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peritract's review against another edition
3.0
Well-paced, much more professional than "creature feature" books tend to be.
awitham4077's review against another edition
3.0
Although I did enjoy the story very much, the author's use of names made it hard to read at times. He would often switch from first name to last name and sometimes even nickname in the same paragraph or consecutive sentences. This made it very difficult to tell characters apart and understand what was happening to whom at times. Despite that, it was a solid monster thriller tale that I enjoyed. The author seemed to have a good understanding of the environment he chose for the setting and that helped greatly.
ryanjamesburt's review against another edition
4.0
I admit this isn't usually my genre of choice but I found this book enjoyable. I am a Dead Robot's fan and was curious to read Mr. Cooley's writing. Very enjoyable read. Characters were likable and the Black was a nice idea. Good read.
greyhart's review against another edition
2.0
For some reason I really liked the characters. Or at least the way they were written. But, while concept of the creature is quite interesting albeit not very unique, it was not really explored so it felt more of an environmental hazard. This gave it "level design vs players" feeling. Honestly, I'd probably read fanfic with these characters just doing daily rig life.
gnomon's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
anon27's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars rounding down. Weirdly enough, I preferred the first half of this book, before the action started. The characters were interesting, and the exploration rig as the location worked really well.
Unfortunately for me, it was hard to believe in the liquid monster, and therefore I kind of lost interest and just wanted to get the book over with at the end.
Spoiler
Unfortunately for me, it was hard to believe in the liquid monster, and therefore I kind of lost interest and just wanted to get the book over with at the end.
gwimo's review
3.0
I like that this was released in podcast form. The story was OK. The narration sorta took me out of it at times.
jstatt's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the book, but found that i wasn't particularly invested in the characters. Also for being a horror book it wasn't particularly scary, at least in my opinion. Still thought it had an interesting enough premise and plot to keep me reading through whole thing. 3/5.
auverus's review
4.0
A surprisingly good creature feature. Looking forward to the sequel/midquel. Would have enjoyed a better look at the horrible thing beneath the ocean's crust, however.
errantdreams's review
4.0
First, I loved Shawna as a character. Okay, so she was the only female, but she represented well. No falling in love with some charming character, no threat of rape from anyone; she also doesn’t need the help of others in order to do her job well. Thank you, Mr. Cooley!
There is one “Chekhov’s Gun” problem: one of the characters brought a spear-gun to fish while out there. Unless I blinked and missed it (not wholly impossible), that weapon never gets mentioned again, even though a big deal was made out of it at first.
For the most part I find all of the characters interesting. I did have trouble with one characterization, though. I know it’s a great skill as a writer to find a shortcut that allows you to convey a character’s personality quickly. However, the use of a cigar and some single malt is overused as shortcuts go. On the other hand, the tech who obsessively uses his vape worked beautifully since it’s relatively new.
The author cleverly weaves information throughout the narrative so you never feel like you’re being lectured at or subjected to a scene-breaking infodump. Unfortunately there's one (potentially major) plot detail that gets ignored after it's discovered.
I find it easy to imagine this tale as a horror movie. It feels cinematic, and gave me a very clear image of what was going on. Despite the issues named above, I was glued to the pages to find out what happened next. The monster is also quite scary in terms of how it handles people.
Original review on my site: http://www.errantdreams.com/2016/08/review-the-black-paul-e-cooley/
There is one “Chekhov’s Gun” problem: one of the characters brought a spear-gun to fish while out there. Unless I blinked and missed it (not wholly impossible), that weapon never gets mentioned again, even though a big deal was made out of it at first.
For the most part I find all of the characters interesting. I did have trouble with one characterization, though. I know it’s a great skill as a writer to find a shortcut that allows you to convey a character’s personality quickly. However, the use of a cigar and some single malt is overused as shortcuts go. On the other hand, the tech who obsessively uses his vape worked beautifully since it’s relatively new.
The author cleverly weaves information throughout the narrative so you never feel like you’re being lectured at or subjected to a scene-breaking infodump. Unfortunately there's one (potentially major) plot detail that gets ignored after it's discovered.
I find it easy to imagine this tale as a horror movie. It feels cinematic, and gave me a very clear image of what was going on. Despite the issues named above, I was glued to the pages to find out what happened next. The monster is also quite scary in terms of how it handles people.
Original review on my site: http://www.errantdreams.com/2016/08/review-the-black-paul-e-cooley/
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