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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Josh Malerman is the author of Bird Box and its sequel Malorie, and I thoroughly enjoyed both of those titles as well as Malerman's writing style and approach to the horror genre. In a departure from the storylines of Bird Box and Malorie, this book was more of a traditional "slasher" novel. I really liked centering a female villain, but found it hard to suspend my disbelief when it came to the paranormal elements of the story. The ending felt rather abrupt and I think that was intentional because the prospect of having to explain away some of the more fantastical elements of the story. Overall I still enjoy Malerman's writing, but I still stand by the Bird Box books as being his best work.
I like basketball, but I didn’t like this book. Boring, awkward…. Just a few words to describe the writing. Unless you coach or play basketball then there is so much unnecessary sports talk.
I was looking forward to this book because I enjoyed the others that I've read from this author. I like horror, urban legends, mysterious murders, etc. It felt like it would be a great fit, but it took work to want to pick it up and keep going.
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed the book overall. It is a bit slow at times, but I consistently found myself getting lost in the pages. The characters were easy to like, even if they were recently introduced and quickly removed from the story. I will say, the ending feels rushed and could have used a little more fleshing out to hit the right beats.
"Daphne" is a solid take on a "bloody mary" type urban legend. The story follows those beats fairly well, with a solid mystery and some dark and haunting reveals. The teen protagonists and their parents are all solidly drawn, likable characters, to the point that when the darkness falls on them you do feel their sorrow and helplessness against the unseen monster.
The ending is a bit too precocious, though, and the complete lack of any kind of epilogue or denouement makes the themes and ideas behind the scares seem a little empty. The book just sort of stops once the final confrontation is completed.
Still, a quick and easy distraction and there's definitely some unsettling imagery at play.
The ending is a bit too precocious, though, and the complete lack of any kind of epilogue or denouement makes the themes and ideas behind the scares seem a little empty. The book just sort of stops once the final confrontation is completed.
Still, a quick and easy distraction and there's definitely some unsettling imagery at play.
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i got through this in only a matter of days, and although it is intended to be a run-of-the-mill slasher of sorts, i wasn't impressed. this had a lot of moments where i was like, hmmmm... okay, that's definitely a way to phrase something.
i wasn't super into the writing, nor the characters we focused on, and it felt like it was rushing throughout to get to an ending that didn't feel earned. we go on this journey with kit and yet we don't exactly feel anything for her. it just felt like i was being told what to feel for her and her friends, but i had 0 connection to them. nor do we spend enough time with kit after each murder to feel empathy for what she's going through. the police presence of the book felt somewhat realistic, the grief of young girls dying en masse did not.
still gave this 3 stars because it was an easy read, but that's all it really had going for it! just something to log towards my reading goal, lol.
i wasn't super into the writing, nor the characters we focused on, and it felt like it was rushing throughout to get to an ending that didn't feel earned. we go on this journey with kit and yet we don't exactly feel anything for her. it just felt like i was being told what to feel for her and her friends, but i had 0 connection to them. nor do we spend enough time with kit after each murder to feel empathy for what she's going through. the police presence of the book felt somewhat realistic, the grief of young girls dying en masse did not.
still gave this 3 stars because it was an easy read, but that's all it really had going for it! just something to log towards my reading goal, lol.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Car accident, Death of parent
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Malerman hits a three pointer with his latest novel, which works like a combination of Jaws and Halloween, but with basketball and anxiety worked in for good measure.
Kit hits the game winner in a summer league basketball game for her high school, but instead of celebrating the victory, she is fixated on the spectre of Daphne after asking the rim if Daphne will kill her before hitting the game winning free throw.
The Daphne of the title is a local ghost story to the town of Samhattan told one of the team members on the eve of their big game. The story goes if you think on Daphne too much, she'll come turn your lights out and so she appears as a kind of Jaws/Michael Myers figure appearing to kill basketball team members as they each become obsessed with the thought of her.
You will too as the impossible task of stopping the seven foot denim clad killer ramps up through the pages. Between the horrors, Malerman relays a personal experience of anxiety through Kit and shows off the paranoia about impending attacks well through the use of diary entries.
This is an old school horror for the ages with a villain you just won't be able to stop thinking about.
Kit hits the game winner in a summer league basketball game for her high school, but instead of celebrating the victory, she is fixated on the spectre of Daphne after asking the rim if Daphne will kill her before hitting the game winning free throw.
The Daphne of the title is a local ghost story to the town of Samhattan told one of the team members on the eve of their big game. The story goes if you think on Daphne too much, she'll come turn your lights out and so she appears as a kind of Jaws/Michael Myers figure appearing to kill basketball team members as they each become obsessed with the thought of her.
You will too as the impossible task of stopping the seven foot denim clad killer ramps up through the pages. Between the horrors, Malerman relays a personal experience of anxiety through Kit and shows off the paranoia about impending attacks well through the use of diary entries.
This is an old school horror for the ages with a villain you just won't be able to stop thinking about.
Though I enjoyed parts of this book, overall it was not my favorite and I found it a bit hard to get through. But I think that for some, this would be just the right book!
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey for the chance to read this book!
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey for the chance to read this book!