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sydsmith23's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
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? Yes
2.5
moreglittermorefur's review against another edition
4.0
What an incredibly fun and creepy storyline! It was a great book regardless of the problematic descriptors and length. Good example of how middle aged white men could get away with more in 2013 for shock/disgust value than they can now (Milky mommy tits, Tagalog/Klingon comparison, and excessive emphasis on fatness as a negative trait- justice for our sweet baby angel Lou). Humor was on point though with both Manx and Vic and agree with others that Maggie Leigh needed more screen time.
I was mild on the ending/wrap up.
Preferred the audio performance over the physical book as I split my reading times
*without knowing the family lineage, I described it ‘reminds me of Stephen King’ to a friend.
I was mild on the ending/wrap up.
Preferred the audio performance over the physical book as I split my reading times
*without knowing the family lineage, I described it ‘reminds me of Stephen King’ to a friend.
icantcontroltheweather's review against another edition
2.0
I don't know, I felt in no way lived up to the hype that accompanied it. It was lackluster and didn't compare to how much I loved Horns. Honestly it was a struggle to finish and it seemed to draggy through out most of it. I wanted to like it, even the idea of it sounded awesome, but it just wasn't.
joshadkins's review against another edition
4.0
Tense and excellent. Grotesque and resonant. I liked this book a lot! I need to check out some of Hill's older stuff sometime soon!
mbminard's review against another edition
4.0
Fantastic read. Leave it to Hill to give Christmas such a sinister, twisted sub plot. I love his character development and detail to make the story come alive. I got a kick out of the few subtle references to the characters in his dad's book 'Dr. Sleep' which was released close to the same time, being a fan of both authors, I appreciated the joke :)
shalini_gunnasan's review against another edition
5.0
What a ride. If I didn't know this was King's son, well, I'm well educated by now. Hill certainly has King's style, but with a little more polish and flair. The next generation took all the best bits and improved on it, which is as it should be.
Despite the tragedy in this story, there is also a lot of hope. In a hopeful world, heroes like Vic McQueen are born to stop evil, which cannot prevail no matter how long it rules. Ultimately, it's a feel-good horror story, and one that we can come back to again, because it ends on hope.
Despite the tragedy in this story, there is also a lot of hope. In a hopeful world, heroes like Vic McQueen are born to stop evil, which cannot prevail no matter how long it rules. Ultimately, it's a feel-good horror story, and one that we can come back to again, because it ends on hope.
hanbart19's review against another edition
3.0
Overall I had a good time reading this book. Despite its kind of absurd length (almost 700 pages!!) it never felt slow-paced, and I found myself consistently curious about what was going to happen next. The concept of inscapes (described as an imagined world/space somehow turned real) felt fresh and interesting. Could’ve been explained in more detail, maybe, but it made sense enough.
Yet… I don’t know. I was left feeling a bit “meh” at the end. The final showdown is maybe 50 pages, which after reading 600+ pages of exposition, was a little underwhelming. I appreciate that it wasn’t dragged out, I guess, but the same tight storytelling wasn’t found anywhere else.
I also struggled to feel connected to the characters, to the point where I was indifferent to whether they survived or not. Even the Main main character, Vic. Whenever men write a “badass but damaged chick” character it always falls flat for me. I don’t really think traumatizing a woman and giving her a drinking problem is the only thing that can make her interesting. As a whole, actually, the descriptions of violence against women were scarier to me than the true “horror” content of the novel. I know it wasn’t portrayed as acceptable/positive, per se, since the villains were the ones committing the acts, but it was still unpleasant to read about in detail. Also, there was a constant stream of offhand sexist comments going on that I didn’t enjoy. Not that I expect murderers to be feminists, but like, come on.
Yet… I don’t know. I was left feeling a bit “meh” at the end. The final showdown is maybe 50 pages, which after reading 600+ pages of exposition, was a little underwhelming. I appreciate that it wasn’t dragged out, I guess, but the same tight storytelling wasn’t found anywhere else.
I also struggled to feel connected to the characters, to the point where I was indifferent to whether they survived or not. Even the Main main character, Vic. Whenever men write a “badass but damaged chick” character it always falls flat for me. I don’t really think traumatizing a woman and giving her a drinking problem is the only thing that can make her interesting. As a whole, actually, the descriptions of violence against women were scarier to me than the true “horror” content of the novel. I know it wasn’t portrayed as acceptable/positive, per se, since the villains were the ones committing the acts, but it was still unpleasant to read about in detail. Also, there was a constant stream of offhand sexist comments going on that I didn’t enjoy. Not that I expect murderers to be feminists, but like, come on.
cheyenneberens's review against another edition
5.0
This one earned a 4.3/5 at the very least. This book was great from beginning to end, and now I get to be excited all over again because it's an AMC show (also on Hulu)! When I got near the end of the book, I was like "oh this is so predictable" and then I was caught off-guard when there was a twist in the last chapter. Something *I* didn't expect at least. I enjoyed the entire book right through the end, and would also advise everyone to read the note after the acknowledgements... for a little cliffhanger.
bear_reads_books's review against another edition
5.0
This book is amazing. It is now my favorite of Joe Hill's novels. I only wish certain characters had met different ends, that's all I will say about the ending. The rest was fantastic and he needs to hurry up and put out another book!