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alex_e_liddiard's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Self harm, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Body horror
j_m_alexander's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
1.75
NOPE! - nope, nope, nope.
Body horror, animal harm, and overly descriptive scenes written with the explicit intention of raising the bile straight up your gullet. Can't say the writing is itself is bad exactly, so thus not a 1-star, but oof I REALLY did NOT like this book. This is a straight up book of grotesqueries that tries to toy with ideas of psychological terror, that I just didn't find successful within the context of the relentless squelching bodily fluid wallowing imagery. The premise is what drew me in, but after a while it seemed like the boys slid back into caricatures (it's like Cutter said "have your read The Body or Lord of the Flies, and/or seen the respective movies? -- it's pretty much some of those kids with a touch of a more youthful and messier American Psycho") and the order of operations were fairly predictable I found.
In reflection I recognize that what I look for most from horror these days is building tension and I am not as big of a fan of overt body horror, so this is maybe just the opposite of my current preferences. I have specifically identified that possession stories are something I am just NOT into, and really this is a possession story, a different take on possession, but possession none-the-less. Intermittently Cutter broke in with after-the-fact reports and testimonies, he mentioned being inspired by Carrie, and I can't decide if these helped or hurt the book; often they worked as a pallet cleansers from all the revulsion by inserting plain reportage, but they also depleted momentum... not sure if the trade off was worth it. I did find myself wanting to stop at points so maybe I would have made this a rare DNF if not for those breaks in the story, but then again maybe I would have sped through it instead of the stopping and starting as I ended up doing, making the choppiness even more pronounced.
Carrie apparently was an inspiration of sorts, but that book was punchier and King managed development with economy, while this book seemed sickeningly bloated, squishy, and somewhat flat. The more direct King comparison to make would be Dreamcatcher, which was also not my cup of tea, but in hindsight (and comparatively) is not so bad, certainly I think it's a better take on the basic premise of this other type of possession in the context of a group of friends in a secluded setting.
If you like detailed descriptions of slow horrific death and have a strong stomach (or enjoy the sensation of wanting to toss your cookies), then maybe this is a good book for you! Not a good book for me as it turns out.
Body horror, animal harm, and overly descriptive scenes written with the explicit intention of raising the bile straight up your gullet. Can't say the writing is itself is bad exactly, so thus not a 1-star, but oof I REALLY did NOT like this book. This is a straight up book of grotesqueries that tries to toy with ideas of psychological terror, that I just didn't find successful within the context of the relentless squelching bodily fluid wallowing imagery. The premise is what drew me in, but after a while it seemed like the boys slid back into caricatures (it's like Cutter said "have your read The Body or Lord of the Flies, and/or seen the respective movies? -- it's pretty much some of those kids with a touch of a more youthful and messier American Psycho") and the order of operations were fairly predictable I found.
In reflection I recognize that what I look for most from horror these days is building tension and I am not as big of a fan of overt body horror, so this is maybe just the opposite of my current preferences. I have specifically identified that possession stories are something I am just NOT into, and really this is a possession story, a different take on possession, but possession none-the-less. Intermittently Cutter broke in with after-the-fact reports and testimonies, he mentioned being inspired by Carrie, and I can't decide if these helped or hurt the book; often they worked as a pallet cleansers from all the revulsion by inserting plain reportage, but they also depleted momentum... not sure if the trade off was worth it. I did find myself wanting to stop at points so maybe I would have made this a rare DNF if not for those breaks in the story, but then again maybe I would have sped through it instead of the stopping and starting as I ended up doing, making the choppiness even more pronounced.
Carrie apparently was an inspiration of sorts, but that book was punchier and King managed development with economy, while this book seemed sickeningly bloated, squishy, and somewhat flat. The more direct King comparison to make would be Dreamcatcher, which was also not my cup of tea, but in hindsight (and comparatively) is not so bad, certainly I think it's a better take on the basic premise of this other type of possession in the context of a group of friends in a secluded setting.
