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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
Absolutely gorgeous cover and awesome story. I really appreciated how the author was able to hold my attention the whole book. There was never a moment where I felt bored or taken out of the story. I did this half on ebook and half audiobook and both were brilliant ways to enjoy this book. If you like cosmic horror that is modern and unique you’ve come to the right place.
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is different from a lot of horror I've read. The ending was very unique yet classic.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
fast-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
For fans of the last season of Stranger Things and I Know What You Did Last Summer…
Imagine you’re out on a fishing boat, pulling up crab traps, and in one of those traps is a human head. Arguably a head plus a little bit, but a head without a body, at any rate. What if that head wasn’t dead?!? What if it could read your mind and telepathically communicate, and what if that head wanted—neigh, commanded you—to do terrible things, or else?
Well, then you’d be hauling around a duffel bag with part of a missing girl, Oksana, whose death defies natural law and who is set on revenge. A former Ukrainian boarding school student, her backstory is a complicate mess of lies and betrayals set among a group of former friends in the 90’s.
I’m a 90s teen myself, so this story hit on a note of nostalgia that transported me back to my younger years with pagers and Hot Topic, pay phones and the Blockbuster rental heyday. A time when I was just old enough to be aware of Cold War issues and of world events, like one, in particular, that I won’t include in this review so as not to inadvertently spoil the mystery.
Andrew Van Wey does a commendable job revealing just enough details in each chapter to make this book an absolute page turner.
What happened to Oksana? What about Megan and the group of high school friends now plagued by unusual dreams and memories of things better left forgotten? How in the heck is this head alive? And how is she slowly regaining autonomy? Gasp!
You might not believe me when I tell you this, but the reveal is actually like, “Huh, okay. That might happen (kind-of, not really).” The history is plausible in the way Twilight Zone or Twin Peaks makes you question the existence of alternate realities. Talk about world building!
Head Like a Hole is my first foray into reading body horror, and my first read by Andrew Van Wey, who sets a high bar for the subgenre as a whole. Hole. Hee hee. Part mystery and certainly gross, this book straddles two of my favorite genres (horror/mystery) perfectly. Highly recommended as one of my favorite recent reads. I look forward to seeing what this author cooks up next.
Imagine you’re out on a fishing boat, pulling up crab traps, and in one of those traps is a human head. Arguably a head plus a little bit, but a head without a body, at any rate. What if that head wasn’t dead?!? What if it could read your mind and telepathically communicate, and what if that head wanted—neigh, commanded you—to do terrible things, or else?
Well, then you’d be hauling around a duffel bag with part of a missing girl, Oksana, whose death defies natural law and who is set on revenge. A former Ukrainian boarding school student, her backstory is a complicate mess of lies and betrayals set among a group of former friends in the 90’s.
I’m a 90s teen myself, so this story hit on a note of nostalgia that transported me back to my younger years with pagers and Hot Topic, pay phones and the Blockbuster rental heyday. A time when I was just old enough to be aware of Cold War issues and of world events, like one, in particular, that I won’t include in this review so as not to inadvertently spoil the mystery.
Andrew Van Wey does a commendable job revealing just enough details in each chapter to make this book an absolute page turner.
What happened to Oksana? What about Megan and the group of high school friends now plagued by unusual dreams and memories of things better left forgotten? How in the heck is this head alive? And how is she slowly regaining autonomy? Gasp!
You might not believe me when I tell you this, but the reveal is actually like, “Huh, okay. That might happen (kind-of, not really).” The history is plausible in the way Twilight Zone or Twin Peaks makes you question the existence of alternate realities. Talk about world building!
Head Like a Hole is my first foray into reading body horror, and my first read by Andrew Van Wey, who sets a high bar for the subgenre as a whole. Hole. Hee hee. Part mystery and certainly gross, this book straddles two of my favorite genres (horror/mystery) perfectly. Highly recommended as one of my favorite recent reads. I look forward to seeing what this author cooks up next.
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.
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced