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hollyj13's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
obenn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
billymac1962's review against another edition
2.0
First off, let me say that this is a very good story, and it had its scary moments. But I think I have some sort of problem with Peter Straub's writing. I can't quite put my finger on it but at times it seems long winded and confusing. Where with Dan Simmons and Orson Scott Card their words just seem to effortlessly flow into my mind, I find there are times when I need to reread Straub's sentences. This doesn't happen a whole lot, mind you, but it got annoying when it did, and I was glad to finally finish it. But hey, that's just me. I figure Straub simply doesn't "click" with me so I think it would be unfair for me to
criticize this novel. I've read Shadowland (it was OK) and Mystery (found the ending terribly unsatisfying) and felt I should read this, his "best" work.
As far as the story goes, I was a little disappointed that there weren't more Chowder Society ghost stories within the main story, which I was expecting. I thought the characters were well drawn, though. I very much enjoyed Ricky, Sears, Lewis and John, and would love to sit in on more
Chowder Society sessions.
So...overall, did I like it? Wellllll....yeah. If you like Peter Straub you will love this.
criticize this novel. I've read Shadowland (it was OK) and Mystery (found the ending terribly unsatisfying) and felt I should read this, his "best" work.
As far as the story goes, I was a little disappointed that there weren't more Chowder Society ghost stories within the main story, which I was expecting. I thought the characters were well drawn, though. I very much enjoyed Ricky, Sears, Lewis and John, and would love to sit in on more
Chowder Society sessions.
So...overall, did I like it? Wellllll....yeah. If you like Peter Straub you will love this.
blackenedwhiplash's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I know a lot of horror novel fans adore this novel including Stephen King himself, but this was underwhelming for me. A lot of it is that personally I wasn't a fan of the way Straub structured the plot, the style and pacing. There's nothing inherently wrong with how the book is written and laid out but it just doesn't satisfy my taste. But some of why I didn't love this novel is less subjective. For one, most characters have as much personality as a wet sock. I didn't feel like I got close to any character and no character had enough uniqueness to stand out and pique interest. For another thing, there are plot holes especially relating to the main villain and their motives/explanation of what's going on. And even then, the explanation of what/why everything is happening is lame as fuck tbh. The plot goes by so slowly and yet the ending is anticlimactic and feels unfinished. Honestly, this book suffers much of what Tommyknockers by Stephen King also suffers from. It has some fantastic scenes peppered throughout a slog of boring scenes. The prose is decent and some of the horror scenes are creepy and very effective, but it always seems to meander once it starts to get great. There is a lot of potential here, but IMO the execution is largely weak, with enough great parts to keep your attention enough to the end. Not a bad book, but I would hasten to say it's a good one. It is good enough that I am interested to check out other works by the same author and see how he fares in a different story.
ybbmel's review against another edition
4.0
very interesting, it took me a second to sit with this one before I could even begin to process my thoughts.
Straub's writing was amazing. I really enjoyed the imagery he used, and I think the spooky scenes were just that, very spooky. the spooks start on page one!!
that being said, the writing was too slow and overly detailed. I did not like how many characters there were, it really hurt the reading experience as I genuinely could not keep up with everyone in Milburn. it's a double-edged sword, I think Straub did a great job in the world-building and setting a good environment, but sometimes it was TOO much.
I enjoyed the characters more than I thought I would. A group of old guys in their 70's aren't the typical main characters, but I really enjoyed it actually! ricky was such a guy, I loved him.
his partner, Sears, I cannot say the same. his character was interesting enough, just being an ass was his whole thing.. which fine... but his ending was so stupid I felt a little upset. some scenes were really good, but some, like Sears's ending, just felt a little messy and unnecessary.
the plot itself was good, but confusing in some aspects. "Ghost Story," isn't so much a ghost story in the first place. the "monsters," if you will, in this story are slightly confusing and i wish they were explained better. they were spooky, but not living up to their full spookiness as i did not understand them fully.
the ending of this book is absolutely worth the 500 pages to get there, but again. i was slightly confused my first read of it. once i sat back and read the ending a second time i was able to comprehend it and love it as much as i did.
all in all, not my favorite spooky book. but a good one i would recommend to anyone already accustomed to reading books like Stephen King. if you can read and love King, you'll love Straub. i can't wait to read more of his work in the future, as I fell in love with his writing. Rest in peace king!! <3 :,)
Straub's writing was amazing. I really enjoyed the imagery he used, and I think the spooky scenes were just that, very spooky. the spooks start on page one!!
that being said, the writing was too slow and overly detailed. I did not like how many characters there were, it really hurt the reading experience as I genuinely could not keep up with everyone in Milburn. it's a double-edged sword, I think Straub did a great job in the world-building and setting a good environment, but sometimes it was TOO much.
I enjoyed the characters more than I thought I would. A group of old guys in their 70's aren't the typical main characters, but I really enjoyed it actually! ricky was such a guy, I loved him.
his partner, Sears, I cannot say the same. his character was interesting enough, just being an ass was his whole thing.. which fine... but his ending was so stupid I felt a little upset. some scenes were really good, but some, like Sears's ending, just felt a little messy and unnecessary.
the plot itself was good, but confusing in some aspects. "Ghost Story," isn't so much a ghost story in the first place. the "monsters," if you will, in this story are slightly confusing and i wish they were explained better. they were spooky, but not living up to their full spookiness as i did not understand them fully.
the ending of this book is absolutely worth the 500 pages to get there, but again. i was slightly confused my first read of it. once i sat back and read the ending a second time i was able to comprehend it and love it as much as i did.
all in all, not my favorite spooky book. but a good one i would recommend to anyone already accustomed to reading books like Stephen King. if you can read and love King, you'll love Straub. i can't wait to read more of his work in the future, as I fell in love with his writing. Rest in peace king!! <3 :,)
saltedsnail's review against another edition
I really tried. DNF at over half way through, which is saying something with a book this scale. I’ve had this one recommended to me a thousand times as someone who DEVOURS horror and cares a lot about witnessing the works that influence the genre as a whole, I really wanted to love it…. Or at least be able to finish it. Ghost Story does so many brilliant, interesting, unconventional things in its telling and the prose is fine enough. I just cannot get past how disgustingly sexist this book is… and I read all the way through Matheson’s Hell House. I have a bad habit of hate-reading really awful sexist and exploitative pulp horror from the 70’s & 80’s and this is worse because it’s GOOD. It’s well written enough and doing brilliant things outside its abysmal portrayal of every single female character. It’s not just women boobing-boobily alongside tacky prose about ectoplasm leaking from walls or some other contrived garbage. That I can slog through, that I can laugh at. Peter Straub’s underlying dismissal of, distrust for, and general distaste of women really ruin what I would otherwise likely call a masterpiece. The women in this book are unredeemable and flat while the men in this book are dynamic, complex characters…. And this is very clearly not a self-aware choice on Straub’s part, but rather an extreme limitation of his own imagination and indication to his own prejudices. A pity, really, for a book with so much potential.