If you like detailed descriptions of slow horrific death and have a strong stomach (or enjoy the sensation of wanting to toss your cookies), then maybe this is a good book for you! Not a good book for me as it turns out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Self harm, Terminal illness, Violence, Body horror, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Death
Moderate: Medical trauma, Medical content, Cursing, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Grief, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse
heartofhorrors's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Fire/Fire injury, Terminal illness, Suicide, Violence, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Self harm, Torture, and Toxic friendship
Minor: War, Gun violence, Alcohol, Child abuse, Fatphobia, and Sexual content
kit_kat21's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
When a Boy Scout troop goes to an island for a camping trip but so many things go wrong…
This book is so good, it is similar to Lord of the Flies and it is really spooky at points. I think all these characters change in so many ways and I could not put this book down because of the suspense. I think it is shocking how all of them change throughout the book.
This book is so good, it is similar to Lord of the Flies and it is really spooky at points. I think all these characters change in so many ways and I could not put this book down because of the suspense. I think it is shocking how all of them change throughout the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Murder, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
thepercenator's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-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
4.0
Oh boy, this book was a doozy for me. Aside from the obvious gruesome nature of the book and the detailed descriptions, I felt like some of the other horror elements in this book (see content warnings) weren’t at all necessary for the storyline. That all being said, I still enjoyed this book and thought about it a lot after finishing. I found myself more attached to the characters than I thought I would be (though there are obvious exceptions). I thought the writing was great and engaging and it definitely left me unsettled and more emotional than anticipated. It was just a book that made me need a little break from horror after. I’ll say it again - check content warnings!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Gore, and Body horror
alex_unabridged's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail
cryptidenthusiast's review against another edition
medium-paced
1.0
I went into this with high hopes, only to get a quarter of the way through and wonder why I was bothering. This book isn’t scary, it’s just…gross. Probably just a personal preference, but I’m looking for a horror book with dread and terror, not just body horror and animal mutilation.
The worms as a concept could have been interesting, but they’re either a threat, or they aren’t.Shelly ends up letting hundreds of them loose into the ocean at one point and we’re supposed to believe a chemical dump caught EVERY worm or fish that ate them?
The cast is a dull mismatch of stereotypes. Meat headed mean jock, ill tempered delinquent, the follower, the cruel “psycho”, and the fat kid (which the author will remind you, REPEATEDLY of. You will not forget that Newton is fat). All I got from this book is apparently young boys are two steps away from losing their minds and turning to cruelty? Very lord of the flies I guess.
Shelley was absolutely not needed. This felt like a tacked on extra threat because the worms themselves weren’t “scary” enough, so there needed to be some unhinged…mastermind, apparently? He was a very methodical psycho for being what, 14? Managing to play every adult and other kid like a fiddle. There’s multiple instances of animal mutilation, but thegraphic six(ish) page interlude of Shelley’s recollection of killing a kitten and getting aroused over it wasn’t needed. At all.
And, if you’re curious, there’s over 20 mentions of “piss” or bladders or peeing in this book. Not sure why the author felt we needed that, but it was frequent enough that it was kinda distracting lol.
The worms as a concept could have been interesting, but they’re either a threat, or they aren’t.
The cast is a dull mismatch of stereotypes. Meat headed mean jock, ill tempered delinquent, the follower, the cruel “psycho”, and the fat kid (which the author will remind you, REPEATEDLY of. You will not forget that Newton is fat). All I got from this book is apparently young boys are two steps away from losing their minds and turning to cruelty? Very lord of the flies I guess.
Shelley was absolutely not needed. This felt like a tacked on extra threat because the worms themselves weren’t “scary” enough, so there needed to be some unhinged…mastermind, apparently? He was a very methodical psycho for being what, 14? Managing to play every adult and other kid like a fiddle. There’s multiple instances of animal mutilation, but the
And, if you’re curious, there’s over 20 mentions of “piss” or bladders or peeing in this book. Not sure why the author felt we needed that, but it was frequent enough that it was kinda distracting lol.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Child death, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fatphobia and Fire/Fire injury
voxlunae's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Man, this book is fucking gross. So disturbing sometimes. I grimaced through whole scenes, several times. However, I really enjoyed the writing and I burned through it in two sittings. I always advocate for more diverse characters and strong female characters, but given that this is about Boy Scouts and inspired by Lord of the Flies, the homogeneity isn't surprising. I give it a pass. Really taut storytelling, a horrifying threat, some heartbreaking scenes, and all the skin-crawling disgust you could ask for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Body horror, Body shaming, Pandemic/Epidemic, Gore, and Self harm
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, and Homophobia
Minor: Abandonment, Bullying, Confinement, Cannibalism, and Cursing
dadcalves's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Child death
sofiam19's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Gore, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Child death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fatphobia