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opalmal's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
cormacfobrien's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Drug use, Blood, Body horror, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, Gore, Suicide attempt, and Violence
Moderate: Stalking, Gun violence, and Car accident
burnyayhayley's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This is probably the best horror I have ever read.
It is unsettling and gruesome and filled with delicious moments of the uncanny, but without any of it being gratuitous or overdone. I LOVE when the uncanny is portrayed well and correctly and with a light touch so that you really are able to feel in the writing this sense of palpable unease, but it is impossible to place, for you or the character experiencing it.
There is really too much being done in this book to do it any justice here. I felt many texts/films called upon but not directly referenced, which made the text all the more nuanced. Some of the connections I made were The Blair Witch Project, Under the Dome, Haunting of Hill House (The Netflix series), The Only Good Indians and probably several other things I have forgotten.
There are very few books that I finish and want to immediately reread, and even fewer of them are horror novels, but this is one. This is a book that would only improve and deepen through rereading and further analysis. If I was to ever write horror, I would hope it was half as good as this.
It is unsettling and gruesome and filled with delicious moments of the uncanny, but without any of it being gratuitous or overdone. I LOVE when the uncanny is portrayed well and correctly and with a light touch so that you really are able to feel in the writing this sense of palpable unease, but it is impossible to place, for you or the character experiencing it.
There is really too much being done in this book to do it any justice here. I felt many texts/films called upon but not directly referenced, which made the text all the more nuanced. Some of the connections I made were The Blair Witch Project, Under the Dome, Haunting of Hill House (The Netflix series), The Only Good Indians and probably several other things I have forgotten.
There are very few books that I finish and want to immediately reread, and even fewer of them are horror novels, but this is one. This is a book that would only improve and deepen through rereading and further analysis. If I was to ever write horror, I would hope it was half as good as this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Animal death, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Blood and Vomit
racl's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I'm still fairly new to the genre, but this was the first horror to pull a genuine fear reaction from me the way something more audio-visual would be able to do with a jump scare. It takes a good hundred pages to get into the thick of the horror plot, and at the time, I found it superfluous. Having finished it, the setup helped tremendously and made the pace of the second half feel even more breakneck. Very compelling read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Blood
Minor: Racism
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