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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
4.5/5
A wonderful mix of horror and adventure could keep me reading for hours, and maybe that was why I started 2021 with one of the longest books in my to-read stack. I really can't recommend this enough if you're already someone familiar with Neville's work. This may actually be his best work that I've read so far. This book was the oddest blend of genre's. Adventure, horror, found footage, historical fiction- to be honest I would've picked this book up way sooner if someone had just told me it was a mix of 80s adventure films, The Fisherman (John Langan) and The Blair Witch Project.
There were certainly flaws no doubt (Kyle saying "Oh Jesus" or an equivalent 1,976 times,) but I am willing to look past all of that because I got what I wanted. Wonderful historical based lore that wove throughout the world seamlessly, jetting across the world in first class and an objective viewpoint as documentary filmmakers just won me over in the end. The prose was also very readable and intelligent, and surprised me in parts with some of the best writing I've seen within the genre. I get the impression that much like Kyle, the research into cults was a difficult experience for Neville, and I hope I don't read too far into this, but some parts really felt like Neville himself talking about the impact about writing about such a real and dark part of the human social experience.
If none of the things I've touched on pique your interest, then you probably won't gel with the book. For me, I was more gelled than Ross Geller's hair.
A wonderful mix of horror and adventure could keep me reading for hours, and maybe that was why I started 2021 with one of the longest books in my to-read stack. I really can't recommend this enough if you're already someone familiar with Neville's work. This may actually be his best work that I've read so far. This book was the oddest blend of genre's. Adventure, horror, found footage, historical fiction- to be honest I would've picked this book up way sooner if someone had just told me it was a mix of 80s adventure films, The Fisherman (John Langan) and The Blair Witch Project.
There were certainly flaws no doubt (Kyle saying "Oh Jesus" or an equivalent 1,976 times,
Spoiler
a bit of narrative dragging in the middle and an abrupt endingIf none of the things I've touched on pique your interest, then you probably won't gel with the book. For me, I was more gelled than Ross Geller's hair.
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
I really enjoyed some of this author’s writing style, but felt myself getting confused on his descriptions of certain scenes… the pacing was too slow for me as well.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
This book was definitely my type of horror. A little strange, a little subtle, found footage, creepy shit showing up on film and something unknowable showing up in the dark that might kill you. Excellent horror stuff that Angie likes! The beginning part of it gave me "Signs" vibes.
It did seem to get a little...I don't want to say "slow", it was still creepy and mysterious...but I guess I really wanted answers and was starting to get anxious like, "All right already! Quit making this poor exhausted man fly from place to place to only get mere crumbs of evidence and answers! Just tell us already!"
+100 points because it didn't go in the direction I thought it was going. Still, a great horror book that I really enjoyed! Nothing too deep, just a poor, sleep-deprived Indy film-maker being made to endure one scare after another. Classic.
It did seem to get a little...I don't want to say "slow", it was still creepy and mysterious...but I guess I really wanted answers and was starting to get anxious like, "All right already! Quit making this poor exhausted man fly from place to place to only get mere crumbs of evidence and answers! Just tell us already!"
+100 points because it didn't go in the direction I thought it was going.
Spoiler
-200 points because I REALLY REALLY wanted it to be aliens. I thought I had it all figured out and the thought of aliens from another dimensions coming into our world, and leaving behind those stains, to abduct the people of the cult and Kyle. That was why he would wake up hovering over the bed or have the weird dreams that he was stuck in another body! I guess skeletal damned people of cults past is scary too but once I got those "Signs" vibes I had my heart set on aliens.
nevill needs to fire his editor bc his current one graduated from the redundant academy school of redundancy school… i thought the book was wrapping up and looked down and realized i had 250 more pages to go. a shame tho because the premise was so good. DNF
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes