn’t letting missing her lower half stop her. She will do what it takes. This book is odd and jumps around in time. The twists aren’t that twisty. It had gross moments and parts that were kind of gory. I originally tried reading this on my kindle and it didn’t hold my interest but the audiobook was intriguing enough to keep me engaged. I didn’t think any of these characters were all that likeable. The story itself is wild and I gave this 3/5 stars.
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Instagram book reviews @CandaceOnline
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Meh. I wanted to like this book so bad but I didn’t. While it intrigued me in the beginning with Louis finding what he did in his crab traps (no spoiler) I lost interest so many times that I almost dnf’d this book. Only reason I didn’t was because I wanted to see how it ended and even that fell flat for me.This book states that it was “horror” and I never once felt as if I was scared or on the edge of my seat (what a shame). Also I typically like books when they flip between back then and current but at times I felt like I just couldn’t keep up and I had to backtrack a lot (probably due to losing Interest at times) oh well. Not every book is a winner, it just wasn’t for me.
dark
medium-paced