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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
(3.5/5) I'm always on the lookout for horror that's based around cults, religion, and the psychology of groupthink, and this was an entertaining page-turner chock-full of horrors both supernatural and entirely too human.
Guerilla filmmaker Kyle Freeman has been hired to shoot a documentary on The Temple of the Last Days, a notorious cult which imploded in the 70s when its leader, Sister Katherine, was found beheaded alongside her murdered followers. Sister Katherine is the epitome of a megalomaniac cult leader from that era, whose beliefs attracted those looking for a hippie, countercultural life and a sense of belonging. However, like most cults, the Temple was rife with abuse, death, and cover-ups.
In a race against time, Kyle has to track down the remaining survivors from the Temple and find out the truth about what happened that night. The convoluted, far-fetched stories initially seem like hallucinogenic visions – after all, LSD and other drugs were commonplace at the Temple. However, when inexplicable, horrifying things start to happen to Kyle and his trusty cameraman Dan, they must go even deeper to uncover what the Temple had summoned into the world.
With much of this novel being set in claustrophobic, abandoned spaces, this was a properly eerie read. I was especially unsettled as the supernatural elements ramped up, going beyond the original Temple locations, invading Kyle's home and his mind – it's not a localized haunting, the horror follows our protagonist. However, like any good cult novel, the human horrors are equally gruesome and disturbing – the evil that humans enact on one another.
This would have been a four-star read if not for the last few chapters, which veered into comic book Big Bad territory. The ending line in particular made me groan, but hey. Overall, an engaging and fun read, much-recommended for a reason.
Guerilla filmmaker Kyle Freeman has been hired to shoot a documentary on The Temple of the Last Days, a notorious cult which imploded in the 70s when its leader, Sister Katherine, was found beheaded alongside her murdered followers. Sister Katherine is the epitome of a megalomaniac cult leader from that era, whose beliefs attracted those looking for a hippie, countercultural life and a sense of belonging. However, like most cults, the Temple was rife with abuse, death, and cover-ups.
In a race against time, Kyle has to track down the remaining survivors from the Temple and find out the truth about what happened that night. The convoluted, far-fetched stories initially seem like hallucinogenic visions – after all, LSD and other drugs were commonplace at the Temple. However, when inexplicable, horrifying things start to happen to Kyle and his trusty cameraman Dan, they must go even deeper to uncover what the Temple had summoned into the world.
With much of this novel being set in claustrophobic, abandoned spaces, this was a properly eerie read. I was especially unsettled as the supernatural elements ramped up, going beyond the original Temple locations, invading Kyle's home and his mind – it's not a localized haunting, the horror follows our protagonist. However, like any good cult novel, the human horrors are equally gruesome and disturbing – the evil that humans enact on one another.
This would have been a four-star read if not for the last few chapters, which veered into comic book Big Bad territory. The ending line in particular made me groan, but hey. Overall, an engaging and fun read, much-recommended for a reason.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
challenging
dark
mysterious
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
DNF 75%. The more I read the worse it got. It started out STRONG was even scary at time and that’s a hard thing to do when I’m reading. Then it just got sooo unbelievable and strange and I was like wtf constantly then it got confusing then to many characters were introduced making it hard to keep up.
This book was riveting for the first 75% of it and genuinely creeped me out a few times. But the ending was awful. The author is a little too liberal with exposition-dumping for pages upon pages as well.
dark
tense
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
The first two-thirds of Last Days was some of the best horror I’ve read in years. Structured around different shooting locations of a documentary film, this portion was the perfect mix of tense, heart-pounding horror with slow, creeping dread and suggestion.
The final third lost me a little. I found the reveal of supernatural lore to be pretty uninteresting and would have preferred things remain mysterious. The ending also morphed into an action-horror video game complete with innumerable plot absurdities, although it certainly contained some great images.
I think if this book ended 100-150 pages earlier it could have been truly great. I’d still recommend it, although it’s not a quick read.
The final third lost me a little. I found the reveal of supernatural lore to be pretty uninteresting and would have preferred things remain mysterious. The ending also morphed into an action-horror video game complete with innumerable plot absurdities, although it certainly contained some great images.
I think if this book ended 100-150 pages earlier it could have been truly great. I’d still recommend it, although it’s not a quick read.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Cult based horror novel. Small list of characters. It’s a solid horror, though not super memorable. It does have a unique premise and kept me up late at times trying to figure out what happens next.
dark
mysterious
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:
No
If Zac Bagans and Jim Jones cult had a baby
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
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:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced