Scan barcode
pause_theframe's review against another edition
4.0
The Story
In the times of plantation and slavery, there were many secrets, especially with the owners. From relationships, affairs, whippings, money problems and more. One plantation holds more secrets than any of the others.
It's always been depicted as a lovely place, with images of Spring House showing sun, life, laughter and joy. These pictures represent the surface, where many tourists come to visit one of the largest and most wealthy plantations, which has been newly renovated.
However, the true secrets start to surface, after the owner attempts to take her own life - upon discovering her husband has his own little secret. She doesn't expect was happens next, as she sits alone in her garden gazebo, shrouded in darkness, blood dripping to the floor. After uncovering the true dark, brutal secret that lies under Spring House, her husband is soon taken from her - karma to pay for his lies and secret. Will she embrace the darkness or will it come back to haunt her?
My Thoughts on the Book:
I loved this book. If you are a fan of Stephen King or Joe Hill, you will be hooked on this book! I loved it so much I will need to go and get all of his other books, just to see if they are as gripping as this.
I found one of the best aspects of this book to be the time and place in which it takes place. It was great that Rice took the book back to his someplace, as you could tell by the level of depth and character he gave the surroundings in the book. Every details about the streets, roads, houses and people were done superbly to fit the area. I also liked that the thriller aspect was completely intertwined with the dark history of the south. It is a different take on this historical part of the States and I believe that this was done to perfection. The historical aspect gives you a time and real events to be able to latch the story to, making you feel as though it really did happen. You almost find yourself starting to check for the vines under your bed, just in case the darkness has let them spread to your place.
The characters in the book were excellent. They had depth and true characteristics to match them to the deep south personas they should have, based on their style and station in life. I liked that a lot of the characters were also so much more than you thought they were. They had a lot of detail and emotion that boiled to the surface, some of which you never would have expected.
Finally, the thriller aspect of the story was one of the best I've read in a very long time. It is true when it is said that Rice's writing rivals that of King. I definitely found myself so engrossed in the tale that I couldn't put the book down. Every minor detailed was planned and written like an art piece. They flowed together so well, and created a true thriller masterpiece. Be ready for a good scare.
OVERALL: A great book. I would highly recommend this book, especially if you are a fan of King, Hill and the likes. It is more of an adult story, as the thriller theme may be a bit much and gory for younger audiences, but I believe it is appropriate for 15+.
In the times of plantation and slavery, there were many secrets, especially with the owners. From relationships, affairs, whippings, money problems and more. One plantation holds more secrets than any of the others.
It's always been depicted as a lovely place, with images of Spring House showing sun, life, laughter and joy. These pictures represent the surface, where many tourists come to visit one of the largest and most wealthy plantations, which has been newly renovated.
However, the true secrets start to surface, after the owner attempts to take her own life - upon discovering her husband has his own little secret. She doesn't expect was happens next, as she sits alone in her garden gazebo, shrouded in darkness, blood dripping to the floor. After uncovering the true dark, brutal secret that lies under Spring House, her husband is soon taken from her - karma to pay for his lies and secret. Will she embrace the darkness or will it come back to haunt her?
My Thoughts on the Book:
I loved this book. If you are a fan of Stephen King or Joe Hill, you will be hooked on this book! I loved it so much I will need to go and get all of his other books, just to see if they are as gripping as this.
I found one of the best aspects of this book to be the time and place in which it takes place. It was great that Rice took the book back to his someplace, as you could tell by the level of depth and character he gave the surroundings in the book. Every details about the streets, roads, houses and people were done superbly to fit the area. I also liked that the thriller aspect was completely intertwined with the dark history of the south. It is a different take on this historical part of the States and I believe that this was done to perfection. The historical aspect gives you a time and real events to be able to latch the story to, making you feel as though it really did happen. You almost find yourself starting to check for the vines under your bed, just in case the darkness has let them spread to your place.
The characters in the book were excellent. They had depth and true characteristics to match them to the deep south personas they should have, based on their style and station in life. I liked that a lot of the characters were also so much more than you thought they were. They had a lot of detail and emotion that boiled to the surface, some of which you never would have expected.
Finally, the thriller aspect of the story was one of the best I've read in a very long time. It is true when it is said that Rice's writing rivals that of King. I definitely found myself so engrossed in the tale that I couldn't put the book down. Every minor detailed was planned and written like an art piece. They flowed together so well, and created a true thriller masterpiece. Be ready for a good scare.
OVERALL: A great book. I would highly recommend this book, especially if you are a fan of King, Hill and the likes. It is more of an adult story, as the thriller theme may be a bit much and gory for younger audiences, but I believe it is appropriate for 15+.
hectaizani's review against another edition
2.0
While the writing was excellent and the premise was interesting I felt like I was missing something the entire time I was reading this book. I had a hard time figuring out what was going on and why it was happening.
nalry's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
pnwtinap's review against another edition
4.0
A creepy and wonderful story. When I read the premise I was worried that out would be too much like Little Shop of Horrors. I am happy to report that it wasn't at all. I had all the twists and turns I expect from Christopher Rice which made it a wonderful read.
amberannasimmons's review against another edition
3.0
Great writing, as always, but it wasn't as thrilling, scary, or coherent as I expected and wanted. The story is good, but predictable, and this is a rare case where I think the book should have been longer - I wanted to read more, and know more, than the author was wiling or able to give in this case.
ninjabunneh's review against another edition
2.0
Y'all know my absolute adoration for all things creepy, gory, and horrortastic. The bloodier the book, eyeballs popping out, entrails weaved into tapestry, fingernails being pulled - the gorier, the better.
Killer vines who feast on human blood? Yes, please.
Throw in some creepy crawly bugs who yearn for human flesh? HELL, yes.
Main characters that you hate, are completely boring and stereotypical, and you wish to God that your misery would end and they would all just DIE? Yes.
Wait. WUT?
You heard me. I barely got through this book. On top of the dull plot and randomness, the characters were pretty much all pieces of shit that I despised. Stereotypes up the whazoo.
By the end, I was rooting for the vines. (pun-fucking-intended)
2 ninja bunnehs planting
ARC received from NG in exchange for an honest review
Killer vines who feast on human blood? Yes, please.
Throw in some creepy crawly bugs who yearn for human flesh? HELL, yes.
Main characters that you hate, are completely boring and stereotypical, and you wish to God that your misery would end and they would all just DIE? Yes.
Wait. WUT?
You heard me. I barely got through this book. On top of the dull plot and randomness, the characters were pretty much all pieces of shit that I despised. Stereotypes up the whazoo.
By the end, I was rooting for the vines. (pun-fucking-intended)
2 ninja bunnehs planting
ARC received from NG in exchange for an honest review
hsienhsien27's review against another edition
4.0
This is an Advanced Reader's Copy Received From Netgalley
Christopher Rice is an author that despite reading his mother's books, I never knew he existed until his latest novel, The Heavens Rise was released. Rice is a pretty common last name, I think, so I just assumed he was another Rice, not a descendant of a famous Rice. I did my best to remove his mother's fame from him and make him his own individual bowl of Rice, he is Christopher Rice, not the son of the Anne Rice bowl. That's a great thing to do. I eat rice everyday, excuse the excess amounts of the word "rice".
Enough about rice though, the book is about green vegetation, not grains of rice.
The Vines is one of those supernatural horror stories. Where spirits of the dead seek revenge against the living, because the past had perished them into the most miserable of fates. In this novel, the vengeful spirit is a deceased African American slave named Virginie Lacroix, who has the power to control and communicate with nature, or the earth to be more specific. I mean dirt and plants. The ones who are in despair are three main characters, Caitlin, Blake and Nova. What are the tragedies? Caitlin is a woman who loathes herself due to her shallow family members, a cheater husband, and basically, she is a rich woman and riches don't make you happy, it attracts more misery than anything. Blake is an average joe, who hides his feelings, his anger, behind his muscles. That sounds really weird to say. But anyway, Blake, like Caitlin, has lost his love, his lover to be more exact, in a murder, a hate crime towards gay men, that wasn't given enough justice and had permanently scarred his faith in humanity. Then there's Nova, who is African American and has a sort of complex hatred, she hates Caitlin for being the usual stuck up, privileged, self-absorbed being, and for pretty much living in the South, where people like her, due to the still ever present racism, are viewed as nothing but maybe less than human.
