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3.33 AVERAGE
3.33 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Car accident
Man, what a deliciously horrifying premise. Too bad that's where it ends. This tries to do too many things at once - historical and political horror, isolation from society in an unforgiving climate, restless spirits of the dead and undead terrorizing a haggard troupe of survivors as they flee from a hell of theirs and Mother Nature's own making - and none of them ever actually land. I'm not sure where the "horror" that everyone keeps mentioning was supposed to show up, because this was mostly just some annoying dudes on a cold, shitty road trip to film an exploitative pilot or proof-of-concept reel that will never actually sell because it's really freaking boring and then having their cold, shitty road trip busted open into "oh my G-d WE HAVE TO MOVE FASTER" on every other page.
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
3.5 ★
I think the only thing that put my eyes on this book is the cover. Or maybe it had a higher rate before now. But paranormal genre, with its spirits that seems unreal and make no sense isn't my cup of tea. But I read it anyway. And I'm stuck between loving it, and hating it.
Teig and his friend Prentiss drove on the Road of Bones, where rumor said that many of the workers were buried under the permafrost back then (ps. I just knew permafrost has a cute Indonesian translation: ibun abadi). Along with Kaskil as their guide, they went to Akhust, looking for the coldest place on earth. In the middle of the journey, they met Nari, a woman in trouble with her car, and they brought her along. But once they arrived in Akhust, the one that welcomed them isn't people, but emptiness.
I listened to the audio narrated by Robert Fass. At first, it was kinda boring since the scenes happened on the road and whether his pronunciation was hard to follow, or the words the author chose were difficult for me. But once they arrived in Akhust and the real terror occured, I started to enjoy it and quite like it. His voice, especially when he did panicky voice of his, is so great. It added the haunting and the creepiness of the atmosphere. Things got more tense and interesting through the passage, until they came back to the road. This where I started to remember that I'm not really into paranormal thingy and thing got a bit absurd here. To make thing worse, I've been attached to the characters and that made me dislike how it ended. It could be better. I wish it could.
I think the only thing that put my eyes on this book is the cover. Or maybe it had a higher rate before now. But paranormal genre, with its spirits that seems unreal and make no sense isn't my cup of tea. But I read it anyway. And I'm stuck between loving it, and hating it.
Teig and his friend Prentiss drove on the Road of Bones, where rumor said that many of the workers were buried under the permafrost back then (ps. I just knew permafrost has a cute Indonesian translation: ibun abadi). Along with Kaskil as their guide, they went to Akhust, looking for the coldest place on earth. In the middle of the journey, they met Nari, a woman in trouble with her car, and they brought her along. But once they arrived in Akhust, the one that welcomed them isn't people, but emptiness.
I listened to the audio narrated by Robert Fass. At first, it was kinda boring since the scenes happened on the road and whether his pronunciation was hard to follow, or the words the author chose were difficult for me. But once they arrived in Akhust and the real terror occured, I started to enjoy it and quite like it. His voice, especially when he did panicky voice of his, is so great. It added the haunting and the creepiness of the atmosphere. Things got more tense and interesting through the passage, until they came back to the road. This where I started to remember that I'm not really into paranormal thingy and thing got a bit absurd here. To make thing worse, I've been attached to the characters and that made me dislike how it ended. It could be better. I wish it could.
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
the concept was FULL of potential, but what a miss in the tedious execution. this story has almost nothing to do with the legions who died constructing this particular road in siberia; instead, the hell is hearing the same loop of “there are no words to describe how cold it is here” + annoying dudes unsure if they’re getting enough of the unexpected mysteries on camera. i’d be here for all the eco-horror mixed with regional lore, but this isn’t that.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
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
This was not about the Road of Bones or any haunting relating to it. Most of the book, the characters are in a vehicle driving away from creatures out of local folklore. Which could have been interesting if the author gave any context other than mentioning which culture it came from. What a wasted opportunity to learn more about old religions in Siberia. There was no how or why this was happening and the main character didn't think to ask even though the locals clearly knew what they were dealing with.
The main character was insufferable. He arrives in Siberia because he wants to shoot a documentary yet also has a focus on hauntings? He doesn't really go into detail about what exactly he wants out of this other than he needs to pitch a show idea. Also, he does no research into this aside from learning how the Road of Bones came about. He couldn't even be bothered to learn the word for "Hello" in the local language so it's no wonder only one person showed up to be part of his crew. There was miraculously no language barrier, as everyone they encountered knew just enough English to communicate with everyone.
Teig was stubborn, overly sentimental and entitled. Pretty much every mishap that occurred to the group would link to a decision he made or forced through. I was surprised Nari stuck with him and listened to him given that her two character traits were 'pragmatic' and 'independent'.
Finally, I can only read so many iterations of 'It was so cold I felt it in my bones'.
The main character was insufferable. He arrives in Siberia because he wants to shoot a documentary yet also has a focus on hauntings? He doesn't really go into detail about what exactly he wants out of this other than he needs to pitch a show idea. Also, he does no research into this aside from learning how the Road of Bones came about. He couldn't even be bothered to learn the word for "Hello" in the local language so it's no wonder only one person showed up to be part of his crew. There was miraculously no language barrier, as everyone they encountered knew just enough English to communicate with everyone.
Teig was stubborn, overly sentimental and entitled. Pretty much every mishap that occurred to the group would link to a decision he made or forced through. I was surprised Nari stuck with him and listened to him given that her two character traits were 'pragmatic' and 'independent'.
Finally, I can only read so many iterations of 'It was so cold I felt it in my bones'.