This whole story is focused on misery and revenge. A sort of cautionary tale of sorts, where the Vines are what carries out this embedded hatred, a desire for revenge. I sound like a broken record when it comes to books like this. But that's basically what it is, a vicious anger awakens a curse and unleashes the pure darkness of people's souls through more darkness.
I read reviews of Christopher Rice's other books and I always feel apprehensive when I hear people talking about the writing style, in that negative way where I know, based on my own taste, that I won't like it. But it was already too late, I had this on my kindle and I've been wanting to try out his words. They aren't bad, they are enjoyable actually. I don't know what it is but they are nice and smooth. Sort of like whipping cream with a poem ripped to shreds and mixed in. But then this is his latest book and people improve over the years.
This book isn't too long and I read it in two and half days. It was quite a journey with a few lifted up eyebrows at the whole oddity of it. Killer vines? It was almost like a Stephen King movie. I didn't like some of those movies, especially the older ones. Yet, I enjoyed this novel. It was thrilling, creepy, like a guilty pleasure horror TV show you can't pull your eyes away from. Yet there was also that feeling, that I learned something from it, that it filled me. Something about it made it feel like it was more than just a thriller. I don't know how to explain it, but The Vines feels like a sort of touching story with a darker tinge to it, because fear stabs the humanity and evil in us, all at the same time.
Rating: 4/5
Christopher Rice is an author that despite reading his mother's books, I never knew he existed until his latest novel, The Heavens Rise was released. Rice is a pretty common last name, I think, so I just assumed he was another Rice, not a descendant of a famous Rice. I did my best to remove his mother's fame from him and make him his own individual bowl of Rice, he is Christopher Rice, not the son of the Anne Rice bowl. That's a great thing to do. I eat rice everyday, excuse the excess amounts of the word "rice".
Enough about rice though, the book is about green vegetation, not grains of rice.
The Vines is one of those supernatural horror stories. Where spirits of the dead seek revenge against the living, because the past had perished them into the most miserable of fates. In this novel, the vengeful spirit is a deceased African American slave named Virginie Lacroix, who has the power to control and communicate with nature, or the earth to be more specific. I mean dirt and plants. The ones who are in despair are three main characters, Caitlin, Blake and Nova. What are the tragedies? Caitlin is a woman who loathes herself due to her shallow family members, a cheater husband, and basically, she is a rich woman and riches don't make you happy, it attracts more misery than anything. Blake is an average joe, who hides his feelings, his anger, behind his muscles. That sounds really weird to say. But anyway, Blake, like Caitlin, has lost his love, his lover to be more exact, in a murder, a hate crime towards gay men, that wasn't given enough justice and had permanently scarred his faith in humanity. Then there's Nova, who is African American and has a sort of complex hatred, she hates Caitlin for being the usual stuck up, privileged, self-absorbed being, and for pretty much living in the South, where people like her, due to the still ever present racism, are viewed as nothing but maybe less than human.
This whole story is focused on misery and revenge. A sort of cautionary tale of sorts, where the Vines are what carries out this embedded hatred, a desire for revenge. I sound like a broken record when it comes to books like this. But that's basically what it is, a vicious anger awakens a curse and unleashes the pure darkness of people's souls through more darkness.
I read reviews of Christopher Rice's other books and I always feel apprehensive when I hear people talking about the writing style, in that negative way where I know, based on my own taste, that I won't like it. But it was already too late, I had this on my kindle and I've been wanting to try out his words. They aren't bad, they are enjoyable actually. I don't know what it is but they are nice and smooth. Sort of like whipping cream with a poem ripped to shreds and mixed in. But then this is his latest book and people improve over the years.
This book isn't too long and I read it in two and half days. It was quite a journey with a few lifted up eyebrows at the whole oddity of it. Killer vines? It was almost like a Stephen King movie. I didn't like some of those movies, especially the older ones. Yet, I enjoyed this novel. It was thrilling, creepy, like a guilty pleasure horror TV show you can't pull your eyes away from. Yet there was also that feeling, that I learned something from it, that it filled me. Something about it made it feel like it was more than just a thriller. I don't know how to explain it, but The Vines feels like a sort of touching story with a darker tinge to it, because fear stabs the humanity and evil in us, all at the same time.
Rating: 4/5
stacers1973's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting and well paced read that kept me up to the wee hours of the night.